Teachers' Views on the Problem-Solving & Problem-Posing Tasks in Primary School Mathematics Textbooks

Abstract

This paper aims to reveal teachers' views on the problem-solving & problem-posing tasks of primary school mathematics textbooks. The study utilized the single-case embedded design. We examined the mathematics textbooks used in the Turkish public schools in the 2017-2018 academic year. Also, we interviewed twelve class teachers, who were determined by the criterion sampling method, to reveal their views on the textbooks. In order to collect data, we employed a "Data Coding Scheme" to determine the problem-solving & problem-posing tasks in the textbooks and a "Semi-Structured Interview Form" composed of two open-ended questions to find out about the teachers' views. Since the questions asked to the teachers were determined as themes in advance, the descriptive data analysis technique was used for data analysis. The study concludes that the examined mathematics textbooks contain a sufficient number of problem-solving tasks, which are equally distributed under each heading in the textbooks. On the other hand, it has been found that the textbooks contain a limited number of problem-posing tasks, which are not equally distributed under each heading. Furthermore, we determined that no textbook that we examined contains different types of problem-posing tasks. Also, according to the teachers whom we interviewed, although the number of problem-solving tasks in the textbooks is sufficient, the tasks should be more effective. They also stated that the textbooks contain very few problem-solving tasks requiring different problem-posing strategies.