Preservice physics teachers’ nonroutine problem-posing process: Metacognitive strategies and beliefs

Integrating problem-posing activities into instruction fosters students’ critical and creative thinking while deepening their understanding of problem solving. However, complementing the problem-solving process with direct mental processes such as recalling memorized information will make a limited contribution to meaningful learning. In this context, having students construct their own problems and use metacognitive strategies while doing so will increase their cognitive awareness in the problem-solving process. Drawing on this perspective, the present study investigates the processes through which preservice physics teachers pose nonroutine physics problems, focusing on the metacognitive strategies they employ and the pedagogical beliefs they hold during these processes. The study was conducted with 20 volunteer preservice physics teachers from different grade levels at a public university. Data were collected through a five-item problem-posing task, a metacognition-oriented reflection form, and a process-based opinion form, and were analyzed qualitatively. The findings indicated that nonroutine problem-posing performance generally increased with grade level and that preservice physics teachers actively used metacognitive strategies such as ease of learning, decision making about learning, experiencing a sense of knowing, and confidence in the answer during the problem-posing process. Nevertheless, participants faced difficulties, particularly in evaluating alternative solutions and engaging in creative thinking. Despite these challenges, they maintained a positive attitude toward problem-posing activities, highlighting the potential of nonroutine problem posing as an effective pedagogical tool in physics teacher education.