<![CDATA[This study explores how junior secondary school students generalise number patterns, viewed through Kilpatrick and Findell's framework of mathematical understanding, which covers conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, the research was conducted among 30 Year 8 students at an Islamic junior secondary school in Ambon City. A screening test, informal interviews, and repeated testing until data saturation identified two students, coded WNF and FF, who consistently demonstrated four key indicators of mathematical understanding: restating a concept in their own words, categorising objects based on whether they meet defining criteria, applying the concept through correct algorithms, and providing examples drawn from prior learning. NVIVO 12 Plus was used to map out and visualise each subject's line of reasoning. Data analysis followed the Miles and Huberman model, involving data collection, reduction, display, and conclusion drawing/verification. Findings revealed that both students progressed from a recursive strategy identifying the difference between consecutive terms toward a symbolic, correspondence-based strategy, expressing the nth term through either the arithmetic sequence formula Un = a + (n − 1)b or the quadratic formula Un = an² + bn + c. This shift reflected a coherent connection among conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, and adaptive reasoning, consistent with Kilpatrick and Findell's model. The study suggests that instruction on number patterns in junior secondary school should be intentionally structured to support students' movement from recursive to correspondence-based strategies, thereby deepening their overall mathematical understanding.]]>
