Fostering Mathematical Creativity Through Problem Posing and Three-Act Tasks

The National Association for Gifted Children and The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics both call for problem posing. This article illustrates the strategies used during a series of three Three-Act Tasks to foster second grade students’ abilities to problem pose. The students’ problem posing improved across the three Three-Act Tasks and revealed mathematically creative thinking. To support and encourage the students to problem pose, the teacher asked generative questions, modeled various problems, provided concrete manipulatives, and had the students create their own sequel to the Three-Act Tasks.