The Development of Mathematical Communication Skills and Attitudes towards Mathematics Through Cooperative Learning with Board Games Grade 7 Students

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the development of mathematical communication skills of Grade 7 students through cooperative learning activities integrated with board games of linear equations with one variable, and 2) to investigate students’ attitudes toward mathematics after participating in the learning activities. This research was an experimental study. The population and sample consisted of Grade 7 students at Watratrangsan (Khanma Anurat) School during the second semester of the 2025 academic year. The research was conducted over a period of four weeks, with three hours of instruction per week, totaling 12 hours, excluding the pre-test and post-test sessions. The research instruments included cooperative learning lesson plans integrated with board games. The instructional process consisted of five stages: 1) preparation, 2) instructional activities, 3) group activities and board game implementation, 4) performance checking and testing, and 5) lesson conclusion and evaluation. All lesson plans demonstrated an Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) of 1.00. The mathematical communication skills assessment had IOC values ranging from 0.80 to 1.00, while the mathematics attitude questionnaire showed an IOC value of 1.00. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (Repeated Measures ANOVA), mean, and standard deviation. The results found that: 1) the mean scores of students’ mathematical communication skills continuously improved throughout the study, and 2) students’ attitudes toward mathematics after participating in the cooperative learning activities integrated with board games on linear equations with one variable were at the highest level overall.