Standardization of Metaphorical Perception Scale of the Effectiveness of Mathematics Education Software in the Teaching-Learning Process from the perspective of mathematics teachers

Metaphors are powerful tools, which are used to present teachers' attitudes about mathematics and reflect their experiences. Teachers' metaphorical perception can make many educational events more tangible in order to examine the current status of education. Previous studies asked provident teachers to provide metaphors for teaching mathematics and to use these metaphors to understand their attitudes about mathematics. On the other hand, these days, educational technologies have rapidly created new opportunities for meaningful education of mathematics. Therefore, the role of teachers in integrating education and technology is getting more and more important. Frequent use of technology, in almost every aspect of our lives, requires a change in the content and nature of school math programs, and it is important for students to use computers to increase their understanding of math concepts as they change. The use of computers in educational programs should be supported. Since the interpretation and explanation of teachers' attitudes toward the field of technology is important in teaching-learning, metaphors are used to compare mere and common interpretation. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematicshas stated that the use of technology is an appropriate method in mathematical reasoning, expression, problem solving, and effective communication. Moreover, the use of computers in educational programs should also be supported. Therefore, the main purpose of the current study based on the instrumentation method was to standardize the metaphorical perception scale of the effectiveness of mathematics education software in the teaching-learning process from the perspective of mathematics teachers.

The research method was descriptive and the method entailed instrumentation and standardization. Using two-stage cluster sampling method and Morgan table, 198 male and female math teachers working in all primary and secondary state and non-state secondary schools in 1, 2, 3, 4 education districts of Tehranwere selected as the participants. Researchers prepared and designed a questionnaire with 44 items based on theoretical basics and related technologies in the field of mathematics education. In the first stage, CVI and CVR content validity indices were examined.

After two stages of distributing questionnaires among eight experts in the field of education and technology of mathematics, the results showed that some items were removed due to not reaching the standard level. Finally, 28 items according to the components in the questionnaire were approved.The questionnaire was then distributed among math teachers in virtual networks.The results of reliability and exploratory factor analysis confirmed four factors with 26 items and the reliability value of each factor was proved and recordedbetween 0.78 and 0.94.Four main factors were identifiedincluding a metaphorical understanding of access and acquaintance, skill and mastery, interest, attitude, impact and application in the use of mathematical software.

The results of this survey and tooling based on the views of math teachers showed that the four mentioned factors were very important in the efficiency and application of math education technologies and software in middle school teaching. Determining and explaining such factors can lead to a more detailed examination of the challenges and resources available in the preparation and distribution of mathematics education technologies in schools.