Abstract Using data from a problem-posing project, this study analyzed the characteristics of middle school students’ responses to problem-posing prompts that did not match our assumptions and expectations to better understand student thinking. The study found that the characteristics of middle school students’ unexpected responses were distributed across three different problem-posing processes: 1) orientation responses related to different interpretations of the problem-posing prompt or situation accounted for the majority; 2) connection responses related to making connections among pieces of information accounted for the second most common type; and 3) generation responses related to generation of problems only accounted for a very small proportion. Additionally, it was found that the problem-posing prompts influenced the distribution of types of unexpected responses. These findings contribute to our understanding of problem-posing processes and have implications for the design of problem-posing tasks. Most importantly, this analysis reveals that even though these responses are unexpected, students’ responses make sense to them and our objective should be to make sense of their responses.
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On understanding mathematical problem-posing processes
Problem posing engages students in generating new problems based on given situations (including mathematical expressions or diagrams) or changing (i.e., reformulating) existing problems. Problem posing has been at the forefront of discussion over the past few decades. One of the important topics studied is the process of problem posing as experienced by students and teachers. This paper focuses on problem-posing processes and models thereof. We first provide an overview of previous research and then present the results of a scoping review regarding recent research on problem-posing processes. This review covers 75 papers published between 2017 and 2022 in top mathematics education research journals. We found that some of the prior research directly attempted to examine problem-posing processes, whereas others examined task variables related to problem-posing processes. We conclude this paper by proposing a model for problem-posing processes that encompasses four phases: orientation, connection, generation, and reflection. We also provide descriptions of the four phases of the model. The paper ends with suggestions for future research related to problem-posing processes in general and the problem-posing model proposed in particular.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2101552
- PAR ID:
- 10507731
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ZDM – Mathematics Education
- Volume:
- 56
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1863-9690
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 61 to 71
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Problem posing · Problem-posing processes · Problem-posing strategy · P-PBL
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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