Graph theory as a tool to track the growth of student's mathematical creativity

Abstract

The essence of studying mathematics is the growth of mathematical creativity. The candidate of mathematics teachers need to know how to cultivate the mathematical creativity to students at school. The problem: How to cultivate students' mathematical creativity through Graph Theory learning as the subject of lecturing? The goal, using Graph Theory as a tool to track the growth of mathematical creativity of students. The research method with qualitative approach which data analysis include: data reduction, data presentation, data interpretation, and conclusion/verification. The results of this research: (1) Graph theory can be used as a tool to cultivate the students' mathematical creativity, by applying it to the open ended problems. (2) Based on the solution of the open ended problems, interviews, and triangulation, the students' mathematical creativity can be grown. (3) The growth of students' mathematical creativity has the Good categorical tendency. Suggestions: (1) The students need to be motivated about the importance of mathematical creativity. (2) The growth of mathematical creativity should be tracked also through other the subjects lecturing.