Investigation of the effect of Go (Baduk) education on problem solving processes and thinking styles

According to the report published by the World Economic Forum in 2020, the top five skills that will be needed most in 2025 are analytical thinking and innovation, active learning and learning strategies, complex problem solving, critical thinking and analysis, creativity, originality, and initiative. Problem-solving skill has always taken their place among the essential skill areas that an individual needs to develop. On the other hand, mathematics has an important place in developing this skill by providing logical thinking and reasoning ability. For this reason, the research's primary purpose is to examine the effect of the Go game instructional design, which was prepared by taking into account the problem-solving steps of Polya, on the students' problem-solving processes and thinking styles. A quantitative research method, a single group pre-test-post-test design, was used to achieve this aim. When the literature is examined, it has been seen that the Go (Baduk) education program and curricula, which are widely played in Asian countries, are included in their curricula. Still, although various tools are used in teaching mathematics with games in Turkey, the Go strategy game was used for the first time in this study. 18 volunteer elementary mathematics teacher candidates participated in the research in the summer term of 2021. The study used Cable Reel and Airplane Boarding Activities, Thinking Styles Scale, and opinion form as data collection tools. The data obtained as a result of the study were analyzed statistically. When the findings that emerged as a result of the analysis are interpreted, it can be stated that the GO education process has a positive effect on the problem-solving skills of teacher candidates