The City as a Tool for STEAM Education: Problem-Posing in the Context of Math Trails

Abstract

This study presents an experience that combines problem-posing and Math Trails in the context of future teachers’ instruction. Pre-service teachers in the third year of their studies were faced with the design of tasks to be included in Math Trails for primary school students. The study analyzes, from a quantitative approach, 117 tasks contained in 11 Math Trails. The analysis was performed on the basis of classification variables (grade, mathematical content and object or real element involved in every task) and research variables which provide information about the nature of the tasks (procedural vs. problem-solving, level of cognitive demand, degree of contextualization, openness and creativity). Additionally, relationships between the different categories of analysis have been studied. The results reveal certain biases in the tasks in relation to the contents addressed (an abundance of tasks with a geometric component and a scarcity of tasks involving algebra or probability concepts). Most of the tasks are presented in a real context. However, a higher percentage of procedural tasks than problem-solving tasks is observed, with a predominance of low openness, creativity and cognitive demand. These results provide useful lines of work to address difficulties faced by future teachers in the STEAM field.