Fostering Mathematical Creativity in the Classroom through Feedbacks

Abstract

Background: Given the importance of stimulating the creative potential of students in the classroom, it is relevant to investigate how the assessment of learning, especially the use of feedbacks, can contribute to this issue. Objectives: This article aims to discuss what characterises creative feedback in the mathematics field and illustrates this characterisation by reporting a pedagogical practice carried out with students attending the last year of high school in a Brazilian public school. Design: Qualitative analysis of reports of students who participated in a pedagogical activity. Settings and participants: Four students enrolled in the 3rd grade of high school integrated with professional education in a public educational institution in the Brazilian capital. The students participated voluntarily after an invitation to the institution. Data collection and analysis: The data was collected from recordings of video calls through Google Meet platform and students’ written production through WhatsApp instant messaging application. Results: The messages exchanged between the teacher and the students revealed that the feedback focused on developing creativity enabled them to create different and innovative ideas. Conclusions: Creative feedback proved to be an important concept to stimulate students’ mathematical creativity. We suggest research on critical thinking development through creative feedback and creative peer feedback for further investigations.