Background. Creativity requires both divergent and convergent thinking. Previous research established that divergent thinking relates to mathematics performance, but generally ignored the role of convergent thinking and, hence, leaves it unclear how both might interact when children work on mathematical tasks. This study addressed this paucity in the research literature, with the goal of improving our understanding of the role of creative thinking in primary school mathematics.Aims. This study examined how divergent and convergent thinking contribute to mathematics performance, both directly and jointly, on single-and multiple-solution tasks.Sample. The study was conducted with 229 Dutch fifth graders of 12 primary schools.Method. Divergent and convergent thinking were measured with a visual and verbal task. Path analysis was used including verbal and visual divergent and convergent thinking tasks in relation to single-and multiple-solution mathematics task performance. Working memory was included as a covariate.Results. Verbal convergent thinking positively predicted single-and multiple-solution task performance. Verbal divergent and convergent thinking interacted in relation to single-solution task performance, while visual divergent and convergent thinking interacted in relation to multiple-solution task performance.Conclusions. Children's mathematics performance mainly relies on convergent thinking. The role of divergent thinking is twofold: it complements convergent thinking on multiple-solution tasks and compensates convergent thinking on single-solution tasks.The ability to solve mathematical problems lies at the heart of primary school mathematics education (Schoenfeld, 2014; Sriraman & English, 2010). When students solve a mathematics problem, creative thinking allows them to connect problem elements and find different ways to arrive at a solution (Hadamard, 1996;Mann, 2005). Therefore, creativity is pivotal to teach students. However, teachers struggle to incorporate creativity in mathematics education (Kaufman & Baer, 2004). To effectively support teachers to incorporate creativity, it is crucial that we gain more insight into creativity by investigatingThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

In this study, we explored the structure of pupils' creativity in primary education following the Amusement Park Theory, by investigating undiscovered linkages between the domains of writing, mathematics, and drawing. More specifically, we examined: (a) whether some domains and general thematic areas are more closely related to each other than to others, (b) whether literacy and mathematical ability are specific underlying traits of creativity in writing and mathematics, respectively, and (c) whether intelligence and divergent thinking are related to creativity in all domains. The sample consisted of 331 Dutch 4th grade pupils. For each research question, a model was analyzed using structural equation modeling. We found creativity in mathematics and creativity in writing to be most similar, followed by creativity in mathematics and creativity in drawing, with creativity in writing and creativity in drawing being least similar. Additionally, we found evidence for several underlying traits (i.e., literacy ability and mathematical ability) and initial requirements of creativity (i.e., intelligence and divergent thinking), none of which were important for creativity in only one domain, and of which only intelligence was important for creativity in all domains. Herewith, our study provides insights regarding the complexity of the structure of creativity in primary education.

Recent research suggests that bounded number line tasks, often used to measure number sense, measure proportion estimation instead of pure number estimation. The latter is thought to be measured in recently developed unbounded number line tasks. Children with dyscalculia use less mature strategies on unbounded number lines than typically developing children. In this qualitative study, we explored strategy use in bounded and unbounded number lines in adults with (N = 8) and without dyscalculia (N = 8). Our aim was to gain more detailed insights into strategy use. Differences in accuracy and strategy use between individuals with and without dyscalculia on both number lines may enhance our understanding of the underlying deficits in individuals with dyscalculia. We combined eye-tracking and Cued Retrospective Reporting (CRR) to identify strategies on a detailed level. Strategy use and performance were highly similar in adults with and without dyscalculia on both number lines, which implies that adults with dyscalculia may have partly overcome their deficits in number sense. New strategies and additional steps and tools used to solve number lines were identified, such as the use of the previous target number. We provide gaze patterns and descriptions of strategies that give important first insights into new strategies. These newly defined strategies give a more in-depth view on how individuals approach a number lines task, and these should be taken into account when studying number estimations, especially when using the unbounded number line.

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