A study on the relationship between number sense performance and mathematical thinking skills of 8th grade students

This study aims to explore the relationship between number sense performance and mathematical thinking stages of 8th-grade students. An exploratory correlational research method, one of the relational research methods, was used in this research. The study sample consisted of 137 eighth-grade students studying at a public middle school in the Adıyaman province center who volunteered to participate in the study. A maximum variation sampling technique, a purposive sampling method, was used in sample selection. The "Number Sense Test" developed by Birgin and Peker (2019) and the "Mathematical Thinking Stages Determination Worksheet" prepared by Keskin, Akbaba Dağ and Altun (2013) were used as quantitative data collection tools. Additionally, the effects of various demographic variables, such as academic achievement levels, parental education level, and gender, on the stages of mathematical thinking and number sense performance were also examined. The normality of the data obtained from number sense performance and mathematical thinking stages was examined using values such as mean, mode, median, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. The analysis revealed a positive, significant, and strong relationship between number sense performance and mathematical thinking stages, and that they support each other in cognitive processes. Another noteworthy analysis found that maternal education level impacts students' number sense performance. It was found that the number sense performance scores of children of mothers who graduated from primary and secondary school were lower than those of children of mothers who graduated from university. A statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in the year-end score variable. Students with higher GPAs had statistically significantly higher number sense performance scores than students with lower GPAs. No statistically significant difference was found between boys and girls in terms of either number sense or mathematical thinking in the gender variable. The findings indicate that number sense plays a significant role in the development of mathematical thinking. Therefore, students should be encouraged to prioritize not only reaching the correct solution but also trying different strategies in the solution process. Activities that foster awareness of their own thinking processes (e.g., reasoning explanations, group discussions) can improve number sense and mathematical thinking. Furthermore, given that the educational level of families, especially mothers, has an impact on students' number sense performance, parents should be encouraged to be more actively involved in their children's mathematics learning.