Young students’ views on problem solving versus problem posing

Abstract

For decades, problem solving has been of interest to researchers, and several studies have tried to capture the influence of students’ beliefs, attitudes and emotions towards mathematics and problem solving. However, problem posing as part of problem solving has not been investigated to the same extent. This article focuses on six-year-olds’ views on solving and posing problems. How do the students themselves describe their views on solving and posing problem-solving tasks, and what similarities and differences can be found? An educational design research study was conducted in three classes where the students first solved and then posed problem-solving tasks. Afterwards, the students were interviewed. In these interviews the students expressed positive views towards both solving and posing problem-solving tasks. The students expressed autonomy and challenge as positive when both solving and posing tasks. However, a posed task needed to be solved before being finished. Further, not all students considered problem posing to be a mathematical activity, and a plausible explanation for this is the students’ limited experience of problem posing.