Used by Years 8 and 9 Students: Problem-Posing
Used by Years 8 and 9 Students: Problem-Posing
Used by Years 8 and 9 Students: Problem-Posing
Correct responses
this paper is a classification of mathematics
questions created by Years 8 and 9 students in
response to a problem-posing prompt based
on a specific question presented. Students responded to the problem-posing
prompt in various ways. Some students
The task
presented their questions precisely, in the
form of well-structured problems. Below is one
of Gloria’s responses which was classified a
At the beginning of the school year, two correct response:
classes of Years 8 and 9 students, without any
specific training in problem posing, were What would the answer be if the “–” was a “+”
invited to pose problems on the basis of the and “+” was a “–”?
6 amt 61 (3)
was also referred to as correct intermediate. 1. Rearrangement of numerical information
These were the problems that contained
surplus or insufficient information. Although Students rearranged the numerical informa-
some problems were not written precisely, tion in the initial problem in such a way that,
they contained important information about although the problem-posing product seemed
the problem-posing strategies developed by different, in fact, it was a problem that was
students. Problems with surplus information identical with the initial problem.
posed by Christine are presented below. In
this case, some of the brackets, for example Example 1: 3 × 25 – 4 + 15 ÷ 5
around 3 × 25 and 15, are not needed:
Example 2: –4 + 15 ÷ 5 + 3 × 25
Example 1: [(3 × 25) + (15)] ÷ (5 – 4)
The examples presented here illustrate how
Example 2: (3 × 25) + [(15) ÷ (5 – 4)] students applied the commutative law to
Problem-posing products
obtain problems identical with the given
Reformulation strategy
such as one, two or more pairs of brackets. For
example, some pupils used brackets to pose
problems identical with the initial one. These
When the problem-posing actions of students examples show students’ problem-posing prod-
resulted in a rearrangement of the elements in ucts incorporating one or two pairs of brackets
the problem structure in ways which did not that are irrelevant to the problem structure. In
change the nature of the problem, the problem- these cases the brackets are used in inappro-
posing strategy was defined as reformulation. priate ways, suggesting that students who posed
In other words, the problem-posing products these problems have a limited understanding of
are the same or identical to the given problem the hierarchy of mathematical operations.
and differ from the initial problem only in the
presentation of the information in the problem Example 1: (3 × 25) + (15 ÷ 5) – 4
statement. Students reformulated in different
ways, as shown in the following examples. Example 2: (3 × 25) + [(15 ÷ 5) – 4]
amt 61 (3) 7
3. Replacing mathematical operations
with equivalent forms
from the initial problem only in the presenta-
tion of its structure. The example below
provides examples of students’ interpretations
A few students retained the identity of the of the basic calculation in real-life contexts. In
problem by presenting some of the mathemat- the first two cases the students had expressed
ical operations in an equivalent form. to the teacher their frustration in trying to find
a suitable context in which to pose problems.
Example 1: 3(25) + 15/5 – 4 The problem-posing products presented by
the students who had expressed difficulty in
Example 2: 3(25) + 3 – 4 finding an appropriate context suggest that
they were attempting to interpret the structure
In this example, students’ work was based of the whole calculation as a sequence of inter-
on the presentation of multiplication and divi- related real-life situations.
sion in equivalent forms. Example 2 in fact
represents an intermediate result when the Example 1:
value of 3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 5 – 4 is calculated. I bought three $25 items of clothing and gave
5. Combinations of two
or more sub-categories
Changes which led to changes in the nature
of the problem are not regarded as reformula-
tions. Some of the strategies used by students
Students also tended to apply two or more in the reconstruction of the problem are
problem-posing actions in their formulation of presented in the next section.
the given mathematical problem. Examples of
Reconstruction strategies
students’ problem-posing products defined
under a reformulation strategy, which
produced a problem identical with the given
problem by combining two or more problem- A problem-posing strategy is referred to as
posing actions, are presented below: reconstruction when the problem-posing
product is obtained by modifications made to
–4 + (2 + 1) × 25 + (10 + 5) ÷ 5 the initial problem and when these modifica-
real-life context
the problem-posing products relate, in some
way, to the given problem but differ from it in
content.
The final group of problems defined under Examples of students’ work classified into
reformulation can be described as problems in the reconstruction sub-category are given in
which students made connections between a the following examples.
mathematical expression and a real-life situa-
tion. These have been categorised as
reformulation because the product differs
8 amt 61 (3)
1. Changing the order of the
numerical information
with brackets — creating possibilities by using
one, two or more pairs of brackets to obtain
different problems. The examples below illus-
Students applied a reconstruction strategy to trate some typical examples of problems posed
obtain problems from the initial problem when when students inserted additional structure
they changed the order of the numbers but (brackets). All examples shown here were
keeping the order and the types of the mathe- posed by Blair.
matical operations. Below are some examples
of students’ responses of this type. In fact, all Example 1: 3 × {25 + [(15 ÷ 5) – 4]}
examples presented illustrate problem-posing
products which are similar to the given Example 2: 3 × [(25 + 15) ÷ 5] – 4
problem but which differ from the initial
problem in their content. Example 3: 3 × {(25 + [15 ÷ (5 – 4)]}
5. Presenting a mathematical
Example 1: 3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 4 – 5
2. Changing the order of the operations Some students combined the use of brackets
with the representation of division and multi-
In other problem-posing products, the order of plication in an equivalent form;
the operations was changed while the
numbers and their order were kept the same. Example 1:
Example 1: 3 + 25 ÷ 15 – 5 × 4 Example 2:
Example 2: 3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 4 – 5 Example 3:
6. Taking sub-structures
The examples here show that the student
had tried to pose other examples that resem-
bled the initial problem but differed from it in
the way the operations and the numbers were Problems were also obtained by selecting sub-
combined. structures of the given calculation. For
2 ÷ 1 – 15 × 7 + 40 Example 2: 3–4
strategies
changed.
amt 61 (3) 9
1. Interpreting the division operation as
a ratio
Example 1: 5 ÷ 15 + 4 – 3 × 25
Example 2: 15 – 4 ÷ 5 + 3 × 25
Some students interpreted division as a ratio
All problems included here differ from the and then they posed word problems based on
initial problem in their content and they also the use of this new interpretation in a real-life
include additional information (the brackets) context. The example shown below was posed
that is relevant and changes the nature of the by Brad, one of the best students in the class.
given problem.
If the above ratio [3 × 25 + 15 : 5 – 4] is used
Example 1: 3((–4 + 15) 25) ÷ 5 to make a miniature of a famous painting,
which has an original size of 50 cm × 60 cm,
Example 2: ((25 + 15) ÷ 5 – (–4 × 3) what size will the miniature be?
Imitation strategy
Example 1:
Which are the prime factors of this
[3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 5 – 4] calculation?
A problem-posing strategy will be referred to
as imitation when the problem-posing product Example 2:
is obtained from the given problem-posing Around which two digits could you place
prompt by the addition of a structure which is brackets so that the answer [of the calcula-
relevant to the problem, and the problem- tion 3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 5 – 4] is minimal?
posing product resembles a previously
encountered or solved problem. In other words, Example 3:
the imitation strategy takes into account two Write the prime factorisation of the result of
important issues: the problem-posing product this [3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 5 – 4] calculation.
has an extended structure and the student
has encountered these types of problems Example 4:
before. How many factors does the result [of the
The examples of imitation sub-categories calculation 3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 5 – 4] have?
follow.
Example 5:
What is the last digit of 3 × 25 + 15 ÷ 5 – 4?
10 amt 61 (3)
editorial
Implications for
teaching and learning
The issue of the extent to which problem
posing can be considered as an index of a I recently attended a talk by Merrilyn
student’s problem-solving ability was first Goos, a mathematics educator at the
raised by Kilpatrick (1987). At the beginning of University of Queensland, and the univer-
the school year, when asked, most students sity Teacher of the Year in the social
posed problems which they knew how to solve. sciences. In discussing what makes for
In other words, the problem-posing products quality teaching, Merrilyn emphasised the
did not represent problems for the authors. As importance of enthusiasm. Quality
the school year progressed, students started teachers not only have a passion for their
to feel free to pose more complex questions. In subject, but also eagerness to share this
some cases the students admitted that they with their students. It is worth noting that
had not solved the problem yet, but indicated this idea is embedded in the AAMT
that, if a solution was provided, then they Standards for Excellence in Teaching
would be able to understand it. On a number Mathematics in Australian Schools.
of occasions, some students recognised that Too often we forget that teachers who
they understood what the problem was about, demonstrate excitement about mathe-
but that they could not solve it, “because it is matics and a belief that all students can
very difficult.” be equally involved with the subject are
Data from the classroom, such as tests and the teachers that are remembered long
homework indicate, that problem-posing after school days are finished.
skills, as with all other skills, could be devel- This issue demonstrates the range of
oped and nurtured. At the end of the school interesting aspects of mathematics in
year, students exposed to a range of problem- which we can engage our students.
posing activities were observed to pay more Games, new and interesting applications
attention to the quality of problems posed and of technology, or poetry — truly there is
to problem difficulty. There was a strong something for everyone in maths. Let’s
tendency for students to pose problems by not forget that, as teachers, our first duty
using the imitation strategy, and to pose prob- is to engage our students so as to intro-
lems from different categories rather than to duce them to the subject that we all find
pose problems by reformulation or reconstruc- so interesting in so many different ways.
tion or to pose more problems from the same Maintain the passion!
category. Rosemary Callingham
Reference
Kilpatrick, J. (1987). Problem formulating: Where do good
problems come from? In A. H. Schoenfeld (Ed.), Cognitive
Science and Mathematics Education (pp. 123–147). Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Elena Stoyanova
Department of Education and Training, WA
elena.stoyanova@det.wa.edu.au
amt 61 (3) 11