An exploratory study of the tensions in the selection criteria of problems in Primary School teachers

ABSTRACT Problem solving is central to the learning and teaching of school mathematics. Its implementation in the classrooms, however, has been elusive and difficult. One of the factors identified as responsible has been teachers conceptions of the process of solving problems, in which they are valued and related to the development of thought, at the same time that their teaching is carried out as a process. This understanding will influence the selection of problems that the teacher makes. This would play a critical role for its successful implementation; in this paper, we explore the tensions in the selection criteria used by Chilean Primary School teachers. We have built and applied a questionnaire open to those attending a voluntary workshop on the selection of mathematical problems. The analysis of their answers by means of a content analysis reveals that these in-service teachers manifest objectivist, utilitarian and humanistic conceptions about the problems. Also, it is possible to identify the tensions Say/Grow and Security/Challenge and another pair that broadens the vision on the tensions that can emerge in the school context. We conclude that the different perspectives in conceptions promote tensions in the selection of problems, related to how the class is orchestrated, the relationship of the teacher with the school system and between the teacher and the resolution of problems.