Abstract

The study aimed to reveal the effect of teaching using mathematical modeling and differentiated education in developing mathematical thinking in mathematics for fourth graders in the Southern Mazar District. The study sample consisted of (75) students distributed into three groups: the first experimental group consisted of (27) students studied according to the mathematical modeling method, the second experimental group consisted of (25) students studied according to differentiated education, and the control group consisted of (23) students who studied according to the usual method, and to achieve the objectives of the study, a test was built to measure mathematical thinking (induction, deduction, guesswork, and symbolic expression) consisting of (20) paragraphs of multiple choice, its validity and reliability were verified. The results of the study showed that there are statistically significant differences in the mathematical thinking of the fourth-grade students in mathematics attributable to the method of teaching in favor of the two experimental groups (mathematical modeling and differentiated education) while there were no statistically significant differences between the two experimental groups on the mathematical thinking test. In light of the results of the study, a number of recommendations were suggested, including encouraging mathematics teachers to use the two strategies (mathematical modeling and differentiated education) in teaching because of their clear impact on mathematical thinking.