Investigating mathematical creativity through the connection between creative abilities in problem posing and problem solving

Abstract

The majority of existing research have repeatedly embedded problem solving and problem posing in the assessment of students’ mathematical creativity, but there is a lack of studies focusing on the relationship between these two regarding mathematical creativity. In this study, we aimed to examine whether there is a relationship between the constructs of creative ability in mathematical problem posing (CAMPP) and creative ability in mathematical problem solving (CAMPS) and to examine the structure of this relationship through confirmatory factor analysis. The participants were 187 sixth-grade students in Turkey. Data were collected by two creative ability tests, namely CAMPP and CAMPS. We used a rubric to characterize mathematical creativity by interpreting scores of in the dimensions of creative ability (fluency, flexibility, and originality) in the context of problem solving and problem posing. The findings showed that mathematical problem posing and mathematical problem solving both constituted the constructs of CAMPP and CAMPS respectively, based on the dimensions of creative ability. Moreover, the structure of the relationship between the constructs of CAMPP and CAMPS can be explained better with a constituted higher-order factor of Creative Ability in Mathematics (CAM) rather than placing one of these factors as a sub-construct under the other one.