Investigation of the Mathematical Reasoning Skill Levels of Mathematics Education Students

This study was conducted with a total of 174 students studying in the primary school mathematics education and secondary school mathematics education undergraduate programs of the faculty of education of a university in the spring term of the 2015-2016 academic year in order to determine the skill levels of mathematical reasoning levels of primary school and secondary school mathematics education students. The quantitative research approach was adopted in the study. The survey method was used in the study, and the two-stage “Mathematical Reasoning Evaluation Scale” consisting of 20 multiple-choice and six open-ended questions was used as a data collection tool. During the data analysis, the mathematical reasoning score was determined by examining the answers given by each student to the test. According to the results of the study, it is observed that the mathematical reasoning skills of primary school mathematics education and secondary school mathematics education students are at the intermediate level. When primary and secondary school mathematics education students were compared, it was concluded that secondary school students were more successful than primary school students on average. Furthermore, when the dimensions of the scale are considered, it is observed that students' correctly answering percentages decreased in the dimensions of being able to decide the correctness of the solution and the result, developing reasonable discussions for the solution and solving non-routine problems