An examination of 7th grade students' geometry problem posing processes and their effects on creativity

Problem posing has been a remarkable role for the development of mathematical understanding in recent years. Many countries are making efforts to use them effectively in mathematics classes. Problem posing has a positive effect on mathematical thinking and learning. Therefore, it is very important for education. In our country, posing problems has entered our education system with the constructivism. Environments for create their own problems come to the forefront with an innovative education approach. Studies show that problem posing is still rarely used in the classroom in our country. It has been overshadowed by problem solving. The researches related to problem solving are also discussed with certain perspectives. More studies are conducted in order to determine the problem posing skills and to examine its relationship with the problem-solving issue. In addition, there are fewer studies on the relationship between creativity and problem posing. In addition, lack of the number of investigations on geometry issues and problem posing processes was remarkable. Starting from these situations, the idea of investigating problem posing processes and creativity in geometry is appeared. In this study, it is aimed to examine the problem posing processes of seventh grade students and to investigate the effect of their creativity on geometry. Experimental method was used to examine whether the problem posing activities had an impact on their creativity. In the experimental method, the program designed for problem posing was applied to the students. "Problem Paper"," Problem Solving Questions" and "Problem Posing Activities" were used as data collection tools within this program. Problem-building activities were created by considering creativity components. In order to examine the creativity levels of the participants, "Torrance Creative Thinking Tests" were used. Qualitative research methods were used to obtain information about students' problem posing processes. "Interview Form" was used for it. The study group of this study consisted of seventh grade students (n = 78) in a public school in a district of Tekirdağ province in the spring term of 2016-2017 academic year. Content and descriptive analysis technique was used in in the study. SPSS statistical program was used to analyze the relationship between problem posing with creativity and problem solving. The findings of the study showed that students make use of structures related to shape/drawing or context when constructing problems. It has emerged that in cases of problem formation, students sometimes act with the same and different approaches. It was understood that in cases of similar problems, the students were more dependent on the form or verbal structure in the context. However, in many problems established by the students, missing or faulty situations were detected in terms of data, information and drawing. In addition, it was understood that the students were not very fluent and flexible when posing problems. In the research, it was understood that students experienced similar processes while constructing problems in geometry. These processes are expressed in understanding, decision-making, implementation, control-correction and product phases. During the problem-setting process, it was understood that the students started by understanding the problem-solving situation given, decided in certain ways, then applied and, if desired, corrected-checked and formed the product (problem).It was found that the difference between the students' creativity pre-test and post-test averages created significant differences in favor of post-test scores. The relationship between students' problem solving and problem solving performances was found to be high and positive. As a result of this research, it was found that the problem-building program applied positively contributed to the creativity of the students. In addition, the research has given results in terms of the students' problem formation processes in geometry, the relationship between problem solving and creativity. According to the results obtained in the study, suggestions were made for the studies on problem posing.