Abstrakt
The quality of a mathematical problem is impossible to be measured in an objective way. Only subjective opinions on problem quality can be gathered and compared.
The article is a part of wider research on the problem posing process. Four categories of problem posers are compared in terms of their opinions on problem quality. (Experts are very experienced problem posers – e.g. authors of problems for mathematical competitions, Specialists are participants – mostly teachers – posing problems for their own classes only, Novices are participants who have just experienced their first problem posing.
High school students serve as a sample of respondents not usually posing own problems.) Written essays by the participants were processed in a three-level coding (based on grounded theory approaches). The problem quality is viewed differently by the four groups.
Experts are mainly interested in mathematical features of the problem. Specialists stress the effect of a problem on a pupil and practical use of a problem.
Novices have few requirements for problem quality and they mostly stress that the problem should not be too easy for its solver. The main interest of high school students lies in comfortable solvability of the problem.