Research On The Current Situation Of Mathematical Reasoning Abilities Of Grade 8 Students And Training Strategies

Mathematical reasoning ability is a core component of mathematical ability,and it is clearly identified as one of the nine core qualities at junior secondary level in the "Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education in Mathematics" issued by the Ministry of Education of China in 2022.Good mathematical reasoning ability can make students think clearly and logically,which can effectively improve their ability to analyse and solve problems,and also has a facilitating effect on the learning of other subjects.In this study,610 Grade 8 students from School A in Zhengzhou City and School B in Zhumadian City were selected to investigate the current situation,problems and factors influencing their mathematical reasoning ability by means of a qualitative and quantitative study.Firstly,we review the relevant literature to clarify the research questions,conduct a literature review,define the core concepts and determine the theoretical basis of this research.Secondly,the operational definition of mathematical literacy compiled by Wang Guangming’s team was referred to,and the framework for measuring mathematical reasoning ability in this research was constructed.Then,student test papers and questionnaires were developed,students were surveyed,and teachers were interviewed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of students’ mathematical reasoning ability and teachers’ understanding of mathematical reasoning ability.Finally,the results of the survey and data were analysed using EXCEL and SPSS software,and the results were combined to propose development strategies and prepare an instructional design.The conclusions are as follows:(1)Grade 8 students’ mathematical reasoning skills were overall at an intermediate or above level.On the process dimension,students performed significantly better than deductive reasoning;on the content dimension,students performed slightly better in probability and algebra than in geometry;on the situation dimension,students performed better in uncontextual mathematical problems than in familiar and unfamiliar contexts.(2)There were no significant differences in the mathematical reasoning ability of students by gender.However,in deductive reasoning,boys performed significantly better than girls;there was a significant difference in the level of mathematical reasoning ability between students from two different regional schools,with students from School A performing significantly better than those from School B.The reason for this is that students from School A have a higher level of mathematical reasoning ability than students from School B.The reasons for this are that students in School A performed better than students in School B in the areas of mathematical emotions,understanding of mathematics,reflective awareness of mathematics,construction of mathematical knowledge networks,learning resource management strategies,and perceptions of teachers’ teaching styles.(3)The problems of students’ mathematical reasoning ability include: unbalanced development of the ability of reasoning by reasoning and deductive reasoning;poor grasp of the essence of mathematical concepts and inability to transfer relevant knowledge;poor ability of mathematical language expression and unclear logical thinking;poor ability of reading mathematics and the difficulty of solving mathematical problems due to insufficient comprehension in the face of more complex problem situations.(4)There is a significant positive correlation between the students’ questionnaire,test scores and usual mathematics scores and each dimension of the questionnaire has a positive correlation with the test scores.The six endogenous aspects of the questionnaire sub-dimensions,in descending order of influence on the development of mathematical reasoning ability,were: learning attitudes,emotions,motivation,metacognitive strategies,cognitive strategies,and resource management strategies.Teachers’ teaching styles are an important external factor influencing students’ development of mathematical reasoning skills.In addition,the school environment and activities,as well as the family philosophy of education,are also important external factors influencing students’ development of mathematical reasoning skills.In response to the survey results,the following strategies are proposed: teachers should create problem situations carefully to Improving critical thinking skills;pay more attention to teaching concepts to lay the foundation of reasoning;develop reasoning in a holistic manner by synergistic development;pay attention to mathematical language expression to cultivate mathematical thinking.As for students,they should be positive and optimistic and develop a good learning mindset;they should be down-to-earth and develop scientific and reasonable learning strategies.In terms of environment,schools should take active measures to provide a good teaching environment;at home,parents should actively improve their own standards and pay attention to their children’s logical thinking development.The teaching cases "Theorem of the Interior Angles of Triangles" and "The Perfect Square Formula" are designed based on the cultivation strategies for the reference of front-line teachers.