Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding

Danielle Bevan; Mary Margaret Capraro

doi:10.29333/iejme/11109

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Danielle Bevan ¹ ^* , Mary Margaret Capraro ¹

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¹ Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Posing problems in the mathematics classroom can enhance students’ learning experiences and allow them to produce problems in a realistic context. Students do not always associate positive feelings with mathematics. Problem-posing activities can positively impact students’ mathematical understanding while allowing for freedom of expression. Conducted within a larger multi-year study (N = 35), the present study utilized a subset of data (n = 11) on elementary students. The primary focus was to understand how a problem-posing intervention can increase students’ mathematical understanding and ability to pose solvable problems. Problems posed by students were coded based on their solvability and then were further analyzed for their realism, context, and flexibility in computational terminology as well as the correct alignment of the word problem with the student’s written equation. Results suggest elementary students can create solvable word problems within a variety of different contexts.

Keywords

attitudes
elementary students
mathematical creativity
problem posing
solvable problems

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 16, Issue 3, October 2021, Article No: em0654

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109

Publication date: 23 Jul 2021

Article Views: 3024

Article Downloads: 2790

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Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

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How to cite this article

APA

Bevan, D., & Capraro, M. M. (2021). Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 16(3), em0654. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109

Vancouver

Bevan D, Capraro MM. Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2021;16(3):em0654. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109

AMA

Bevan D, Capraro MM. Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2021;16(3), em0654. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109

Chicago

Bevan, Danielle, and Mary Margaret Capraro. "Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2021 16 no. 3 (2021): em0654. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109

Harvard

Bevan, D., and Capraro, M. M. (2021). Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 16(3), em0654. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109

MLA

Bevan, Danielle et al. "Posing Creative Problems: A Study of Elementary Students’ Mathematics Understanding". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 16, no. 3, 2021, em0654. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11109