The relationship between pre-service teachers’ spatial thinking ability and their mathematical creativity in the context of problem posing

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to quantify the relationship between pre-service teachers’ spatial visualisation skills and their mathematical creativity through problem-posing tasks. A group of 62 pre-service teachers completed the Purdue Spatial Visualisation test and took the mathematical creativity test through problem-posing tasks. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients in SPSS-28 were employed to find the correlation between pre-service teachers’ spatial visualisation skills and their mathematical creativity (i.e. fluency, flexibility, and originality) through problem-posing tasks. Results showed a moderate to high correlation (r = .523) between pre-service teachers’ fluency scores and their spatial visualisation scores, and this correlation was statistically significant (p < .05). Similarly, the results showed a high correlation (r = .619, p < .05) between pre-service teachers’ flexibility scores and their spatial visualisation scores. However, the results also revealed a weak correlation (r = .218) between pre-service teachers’ originality scores and their spatial visualisation scores (p = .240). Possible explanations for these correlations in relation to existing studies about mathematical creativity and the implication for future studies are provided.