Students’ Creative Process in Mathematics: Insights from Eye-Tracking-Stimulated Recall Interview on Students’ Work on Multiple Solution Tasks

Abstract

Students' creative process in mathematics is increasingly gaining significance in mathematics education research. Researchers often use Multiple Solution Tasks (MSTs) to foster and evaluate students' mathematical creativity. Yet, research so far predominantly had a product-view and focused on solutions rather than the process leading to creative insights. The question remains unclear how students' process solving MSTs looks like-and if existing models to describe (creative) problem solving can capture this process adequately. This article presents an explorative, qualitative case study, which investigates the creative process of a school student, David. Using eyetracking technology and a stimulated recall interview, we trace David's creative process. Our findings indicate what phases his creative process in the MST involves, how new ideas emerge, and in particular where illumination is situated in this process. Our case study illustrates that neither existing models on the creative process, nor on problem solving capture David's creative process fully, indicating the need to partially rethink students' creative process in MSTs.

Notions of Creativity in Mathematics Education Research: a Systematic Literature Review

“…In creativity research, MSTs have become an established activity. Schindler and Lilienthal (2020), for example, use an MST to investigate mathematical creativity as a process in its phases-and connect MSTs to stage models of the creative process such as the ones offered by Wallas (1926) and Hadamard (1945).…”

“…One reason may be the difficulty to investigate the creative process in situ-which is methodologically challenging. Yet, one promising methodological tool to investigate the creative process in its phases has been used by Schindler and Lilienthal (2020). They illustrate how the analysis of students' eye movements, together with retrospective, stimulated-recall interviews, can shed light on the phases of the creative process, especially incubation (and what they call "mini-incubation").…”

“…Mathematics educators aim to prepare students for their present and future lives in increasingly automated and interconnected societies and economies (OECD, 2014)-and, in turn, mathematics education research often addresses creativity (see, e.g. Leikin & Pitta-Pantazi, 2013;Schindler & Lilienthal, 2020;Sheffield, 2013;Singer, 2018).…”

“…Liljedahl, 2013). The body of research on creativity in mathematics education research is rich and diverse (Leikin, 2009;Schindler & Lilienthal, 2020;Sriraman, 2005).…”

Can an Educational Activity Program Based on Feuerstein’s Program and Gardner’s Theory Increase Excellence and Creativity in Math in Omani Students?

“…The topic of students' creative process in mathematics is increasingly gaining significance in all countries of the world. Researchers often use Multiple Solution Tasks (MSTs) to foster and evaluate students' mathematical creativity (Schindler & Lilienthal, 2019).However, perspectives on creativity in mathematics education research are diverse and there is no single shared definition or even a shared conceptualization of mathematical creativity (Singer, 2018). Yet, research so far predominantly has a product-view and focused on solutions rather than the process leading to creative insights (Schindler & Lilienthal, 2019).…”