Assessing creative problem solving ability in mathematics: The DISCOVER Mathematics Assessment

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to revise and revalidate the scoring procedure of the DISCOVER Mathematics Assessment to allow evaluators to better measure creative problem solving ability in mathematics, identify gifted students, and evaluate the programs for creative problem solving. The data consisted of scores of 233 students selected from five different grade levels. We compiled descriptive statistics and conducted regression analyses to compare the relationships between both the original and revised versions of the scoring system and general creativity. The revised scoring system was more effective when predicting variance in general creativity for overall problem-solving performance, and performance in semi-open-ended problems. It also predicted more variance in general creativity for the group Higher Grade Levels than the group Lower Grade Levels. Therefore, we suggested that quality should be considered as well as fluency, flexibility, and originality when scoring assessments for creative problem solving ability in mathematics.

KEYWORDS:

• Creative problem-solving
• DISCOVER Mathematics Assessment
• mathematics
• scoring system

Acknowledgement

This manuscript is a part of the first author’s dissertation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sema Tan

Sema TAN, Ph.D. Sema TAN is an assistant professor in the Special Education Department at Sinop University in Sinop, Turkey. She received her MA and PhD in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at The University of Arizona through a prestigious scholarship offered by the Turkish Government Ministry of Education. During her PhD, she had worked on identifying gifted students using alternative methods, cultivating talent in STEM fields, and developing creative problem solving. She worked as a research assistant in several research projects involving DISCOVER and STEM. She has publications regarding the issues of identifying the gifted, enrichment and acceleration practices for the gifted, and creativity. She has been working at the Sinop University, Turkey as an assistant professor since 2017.

C. June Maker

C. June Maker, Ph.D., Litt.D. is Professor Emerita in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at The University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.In 2015, she received the International Research Award from the World Council for Gifted and Talented Students (WCGTS) and in 2016 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters Degree by Western Kentucky University in recognition of her accomplishments. In 2017 she was inducted into the Bridges Academy 2e Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the education of twice exceptional students. She has been active in and served in leadership positions in national and international organizations for gifted children and serves on Editorial Boards for national and international journals in education of the gifted such as Gifted Education International and The Gifted Child Quarterly. She is Associate Editor for Gifted and Talented International and the International Journal of Research in Education and Advisory Board Member for the Bulletin of Special Education in Taiwan.