Examining the Numerosity Estimation Strategies and Skills Used by Middle School Students

This study examines the strategies used by middle school students in numerosity estimation and the level of closeness of their estimations to the actual value. A special case study method was used, and 71 students from fifth to eighth grades in a middle school in the Central Black Sea Region participated in the study. The data were analysed using descriptive and content analysis methods. During the analysis of the data, MAXQDA, a software program designed for computer-aided qualitative and mixed exchange data, text and multimedia analysis, was utilized. The findings were presented in the form of MAXQDA maps and quotations from the participants' answers were included. It was concluded that the students mostly made random estimations; that is, they did not use any strategies. Accordingly, it was revealed that they could not estimate close to the actual value, that is, their numerosity estimation skills were low. The most used strategy, other than random estimation, was benchmark comparison, and this strategy provided estimates closer to the actual value. It was also observed that the strategies changed depending on the situation to be estimated.