Solving Math Problems through the Principles of Scientific Creativity

Abstract

Ongoing changes in mental and personal characteristics of the modern child initiate the updating of means and forms of education. And they, in their turn, update methodological techniques and approaches to the use of methods during the math class. The source of updating methodological techniques may be the principles used when solving scientific problems. Scientific creativity traditionally systematizes knowledge and skills for their use to a wide range of sciences. Therefore, the principles of scientific creativity have a lot in common with different subjects, showing the student the unity of approaches in working with knowledge. In this regard, the article is aimed at substantiating the principles of scientific creativity as effective methodological techniques for finding solutions to math problems and, on their basis, developing recommendations for conducting classes that prepare for final certification at school in mathematics. The leading research methods in this case are: observation of the methodological work of teachers of mathematics, conversations with teachers, analysis of guidance papers and questionnaires of teachers, statistical processing of research results. In 2018-2019 the experiment in which 19 mathematics teachers took part was conducted. Based on its results the authors of the article succeeded in: highlighting the principles of finding solutions to math problems based on the approaches used in scientific creativity; developing and implementing on the basis of these principles recommendations for conducting classes that prepare for final certification at school in mathematics. The effectiveness of using the principles of finding solutions to math problems was assessed. It allowed the authors to conclude that students have an increase in the speed of finding solutions to math problems by an average of 11%. Practical use of the proposed principles makes it possible to organize training for schoolchildren in solving math problems in traditional forms of teaching, but taking into account the particularities of the development of the modern schoolchild. Methodological recommendations developed by the authors can be used to teach students how to find solutions to math problems during classes that prepare for final certification at school in mathematics.

Mathematical Problems as a Means of Developing Students’ Research Skills in the Context of School Education Content Updating

“…The main features of a creative task: the problem formulated in the problem may not be explicitly defined; the condition of the problem does not contain instructions on what knowledge needs to be applied; the condition of the problem may contain inaccurate or insufficient data; the problem may have two or more solutions; the result of the task is unknown, and the means of achieving it are unknown. (Abylkasymova A.E., 2018;Yustinskaya, 2020;Utemov et al, 2020;Ramankulov et al, 2019).…”

Bibliometric Analysis of Scientific Creativity Studies in WoS and Scopus Databases

“…Literature has shown that the contents of the recent studies related to scientific creativity are as follows: impact and relationships of different learning and teaching approaches and activities on scientific creativity (Akcanca & Cerrah Ozsevgec, 2017;Astutik, Susantini, Madlazim, Mohamad, & Supeno, 2020;Dewantara, Mahtari, Nur, Yuanita, & Sunarti, 2020;Karademir, 2016;Kozhevnikov, Kozhevnikov, Yu, & Blazhenkova 2013;Panjaitan & Siagian, 2020;Siew & Ambo, 2020;Wicaksono, 2020;Wulansari, Rusnayati, Saepuzaman, Karim, & Feranie, 2019;Zhao, Zhang, Heng, & Qi, 2021;Zhou, 2021), the effects of STEM and STEAM applications on scientific creativity (Calisici & Benzer, 2021;Genek & Doganca Kucuk, 2020;Rasul et al, 2018;Siew & Ambo, 2020), the effects of different thinking models on scientific creativity and the relationships between them (Demir, 2015;Forthmann, Szardenings, & Dumas, 2020;Vries & Lubart, 2017;Wulansari et al, 2019;Zhu, Shang, Jiang, Pei, & Su, 2019), perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs related to scientific creativity and the impact of scientific creativity on academic achievement (Calisici & Benzer, 2021;Demirhan & Sahin, 2021;Lee & Park, 2021;Ndeke, Okere, & Keraro, 2016), evaluation of the relationship between problem-solving skills, questioning skills, and scientific process skills, and scientific creativity (Chen, Hu, & Plicher 2016;Panjaitan & Siagian, 2020;Utemov et al, 2020;Yang et al, 2016;Dewantara et al, 2020), effects of science games and toys, animations, and WEB tutorials on scientific creativity (Atesgoz & Sak, 2021;Demir Kacan, 2015;…”

Mathematics learning orientation: Mathematical creative thinking ability or creative disposition?

“…Creativity is a 21st-century skill, according to the 21st Century Skills Partnership (21st Century Skills Map, 2012). Creativity in solving mathematical problems holds a pivotal role in determining the problem's focal point, linking its constituent elements, and facilitating the exploration of various solutions for problem-solving (de Vink et al, 2022;Schindler & Lilienthal, 2022;Utemov et al, 2020). The study's findings convey that mathematical creativity helps create space for students to analyze mathematical problems and reach a higher level of mathematical problem-solving ability (Sinniah et al, 2022).…”