Mathematical creative thinking ability in middle school students’

Abstract

The mathematical creative thinking ability in this study is the ability to think which involves elements of fluency, flexibility, originality, or elaboration, in the process of solving mathematical problems. This study aims at determining the mathematical creative thinking ability of junior high school students in solving the problem of the plane figure. To do so, first, 28 students in the 7th grade (12-13- years-old) from a junior high school in Indonesia were given four plane figure problems. The problems were developed based on indicators of creative thinking ability. Then, three of the students were selected based on the prior mathematical ability to represent the creative thinking ability of all students. The interviews were conducted to confirm the students’ answers. Finally, the results of student answers were analyzed based on indicators of creative thinking ability. The results of the study show that overall students were able to make new problems from the information presented, although the solution they wrote has not been systematically structured. In this case, the most visible students’ creative thinking element is flexibility.