A Holistic Examination of the Relationship between Greek Textbooks and Real Life

The ability to relate mathematics teaching to real life is the common goal of many countries' mathematics curriculum National Society for Experiential Education's (NSEE) [2011] "Eight Principles of Good Practice for All Experiential Learning Activities." (intention, originality, planning, clarity, monitoring and evaluation, reflection, evaluation, and acknowledgement) recommend that students' experiences and the meaning and learning they derive from those experiences should be consolidated. Students' ability to develop mathematical skills is directly linked to their ability to relate, which includes skills such as "problem solving, reasoning, communication." Bringing real-world contexts to mathematics lessons can affect students' attitudes towards mathematics and also support their mathematical association skills. In this context, it is important to analyze how the activities in the textbooks, which are the first resources in the classroom, are prepared and to what extent they connect the student with real life. In this regard, the focus is on the activities in the primary school mathematics textbook. In this study, the relationship of the activities in the Greek Primary School 3rd-grade textbook with real life was analyzed based on Gainsburg's (2008) classification. The document analysis method was used in the study, which was conducted on the basis of qualitative research. The data source of the research is the Greek Primary School 3rd grade mathematics textbook. The data obtained was analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. As a result of analyzing a total of 147 activities, it was determined that the activities were collected in the type of classical word problems and partially included activity types associated with real life.