An investigation of gifted 7th grade students' problem-posing skills on equations through illustrations

This study examined the characteristics of mathematical problems generated by gifted students during problem-posing tasks, the complexity levels of these problems, and students' perceptions of mathematical creativity and self-efficacy in problem posing. The research was conducted with seventh-grade gifted students enrolled in a Science and Art Center (BILSEM) in the Marmara Region of Türkiye. Over a six-week implementation period, students were assigned problem-posing tasks related to equations, and the complexity of the problems they produced was analyzed in relation to task difficulty. In addition, students' levels of mathematical creativity—measured through fluency, flexibility, and originality—were identified, and the complexity of the problems they posed was compared across different levels of creativity. Furthermore, students' self-efficacy perceptions regarding problem posing were assessed before and after the intervention using the Problem-Posing Self-Efficacy Scale. The findings indicated that students generated problems at varying levels of complexity depending on task difficulty; that significant differences existed in problem complexity between students with high and low creativity levels; and that their self-efficacy perceptions showed positive improvement after the intervention. These results highlight the importance of problem-posing activities in fostering the mathematical thinking skills of gifted students.