Incorporating Problem-Posing into Sixth-Grade Mathematics Classes

Abstract

Problem-posing is an essential component of mathematics education because, among other reasons, when students are given the opportunity to pose their problems, they can take ownership of their learning and become more engaged in the given subject. Thus, problem-posing can lead to a deeper understanding of the studied mathematical concepts. In a collaborative action research study, the authors explored whether well-structured problem-posing activities could be incorporated into classes with students of mixed ability in mathematics. This question is addressed by examining the correlation between students’ mathematics grades and problem-posing success. The problem-posing approach used in this paper relies on problem solving as a parallel activity. Hence, the study also focuses on the relationship between problem posing and problem solving. The paper presents the results of a classroom experiment with 86 sixth-grade students and their teachers from Hungary and Romania. After evaluating the students’ problem-posing products and problem-solving performances, the results show that problem posing, based on a worked-out model problem, is a feasible challenge for most students. Moreover, this experiment identified a direct relationship between successful problem posing and problem solving.

Keywords

• lower secondary education
• teaching through problem posing
• mathematical problem posing
• mathematical problem solving
• active learning framework