The 10th grade students' success level and their thinking processes on number learning domain in mathematics lesson

The main purpose of this study was to determine the 10th grade students?success levels and their thinking procesess on numbers learning domain. Semi structured interview technique was used in this qualitative research study. Subjects of the study consists of 6 tenth grade students in a secondary school of Çubuk Province in Ankara. These students were selected according to their algebra test?s performance, their mathematics grade and their mathematics teachers? view as there were one girl and one boy in each level. 10 problems were prepared for the data collection and semi structured interviews were performed with students while they were working on these problems. Transcribed interview data collected by the students and researcher?s notes constituted this study?s data source. According to the results of the study, while students have some problems about absolute value, radical and exponential expressions, generalization, abstraction, encounters with expressing generality in numbers, depicting relationships they have no problems about rational numbers. Based on the results some suggestions about teaching algebra in the 9th grade were included.KEYWORDS: algebra, algebra thinking, number learning domain, secondary education, mathematics lesson