Investigating Mathematics Teachers Candidates’ Knowledge about Problem Solving Strategies through Problem Posing

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine mathematics teacher candidates’ knowledge about problem solving strategies through problem posing. This qualitative research was conducted with 95 mathematics teacher candidates studying at education faculty of a public university during the first term of the 2015-2016 academic year in Turkey. Problem Posing Test (PPT) was used as a data collection tool which developed by researcher. It consists of 5 open ended questions. It was prepared according to the free problem posing situations. Teacher candidates were asked to pose problems that can be solved using problem solving strategies and problems were examined and categorized based on content analysis. Problems that were in accordance with the strategy were mostly related to daily life and solvable. Clinical interviews were conducted with 10 teacher candidates. Although some teacher candidates have knowledge about problem solving strategies, they did not pose a problem and in some cases they made mistakes in solving the problems they posed. Many teacher candidates stated that they posed similar problems they saw in textbooks, rather than act creatively.

Keywords: problem posing, problem solving strategies, mathematics teachers candidates