摘要：This is a descriptive study which attempts to answer how well 8th grade students define
a rectangle. The subjects for this study were 93 of 8
th grade students. The students were
administered a written open ended test on the definition of a rectangle which was adapted from
Ahuja (1996). Responses of the students were coded by each researcher independently and
common expressions were grouped. Then, new codes were created and the final codes were
generated by the researchers. Findings of the study revealed that none of the students could
provide sufficient and necessary conditions for their descriptions and definitions. Besides, it was
seen that the majority of the students used the terminology incorrectly. While trying to define the
rectangle, most of the students listed the properties of the rectangle and only a few students were
able to construct a definition. Students mostly gave visual examples. From these findings, it can be
concluded that students were unsuccessful in defining the rectangle and they were at Van Hiele
Level 1.
关键词：geometry; Van Hiele levels; definition; rectangle; 8th grade students
