The investigation of the mathematical arguments of eighte class students

The aim of this study is to examine how the eighth grade students in detail elaborate the written and oral mathematical arguments produced by different mathematical tasks using the information contained in the tasks. Basic qualitative research method has been adopted in the collection, analysis and interpretation of research data. In the 2017-2018 academic year, participants were selected from eighth grade students studying at a public school in Eskişehir. Attention was paid to the achievement levels and genders during the selection of the students. A total of six focus students were selected: two low achievement students, two intermediate students and two high achievement students. Within the scope of the research, both written documents and video and audio recordings were obtained. The students were given a worksheet containing five different mathematical tasks and were asked to write their mathematical arguments containing their claims and thoughts about these tasks. Clinical interviews were conducted with the focus students as a result of the written documents examined. During the interviews, questions were asked by the researcher to encourage the students to elaborate their arguments. The data obtained during the research process was examined by content analysis method. As a result of the research, it was seen that the students tried to express the mathematical arguments that they formed related to the mathematical task with reference to the data in the task with visual and verbal representations, but they had difficulty in switching between these representations. Another result of the study is that the mathematical tasks directed to students include judgment and conjunctive (because) they lead them to the argumentation process and to elaborate them with mathematical argument generation rather than result-oriented solution. In addition, in the process of elaborating mathematical arguments, students' understanding of concepts, misunderstandings and misconceptions were revealed. Keywords:Mathematical Argumentation, Mathematical Argument, Mathematical Argument Writing, Detailing