Examining 7th grade students of the proving processes and the functions of proof in this process

Mathematical proof and reasoning as integral parts of mathematical understanding in terms of ensuring that the correctness or falsity of mathematical expressions is justified for convincing reasons have become the focus of research on mathematical education, especially in recent years. However, although the answer to questions about why proof practices should be included in schools and what the purpose of proof is hidden in functions of proof, there is no consensus on how these functions should be handled in the classroom environment. The aim of this study is to examine the proving process of 7th-grade students and to determine the functions of proof emerging in this process. This study, which was designed as a teaching experiment, was carried out with 12-week classroom practices conducted in the form of small group and classroom discussions and 6 students from this class were determined as a focus to examine their reasoning styles. In the study; pre and post tests, recordings of pre, during and final clinical interviews with focus students, video and audio recordings of teaching lessons and worksheets were used as data sources. The findings of this study showed that classwork based on social interaction positively affected students' proving processes, strengthening their deductive reasoning. However, it has been observed that there is a relationship between the functions of proof and social and socio-mathematical norms in both small group and class discussions.