Problem-Posing in Mathematics Teacher Formation: a study in teaching practice

Abstract

This investigation is part of a larger research project on the Implementation of Research Results in Problem Solving and Problem Posing and presents a design experiment cycle of implementation of Problem Posing Tasks carried out with future mathematics teachers in practice as a curricular component. The research is qualitative and interpretative, with an empirical basis supported by design-based implementation research. The objectives of this study are to implement Problem Posing Tasks in the initial formation of mathematics teachers, to support future teachers in building relevant beliefs about problem posing, and to contribute to the constitution of a knowledge base about problem posing in the initial formation of mathematics teachers. The prevailing belief among the future teachers was that the teacher's role is to design or adapt problems, while the students' role is to solve them. The results suggest that the undergraduates had no previous experience of posing problems. There was a conflict over what problem solving and problem posing meant and limiting beliefs about Problem Posing. Providing problem-posing experiences for pre-service teachers is a powerful strategy for revising their beliefs and a possibility for providing future math teachers with professional learning opportunities.

Keywords
Implementing research results; Design-based research; Problem-posing; Practice as a curricular component; Teachers' beliefs