How does students’ participation in a problem-solving project frame their view of what it means to be taught and to learn mathematics?

Jorryt van Bommel; Andreas Ebbelind; Hanna Palmér

doi:10.31129/LUMAT.14.4.2804

Authors

Jorryt van Bommel Dalarna University and Karlstad University, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6525-9871
Andreas Ebbelind Linnaeus University, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8452-6357
Hanna Palmér Linnaeus University, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2217-6624

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31129/LUMAT.14.4.2804

Keywords:

problem solving, problem posing, drawing, educational design research, primary mathematics

Abstract

The mathematics teaching that young students encounter affects not only the mathematics they are given the opportunity to learn but also their view of what mathematics is, how mathematics is taught, and how they view their own ability to learn mathematics. In this article, we explore how six-year-old students’ participation in an intervention focused on problem solving and problem posing is associated with differences in their views of what it means to be taught and to learn mathematics. We compare drawings of mathematics classrooms created by students from different classes, some of whom had participated in the intervention and others who had not. The results reveal notable differences in the actors and objects included in the drawings. The control group commonly drew textbooks, teachers, and mathematical symbols, whereas the intervention group also depicted other aspects, such as collaborative settings and manipulatives. Thus, a more diverse view of mathematics education appeared in the drawings of the students who participated in the intervention. We argue that these differences may be related to students’ experience with problem solving and problem posing, as well as to critical aspects of these activities, such as creativity and autonomy.

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