Analysis on the Reflective Thinking Skills of the 7th and 8th Grade Students toward Problem Solving
Öz
This study aims to analyze the reflective thinking skills of the 7th and 8th grade students toward problem solving. Using both
qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, this study draws on the mixed-methods design. The sample consists of a total
of 167 students, including 78 female and 89 male students studying in a middle school in the district of Fatih, province of
Istanbul, Turkey in the 2019-2020 academic year. To that end, this study benefits from “The Reflective Thinking Ability Scale
towards Problem Solving” and a personal information form to gather quantitative data. Qualitative data are obtained through
reflective dialogue forms that present the semi-structured interview questions. The analysis of the quantitative data is
performed through descriptive statistics methods, independent samples t-test, correlation analysis whereas the analysis of the
qualitative data is conducted through descriptive analysis. The analyses performed in this study ascertain that the reflective
thinking ability of the students toward problem solving is high. This study also concludes that there is a significant correlation
between this ability and mathematics achievement whilst there is no such significant correlation across genders and grade
levels. Based on the analysis of the qualitative data, it is notable that the reflections of the students are lacking and inadequate
in each sub-dimension of reflective thinking, namely, questioning, reasoning and evaluation sub-dimensions, as well as in this
ability in general.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Mathematics education, Middle school students, Problem solving, Reflective thinking skill, Reflective thinking skill
Kaynakça
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