Developing a Mathematical Curiosity Scale for Adolescents: Validity and Reliability Study

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 3, 370 - 388, 30.12.2023

Elif Esra Arıkan , Mustafa Özgenel , Süruri Selim Erdem , Hasan Unal

https://doi.org/10.54535/rep.1283004

Öz

Curiosity offers opportunities for personal growth by instilling a desire to learn, explore, and investigate. Therefore, it is considered essential to encourage curiosity, especially in children and adolescents, for their future lives. Similarly, mathematical curiosity leads the individual to develop in mathematics by directing their desire to learn about mathematics toward discovery. In this context, the study aims to create a scale that provides accurate and reliable measurements that is a valid and reliable Likert-type scale of mathematical curiosity of secondary and high school students. 499 students participated in the exploratory factor analysis, 294 in the confirmatory factor analysis, and 91 in the test-retest analysis. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, the scale structure with 3 factors and 20 items explains 57.95% of the total variance. The construct validity of the scale was examined through confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.903. The reliability coefficients of the sub-dimensions of the scale are .838, .842, and .690, respectively.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Curiosity, Mathematical curiosity, Scale development

Kaynakça

• Bell, E. T. (2012). The development of mathematics. Courier Corporation. Retrieved from: http://www.math.chalmers.se/~ulfp/Review/devmath.pdf
• Büyüköztürk, Ş., Akgün, Ö. E., Kahveci, Ö., & Demirel, F. (2004). Güdülenme ve öğrenme stratejileri ölçeğinin Türkçe formunun geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [The validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire]. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 4(2), 207-239. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Oezcan-Akguen/publication/279175043_Gudulenme_ve_ Ogrenme_Stratejileri_Olceginin_Turkce_Formunun_Gecerlik_ve_Guvenirlik_Calismasi/links/5c248bea458515a4c7fb2fae/Gueduelenme-ve-Oegrenme-Stratejileri-Oelceginin-Tuerkce-Formunun-Gecerlik-ve-Guevenirlik-Calismasi.pdf
• Byrne, B. M., Shavelson, R. J.,& Muthen, B. (1989). Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement in variance. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 456-466. Retrieved from: http://www.statmodel.com/bmuthen/articles/Article_027.pdf
• Cass, C. A., Hazari, Z., Cribbs, J., Sadler, P. M., & Sonnert, G. (2011, October). Examining the impact of mathematics identity on the choice of engineering careers for male and female students. In 2011 Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. F2H-1). IEEE. Retrieved from: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=6142881&casa_token=BNy-XD_7aBQAAAAA:D2l9T1V BTJrLugBpq-V5hXK8Oz1VlMFXeDMj-s6PspQbsT1eLWAQvSCyKB-SV_ep8e8R9HEKCElpbw&tag=1
• Cındıl-Kopan, T. (2020). Ortaokul öğrencilerinin bilimsel merak düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi [Investigation of scientific curiosity levels of secondary school students in terms of various variables] [Yüksek Lisans Tezi]. Trabzon Üniversitesi, Trabzon. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
• Collins, R. P., Litman, J. A., & Spielberger, C. D. (2004). The measurement of perceptual curiosity. Personality and Individual Differences, 36(5), 1127-1141. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ article/pii/S0191886903002058?casa_token=EK8JH_dwtLUAAAAA:W4N7fBx-G7XY4AvL4OYOdmxZ7cYW W4MbezP_2kyvWy6d7HysvS31je7ShQoPu1gBMxv9QWzIYhGD
• Demirel, M., & Coşkun, Y. D. (2009). Üniversite öğrencilerinin meraklılık düzeylerinin bazı değişkenler açısından incelenmesi [Investigation of curiosity levels of university students in terms of some variables]. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, (18), 111-134. Retrieved from: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/181284
• DeVellis, R. F. (2014). Ölçek geliştirme: kuram ve uygulamalar [Scale development: theory and applications] (A.Bakioğlu, N. Dilek & T. Totan, Çev. Ed.). Nobel.
• Engel, S. (2015). The hungry mind: The origins of curiosity in childhood. Harvard University Press. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Hungry_Mind.html?id=nmDFBgAAQBAJ
• Eren, A. (2009). Examining the relationship between epistemic curiosity and achievement goals. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research. 36, 129-144. Retrieved from: http://acikerisim.ibu.edu.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12491/1601/altay-eren.pdf?sequence=1
• Gözüm, S., & Aksayan, S. (1999). Öz-etkililik-yeterlik ölçeği'nin türkçe formunun güvenilirlik ve geçerliliği [The reliability and validity of Turkish form of the self-efficacy scale]. Anadolu Hemşirelik ve Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 2(1), 21-34. Retrieved from: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/29103
• Hardy III, J. H., Ness, A. M., & Mecca, J. (2017). Outside the box: Epistemic curiosity as a predictor of creative problem solving and creative performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 230-237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.08.004 0191-8869
• Jöreskog, K. G. (2004). On chi-squares for the ındependence model and fit measures in Lisrel. Retrieved from http://www.ssicentral.com/lisrel/techdocs/ftb.pdf
• Karadağlı, F., & Ecevit-Alpar, Ş. (2017). Bir ölçek geliştirme çalışması: Kemoterapi uygulanan hastalarda özbakım yetersizliği kuramına gore özbakım davranışları ölçeği [A Scale development study: scale of self-care behaviors according to the theory of self-care deficiency in patients who were administered chemotherapy]. Mersin Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 10(3), 168-181. Retrieved from: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/384535
• Kartika, Y. K., Pujiastuti, E., & Soedjoko, E. (2019). The effectiveness of project based learning with creative mind-map tasks for improving mathematical connection ability and student curiosity. Unnes Journal of Mathematics Education, 8(2), 145-151. https://doi.org/10.15294/ujme.v8i2.31937
• Kashdan, T. B., & Silvia, P. J. (2009). Curiosity and interest: The benefits of thriving on novelty and challenge. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (pp. 367–374). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Todd-Kashdan/publication/232709031_Curiosity_and _Interest_The_Benefits_of_Thriving_on_Novelty_and_Challenge/links/09e41508d50c5af6d3000000/Curiosity-and-Interest-The-Benefits-of-Thriving-on-Novelty-and-Challenge.pdf
• Kashdan, T. B., Stiksma, M. C., Disabato, D. J., McKnight, P. E., Bekier, J., Kaji, J., & Lazarus, R. (2018). The five-dimensional curiosity scale: Capturing the bandwidth of curiosity and identifying four unique subgroups of curious people. Journal of Research in Personality, 73, 130-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2017.11.011
• Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications. Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9f61/4aefcc38de8aa425a190560055dff40fabed.pdf
• Leherissey, B. L. (1971). The development of a measure of state epistemic curiosity. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED053549.pdf
• Litman, J. A., & Jimerson, T. L. (2004). The measurement of curiosity as a feeling of deprivation. Journal of personality assessment, 82(2), 147-157. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa8202_3
• Litman, J. A., & Spielberger, C. D. (2003). Measuring epistemic curiosity and its diversive and specific components. Journal of personality assessment, 80(1), 75-86. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA8001_16
• Naylor, F. D. (1981). A state-trait curiosity inventory. Australian Psychologist, 16(2), 172-183. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050068108255893
• Özçifçi, V. (2020). Sosyal medyanın tüketicilerin satın alma niyeti üzerindeki etkisi [The impact of social media on consumers’ purchase intention]. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 6(1), 206-223. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1027222
• Özdamar, K. (2016). Eğitim, sağlık ve davranış bilimlerinde ölçek ve test geliştirme yapısal eşitlik modellemesi [Scale and test development structural equation modeling in education, health and behavioral sciences]. Eskişehir: Nisan.
• Peterson, E. G., & Cohen, J. (2019). A case for domain-specific curiosity in mathematics. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 807-832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09501-4
• Pritchard, D. (2015). Intellectual virtue, extended cognition, and the epistemology of education. In Intellectual virtues and education (pp. 113-127). Routledge.
• Renner, B. (2006). Curiosity about people: The development of a social curiosity measure in adults. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87(3), 305-316. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa8703_11
• Rumack, A. M., & Huinker, D. (2019). Capturing mathematical curiosity with notice and wonder. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 24(7), 394-399. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.24.7.0394
• Semerci, Ç. (2004). İlköğretim Türkçe ve matematik ders kitaplarini genel değerlendirme ölçeği [A scale for general evaluation of Turkish and mathematics textbooks about elementary education]. CÜ Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Mayıs, 28(1), 49-54. Retreived from https://tr-scales.arabpsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/ilkogretim-turkce-ve-matematik-ders-kitaplarini-genel-degerlendirme-olcegi-toad.pdf
• Serin, G. (2010). İlköğretim 7. sınıf öğrencilerin fene karşı meraklarının incelenmesi [Investigation of 7th grade elementary students' science curiosity]. Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 7(13), 237-252. Retreived from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/183263
• Sümer, N. (2000). Yapısal eşitlik modelleri: Temel kavramlar ve örnek uygulamalar [Structural equation modeling: basic concepts and applications]. Türk Psikoloji Yazıları, 3(6), 49-74. Google Scholar
• Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Allyn and Bacon.
• Tezbaşaran, A. (2008). Likert tipi ölçek hazırlama kılavuzu [Likert-type scale preparation guide]. https://www.academia.edu/1288035/Likert_Tipi_Ölçek_Hazırlama_Kılavuzu adresinden edinilmiştir
• Usluoğlu, B., & Toptaş, (2021). Sınıf öğretmenleri ve öğretmen adaylarına yönelik matematiksel merak ölçeği: geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [Mathematical curiosity scale for primary school teachers and teacher candidates: validity and reliability study]. International Primary Education Research Journal, 5(1), 18-28. DOI:10.38089/ekuad.2022.120
• Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational psychology review, 29, 119-140. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10648-015-9355-x
• Watson, L. (2018). Educating for curiosity. The Moral Psychology of Curiosity, 293-309. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/download/55850414/Watson_2018_Educating_for_Curiosity.pdf