The relationship between pre-service teachers’ spatial thinking ability and their mathematical creativity in the context of problem posing
Ali Biçer, Scott A. Chamberlin, Karla Matute, Traci Jackson, Geoff Krall
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to quantify the relationship between pre-service teachers’ spatial visualisation skills and their mathematical creativity through problem-posing tasks. A group of 62 pre-service teachers completed the Purdue Spatial Visualisation test and took the mathematical creativity test through problem-posing tasks. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients in SPSS-28 were employed to find the correlation between pre-service teachers’ spatial visualisation skills and their mathematical creativity (i.e. fluency, flexibility, and originality) through problem-posing tasks. Results showed a moderate to high correlation (r = .523) between pre-service teachers’ fluency scores and their spatial visualisation scores, and this correlation was statistically significant (p < .05). Similarly, the results showed a high correlation (r = .619, p < .05) between pre-service teachers’ flexibility scores and their spatial visualisation scores. However, the results also revealed a weak correlation (r = .218) between pre-service teachers’ originality scores and their spatial visualisation scores (p = .240). Possible explanations for these correlations in relation to existing studies about mathematical creativity and the implication for future studies are provided.