Unraveling the creative mathematical thinking of primary school children: A qualitative exploration

This study investigates the creative mathematical thinking processes of 15 fourth-grade students with varying achievement levels in mathematics. Using qualitative methods such as interviews and document analysis, the study explores student responses during problem-posing and multiple-solution tasks. The findings reveal that higher-achieving students demonstrated a greater capacity for divergent thinking and generated more original ideas, while lower-achieving students relied primarily on convergent thinking, focusing on basic operations like addition and subtraction. Additionally, the study suggests that language skills and reading comprehension weaknesses may hinder lower-achieving students’ performance in mathematical problem-posing and exploration. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on creative mathematical thinking by examining this important skill in younger students, an age group that has been relatively understudied in this context.