The transition from school to university mathematics presents academic, emotional and social challenges for many students. In response, Mathematical Thinking Workshops were introduced at the University of Cape Town to support first-year science students in developing reflective, strategic approaches to mathematical learning. The workshops aimed to foster conceptual understanding, metacognitive regulation and a stronger sense of mathematical identity through collaborative problem-solving and structured reflection. This study qualitatively evaluates how students perceive the workshop’s impact, which aspects are most beneficial, and what challenges arise. Data were collected through six focus group interviews with 17 workshop participants. Reflexive thematic analysis was used, informed by theories of identity, metacognition, adaptive expertise and sociocultural learning. Five themes emerged: (1) Reflectiveu00a0u2026