Problem Formulation: Insights from Student Generated Questions

This article describes an exploration of one facet of problem formulation. Prospective elementary and secondary teachers were presented with a mathematical situation consisting of data and conditions, but no questions were presented. They were asked to create questions that could be answered using the given information. In the spirit of exploration, this paper analyzes the student-formulated questions from two perspectives—the nature of the information contained within the questions posed and the responses which those questions elicited. A careful analysis of questions posed by students will enable education professionals to understand and promote better problem posing in mathematics classrooms.