Examining mathematical creativity of prospective mathematics teachers through problem posing

Abstract

Abstract Students’ use of problem posing is an assessment tool for evaluating mathematical creativity, and it plays a substantial role in creative tasks. Integrating problem-posing tasks into a curriculum is beneficial for teaching and learning mathematics. The Photo-Math Project is an example of problem posing in terms of generating new problems. This study aimed to explore mathematical creativity in the problem posing of prospective mathematics teachers in the context of Photo-Math Projects. Data were collected from focus group interviews and Photo-Math Projects conducted in a calculus course for 22 first-year students studying at a mathematics education department in Turkey. The content of the calculus course included the function, limit and derivative concepts. Participants completed their Photo-Math Projects in 8 weeks. The challenges encountered while generating problems resulted in prospective mathematics teachers posing problems creatively. Sixteen prospective mathematics teachers were identified at the first and second levels of creativity, representing the domain-specific algorithm and the domain-specific algorithm and applications of definitions, respectively. Only four prospective mathematics teachers posed problems at the third level of creativity, representing the theoretical aspects of mathematical constructs such as theorems and definitions. In conclusion, the mathematical creativity that we assessed through students’ use of problem posing depends on students’ previous experiences.