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Significance of creativity and its development in mathematics classes for preservice teachers who are not trained to develop students’ creativity

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Abstract

This research investigates the significance that the development of creativity in mathematics classes has for the preservice teachers from a master’s program in secondary school teaching, who are not trained on how to develop creativity. In the master’s final projects, preservice teachers reflect on their teaching practice at school and propose changes to improve it. In their reflection, some preservice teachers mention creativity and its enhancement. We did a document analysis and classified the comments about creativity from 198 master’s final projects focusing on the question: Which aspects of the teaching and learning process are related to creativity? Categories are based on didactic suitability criteria, the tool that participants use to analyze their teaching practice. Preservice teachers relate creativity and its development to several elements of the teaching and learning process. Most of the comments are associated with tasks where students can develop mathematical processes (argumentation, problem posing, modeling). They also identify the use of technology or manipulatives and the cooperative work as factors that could foster students’ creativity. We conclude that a significant number of preservice teachers assume that students’ creativity can be developed at school, particularly in mathematics classes. For them, creativity indirectly stems from the work on other aspects that are actually implemented in the classes.

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Data availability

Master’s final projects are public documents, but they are not Internet accessible. They are kept in the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Plaça Cívica, Campus de la UAB. 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona). If someone wants to revise the MFP, they can ask for them to the authors.

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Funding

This work is part of the research project PGC2018-098603-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), with the support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund (2019FI_B1 00032), and the Programa Juan de la Cierva-Formación 2017 (FJCI-2017-34021).

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  1. Department of Linguistic and Literary Education and Teaching and Learning of Experimental Sciences and Mathematics, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron 171, 08035, Barcelona, Spain

    Alicia Sánchez, Vicenç Font & Adriana Breda

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  1. Alicia Sánchez
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  2. Vicenç Font
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  3. Adriana Breda
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Contributions

Alicia Sánchez and Vicenç Font designed the work. Alicia Sánchez searched for the comments in the MFP (steps 1 and 2 of data analysis in the methodology section). All authors participated in the data analysis and interpretation, and classifying of the comments consensually. Alicia Sánchez was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. Vicenç Font and Adriana Breda substantively revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vicenç Font.

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Sánchez, A., Font, V. & Breda, A. Significance of creativity and its development in mathematics classes for preservice teachers who are not trained to develop students’ creativity. Math Ed Res J 34, 863–885 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-021-00367-w

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