Non-routine problem-posing skills of prospective mathematics teachers

Abstract

Purpose: Problem-posing, an important component for developing mathematical thinking, is of great interest in integrating into classroom practice. Preservice and in-service teachers are expected to carry out high-quality problem-posing activities, and it is thought that non-routine problem-posing may be a good way to achieve this. In this context, this study focuses on non-routine problem-posing and aims to determine the characteristics of the problems that prospective mathematics teachers have posed. Research Methods: The study was carried out with 43 middle school prospective mathematics teachers in an elective course on problem-solving and problem-solving strategies. To analyse the data, descriptive analysis was carried out on the problems posed by prospective teachers. All problems were analysed according to the five criteria; problem type, contextuality, originality, complexity, and strategy. Findings: It has been determined that almost all of the problems have a single answer, include a context, have a low or medium level of complexity, and contain different problem-solving strategies. Although prospective teachers were asked to pose their own problems, almost half of them had posed similar, traditional problems. Implications for Research and Practice: These results show that prospective teachers can pose non-routine problems. Although this study provides some meaningful results, it is clear that it has limitations that require further investigation.