The Impact of an Enrichment Course in Mathematics on Students’ Problem-Solving Skills, Creativity, and Attitudes Towards Learning Mathematics

Ahlam Mahagna (), Abraham Berman () and Roza Leikin ()
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Ahlam Mahagna: University of Haifa, Mathematics Education
Abraham Berman: Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Mathematics
Roza Leikin: University of Haifa, Faculty of Education

A chapter in Problem Posing and Solving for Mathematically Gifted and Interested Students, 2023, pp 65-81 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Studies on mathematical enrichment courses are rare. Even more unique are studies that examine the influence of enrichment courses on students’ achievements in curricular studies. This study attempted to fill this lacuna. To this end, 142 9th grade students took part in a one-year enrichment course in which they were asked to solve challenging extra-curricular mathematical problems and to produce multiple solutions to the problems. Over the year, we tracked changes in students’ problem-solving skills related to the school mathematical curriculum, their flexibility and creativity when solving Multiple Solution Tasks and their ability to cope with problems that were new for them. We found that students’ achievements and creativity components improved significantly, and there was positive change in their attitudes towards mathematics. We explain our findings by changes in teachers’ perceptions about the role of enrichment courses.

Keywords: Problem solving skills; Creativity; Achievements; Multiple solution tasks (MSTs); Enrichment courses; Regular classes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-41061-2_4

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