The purpose of this research was to examine elementary school students‟ proportional reasoning
and realistic problem solving skills. 570 students from elementary schools who were chosen through random
sampling in a district of a province in the south of Turkey participated in the study (290 females and 280 males).
As a data collection tool, a problem test, developed based on the literature with 4 problems requiring
proportional reasoning and 4 problems requiring realistic answers, was used. Interviews were conducted with 30
students to determine how students respond to problem situations that require students to employ realistic
interpretations and thoughts while solving these problems. Analysis of the data collected has shown that the
students are more succesful at proportional reasoning problems than realistic problems.
Key words: Proportional reasoning, realistic response, problem solving.
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