Impact of Prompt Types on Task-Specific Self-Efficacy and Self-Evaluation in Problem Posing

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Abstract

This study investigated the impact of different problem-posing prompts on students’ task-specific self-efficacy and self-evaluation in problem posing using two pairs of problem-posing tasks. Prompts included posing 2−3 different mathematical problems without specifying other requirements for the problems and posing problems satisfying additional requirements such as difficulty level. A total of 661 U.S. middle school students’ responses were analyzed to examine the impact of the prompts on students’ task-specific self-efficacy before posing problems and their task-specific self-evaluation immediately after posing problems. The results revealed no significant effects of prompt types on students’ task-specific self-efficacy and self-evaluation in problem posing. The results contribute to our understanding of problem-posing processes, as well as implications for teaching mathematics through problem posing.

Authors

• Ibrahim Burak Olmez, University of Delaware

• Stephen Hwang, University of Delaware

• Jinfa Cai, University of Delaware