Learning processes of middle school students in dynamic geometry software regarding achievement of geometric habits of mind

The general purpose of this study was to investigate the development of 7th grade students' reasoning processes within the scope of the geometric habits of mind (GHoM) in the dynamic geometry software (DGS). In this qualitative study, the teaching experiment model was considered. The study was carried out with 21 students attending a middle school in the city of Eskişehir in a region with a middle-low socio-economic level. Among these students, six students were selected as the focus group of the study. In the initial weeks of the teaching experiment, the focus was on the types of orchestration that allowed the students to recognize the DGS tools. In the next parts of the process, new orchestration types which allowed the participants to make mathematical discussions supporting GHoM processes and to study cooperatively were used. During the teaching experiment, it was seen that the participants faced various instrumental difficulties in relation to selecting an appropriate tool for a mathematical task, applying the procedure of the selected tool and understanding the geometric representation forms. In the following parts of the teaching process in which various precautions were taken against these difficulties, it was seen that the focus group constructed various utilisation schemes regarding DGS tools while solving GHoM based problems and made progress in terms of the processes regarding "reasoning with relationships", "generalizing geometric ideas", "investigating invariants" and "balancing exploration and reflection" by means of the DGS tools. Keywords: Middle school mathematics learning, Geometric habits of mind, Dynamic geometry software, Instrumental genesis, Instrumental orchestration.