ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. STEM Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1622697
This article is part of the Research TopicSTEM: Innovation on Teaching and Learning Vol. IIView all 3 articles
Developing Geometric Thinking through Culturally Contextualized Mathematical Modelling: A Yurt-Building Lesson for Middle-School Students in Kazakhstan
Provisionally accepted
- 1Karaganda University of the name of academician E.A.Buketov, Karaganda, Kazakhstan
- 2Shokan Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan
- 3Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Physics and Mathematics, Kostanay, Kazakhstan
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This mixed-methods study examines the impact of a single culturally contextualized STEAM lesson, constructing a scale model of a Kazakh yurt, on sixth-grade students' geometry confidence and cultural awareness. Forty-four students (aged 11–12) from a public school in East Kazakhstan participated in the hands-on activity during a 45-minute mathematics period. Data sources included (i) a post-lesson perception survey (Likert, multiple-choice, open-ended), (ii) teacher field notes, and (iii) photographs of student artefacts. Reliability of the six-item Likert scale was acceptable (Cronbach's α = 0.81). Descriptive statistics show that students' self-rated confidence in measuring polygon sides (M = 3.48, SD = 1.17) and applying perimeter formulas (M = 3.61, SD = 1.26) fell in the moderate range, while appreciation for Kazakh cultural heritage was high (Yes = 52.3 %; Partially = 29.5 %). Thematic analysis of 176 open-ended responses, with 92 % intercoder agreement, revealed three recurring themes: (1) recognising geometry in everyday artefacts, (2) difficulties visualising the transition from 2D plans to a 3D dome, and (3) heightened respect for nomadic engineering ingenuity. Although the study relies on post-lesson self-report rather than pre-and post-objective testing, the triangulated evidence suggests that a single culturally grounded project can foster meaningful, if preliminary, gains in geometric thinking and cultural connectedness. Limitations include the brief intervention window and single-site design; future work should incorporate objective assessments and multi-lesson sequences to substantiate learning outcomes.
Keywords: STEAM education, yurt construction, culturally responsive pedagogy, Perimeter, spatial reasoning, middle school geometry
Received: 16 May 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Кazimova, Sadykova, Kostangeldinova, Tazhigulova and Shertser. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Saltanat Sadykova, Shokan Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan
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