ERIC Number: EJ1436900
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0020-739X
EISSN: EISSN-1464-5211
Available Date: N/A
An Empirical Study of Mathematical Creativity and Students' Opinions on Multiple Solution Tasks
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, v55 n9 p2170-2190 2024
Creativity and problem solving are considered to be twenty-first-century competencies, therefore promoting mathematical creativity should be an important part of school mathematics. The study presented in this paper is inspired by the notion of mathematical creativity and the utilization of multiple solution tasks (MSTs) to investigate students' creativity. Multiple solution tasks are mathematical tasks with an explicit requirement to be solved with different methods. For the purpose of the study, we used a textbook question which allows multiple solution pathways as our research instrument. This MST was administered to first-year mathematics students (18-20 years) along with additional questions related to their experience in school mathematics. The results of the study showed that students had difficulties complying with the demands of the task, but generally have a positive disposition toward MSTs. Moreover, the results underline the necessity of incorporating MSTs in mathematics classroom teaching to create a more coherent corpus of mathematical knowledge. The study also provides an example of how a regular textbook task can be used as an MST.
Descriptors: College Mathematics, Creativity, Student Attitudes, Problem Solving, College Freshmen, Student Experience, Barriers, Mathematical Concepts, Foreign Countries, Geometric Concepts, Opinions
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Croatia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A