摘要：Paper folding studies are quite effective in the development of students’ visual and
spatial skills. The “paper” used in these studies is a genuine tool that can support the development
of geometric habits of mind as well as the visual-spatial skills. This is an action research aimed to
investigate the potential of paper folding to improve students’ geometric thinking skills and to
enhance their achievement in national exams. The improvement in their geometric thinking was
investigated based on the framework of the Geometric Habits of Mind. This study was carried out
with three students studying in the 11th grade. Four geometry questions were asked to students,
and they were expected to solve these questions by paper folding. The solution process was videorecorded.
Video-recordings were transcribed, and the obtained data were qualitatively analyzed
within the framework of the components of the geometric habits of mind. As a result of the study,
it was seen that the students were able to reach solutions more easily by concretizing the intangible
questions through paper folding. The students were able to comprehend the fact that the main
components of triangles don’t change; that is, they are preserved (the angles and the sides do not
change).
关键词：geometrical thinking; geometric habits of mind; investigating invariants; paper folding
