Preservice teachers’ mathematical creativity and their views on multiple solution tasks

Creativity is recognized as a key competence in mathematics education, placing demands on mathematics teacher preparation. This study examined preservice mathematics teachers’ (PSMTs’) mathematical creativity as manifested in a geometry multiple-solution task (MST), alongside their reported views of MSTs before targeted instruction. Using a mixed-methods design, 27 final-year PSMTs solved the task in as many ways as possible and answered open-ended questions about prior exposure to MSTs and their pedagogical value. Solutions were scored for fluency, flexibility, originality and overall creativity, while responses were analysed thematically. Participants generated several appropriate solutions and shifted among distinct strategies but rarely moved beyond familiar methods; as consequence, flexibility was more evident than originality. Despite limited exposure to MSTs during formal schooling, participants associated them with creativity and critical thinking, mathematical connections, conceptual understanding and strategic method choice. Based on their overall creativity scores, participants were classified into low-, moderate- and high-creativity groups, whose views differed mainly in emphasis on accessibility and connections, strategic comparison and integration or autonomy and non-routine thinking. The findings indicate that performance on the geometry MST and recognized instructional value represent distinct aspects of PSMTs’ engagement with MSTs: reliance on familiar methods did not imply limited appreciation of their potential for students. Teacher education can build on this receptivity by providing opportunities to solve, compare, design and implement MSTs while encouraging less conventional approaches.