The process of problem posing: development of a descriptive phase model of problem posing

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop a descriptive phase model for problem-posing activities based on structured situations. For this purpose, 36 task-based interviews with pre-service primary and secondary mathematics teachers working in pairs who were given two structured problem-posing situations were conducted. Through an inductive-deductive category development, five types of activities (situation analysis, variation, generation, problem-solving, evaluation) were identified. These activities were coded in so-called episodes, allowing time-covering analyses of the observed processes. Recurring transitions between these episodes were observed, through which a descriptive phase model was derived. In addition, coding of the developed episode types was validated for its interrater agreement.