Journals Proceedings

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore if Singapore mathematics teachers recognize the creativity experience of upper primary school children when they attempted open-ended mathematics questions. These 17 students from Singapore Primary Schools (aged between 11 and 12 years old) attempted three different types of open-ended mathematics questions using pen-and-paper method. Their creativity experience was elicited via face-to-face interviews, and phenomenographic analysis surfaced three different ways of experiencing openness in learning: being assessed, making decisions and exploring with freedom. The students’ written answers were graded by two experienced mathematics teachers. The analysis of the Teachers’ Consensual Assessment (TCA) of open-ended mathematics answers seemed to indicate that students’ creativity experience was seldom noticed or recognized by the Singapore primary mathematics teachers.