Investigation of eighth grade students' mathematical thinking processes in skill-based questions

In this study, it was aimed to examine the mathematical thinking processes of middle school eighth grade students in the process of solving skill-based questions. For this purpose, a qualitative case study was designed. The research group consists of eight students chosen with a criterion sampling method which is one of the purposeful sampling methods, since the students were expected to have a certain mathematical basis in solving the questions. As data collection tools, four mathematics questions selected and revised according to the learning areas from LGS exams, documents consisting of students' solutions, semi-structured interviews and observations were used. The validity and reliability of the data collection tools were determined by both expert review and a pilot study. Individual interviews were video-recorded in the way that only solutions could be followed. According to the findings of the study, students generally did not have difficulties in the process of specializing in skill-based questions. It has been determined that students who could verbally express the relationships they noticed in the process of conjecturing had difficulty expressing the conjectures they reached in the generalization process algebraically. In this study in which the geometry and measurement learning areas were excluded, the learning area in which the students had the difficulty most was the learning areas of numbers and operations examined with the question of exponential expressions. In this context, students' deficiencies emerge especially in the conceptual dimension of the number system. Based on the results of the research, it is suggested that teaching methods developing mathematical thinking skills should be given more space in mathematics learning environments. Keywords: Processes of mathematical thinking, skill-based questions, eighth grade students