Investigation of the mathematical understanding levels of the students according to the pirie and kieren model

The purpose of this research is to determine mathematical understanding levels of middle school students according to Pirie and Kieren Model. In addition, it was tried to determine what affects the change in students' mathematical comprehension levels (gender, mathematics level, class, school type). The participants consist of 373 students from the 7th and 8th grades of the state schools in city center, district centers, villages / neighborhoods of 11 provinces covering six regions of the country. The sample was randomly selected to be at least one in each region. In this study, a scanning model from quantitative research figures is used and the research is an example of a descriptive study. Each student who participated in the study was examined as a separate situation. The data were collected by the Pirie and Kieren Mathematical Understanding Level Test which was created by the researcher. 8 open-ended questions adapted to the steps of the mathematical understanding model of Pirie Kieren which is related to the field subject were directed to the students. Pirie and Kieren Model of Development of Mathematical Understanding was used to determine students' mathematical comprehension levels. SPSS 19.0 program was used to analyze the data. At the end of the study, it was found that the mathematical understanding of students did not differ according to the grade levels, the mathematical comprehension of female students was better than that of male students, and there was a correct ratio between the students' mathematical comprehension and school mathematics grades. It is found that students' mathematical understanding is at higher levels as they move from the villages to the city center. According to the findings, suggestions were made to educators and researchers.