Generated Worthwhile Problem Promoting Algebraic Thinking: From Pattern Exploration to Generalization
Linda Devi Fitriana

Abstract

Algebraic thinking has been a central to the mathematics curriculum. Its development is regarded as critical for solving mathematical problems. As algebraic thinking among Indonesian students and prospective mathematics teachers has been found less satisfying, this research aims to depict a mathematical problem-posing lesson resulting in a generated problem that potentially promotes algebraic thinking. By involving three Indonesian prospective teachers, this study leads to answering the question: What does instruction using a problem-posing approach look like, and how does the self-proposed problem promote algebraic thinking? The data comes from one episode of problem-posing workshop. In the lesson, the participants were asked to pose problems based on the given picture, choose one of the posed problems, and discuss the solution. The lesson was analyzed qualitatively in nature, which revealed that in addition to prospective teachers being able to compose mathematical tasks, mathematical problem-posing promotes the emergence of manifestation stimulating algebraic thinking. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail.

Keywords: Problem-posing- Algebraic-thinking- Prospective teachers

Topic: Mathematics Education