Abstract
This study examines preservice teachers’ perspectives of creativity and character education in mathematics through a university-based teacher education program. We developed a curricular unit on creative character education in a mathematics methods course and investigated participants’ (n = 56) emerging perspectives of teaching creativity and character by the integration of content and process in mathematics. Data were collected through pre- and post-questionnaires and transcribed course discussion and presentation sessions. A quantitative analysis of the questionnaires through a t-test confirmed key changes in participants’ perspectives, while the qualitative context of data illustrates the participants’ emergent views on creative character education in mathematics. Overall, findings suggest that a mathematics teacher education curriculum integrating mathematical creativity and character education has the potential to prepare future educators to implement pedagogy that bridges between process and content in school mathematics for the next generation of learners.
Highlights
Today’s classrooms are on the brink of a technological and industrial revolution that can fundamentally change the way we think about teaching and learning
The t-test results presented in Table 6 suggest that the perceived benefits of storytelling on mathematical creativity include the usefulness of mathematics, inquisitive mindset, and imagination
To contextualize the significant relationship between storytelling and mathematical creativity evident in the quantitative data, we present our findings from the qualitative data
Summary
Today’s classrooms are on the brink of a technological and industrial revolution that can fundamentally change the way we think about teaching and learning. Our students need to inquire into the many ever-changing ways in which knowledge is constructed, connected, and created; we believe creativity is deeply rooted in such activities that expand knowledge. With the potential to connect people with diverse cultural assets across geographies and disciplines, a character education curriculum which provides the positive social experiences of building trust and relationships with others in the classroom community is increasingly important [1,2]. The Korean Ministry of Education [6] identified creativity and character building education as an important future educational practice for our students. Research in teacher education initially investigated ways of training teachers to foster student creativity [8,9], while recent research has underscored the role of teachers in supporting students as they develop creativity and character [10]
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