Understanding the relationship between affective entry characteristics, critical thinking tendency, and reflective thinking skills

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the limitations and stated research gap and recommendations of the source papers, classified as general, spanning 3 journals.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Capturing Students’ Creative Thinking: An Analysis of Middle Schoolers’ Processes in Solving Mathematical Reasoning Problems (2026) · Journal of Mathematics Instruction, Social Research and Opinion · doi

  Despite the valuable insights this study provides, several limitations should be acknowledged. This research employed a qualitative case study approach with a single class of students, and the in-depth analysis focused on four students representing different levels of creative thinking. Therefore, the findings may not fully represent the diversity of students’ creative thinking processes in broader educational contexts. In addition, the mathematical tasks used in this study were limited to number pattern problems involving triangular numbers, which may reveal only certain aspects of students’ creative thinking and reasoning processes. Future research could involve larger samples, different mathematical topics, and various types of problem-solving tasks to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of students’ creative thinking in mathematics learning. Further studies may also explore instructional strategies and learning environments that effectively foster students’ fluency, flexibility, and originality when solving mathematical reasoning problems. 4. CONCLUSION This study examined the creative thinking processes of junior high school students in solving mathematical reasoning problems related to number patterns. The findings indicate that students’ creative thinking can be categorized into four levels, including imitative, routine, creative, and very creative. Students at the imitative level tend to rely on 778 https://doi.org/10.58421/misro.v5i1.1187 memorized procedures and previously learned examples when solving problems, while students at the routine level apply familiar strategies but rarely explore alternative approaches. Students categorized as creative demonstrate greater flexibility by using multiple representations and strategies in solve problems, although their reasoning may still require teacher guidance. Meanwhile, very creative students demonstrate the highest level of creative thinking by constructing generalized rules and developing original solution strategies based on the information provided in the problem. These findings indicate that students’ creative thinking in mathematical reasoning develops progressively as students become more capable of generating ideas, exploring alternative strategies, and constructing generalized solutions. Therefore, mathematics learning should provide opportunities for students to explore patterns, use multiple representations, and develop their own solution strategies in order to support the development of creative thinking in mathematics.

  generallimitationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: students creative thinking strategies mathematical problems reasoning solving processes mathematics learning explore level four different
• Affective Entry Characteristics Towards Mathematics and Reflective Thinking Skills Towards Problem Solving: The Mediating Role of Critical Thinking (2026) · Journal of Intelligence · doi

  The study identifies a gap in understanding the relationship between affective entry characteristics, critical thinking tendency, and reflective thinking skills in mathematics education. There is a need to investigate the mediating role of critical thinking tendency in the correlation between affective entry characteristics toward mathematics and reflective thinking skills related to problem-solving.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: study identifies gap understanding relationship between affective entry
• Reading Comprehension and Perceived Mathematical Problem-Solving Skills among Junior High School Students: The Mediating Role of Mathematics Content Competencies (2026) · International Journal of Research Publications · doi

  Based on the conclusions, the study recommends the following: 1. Researchers may conduct further studies investigating other mediating variables that may help to account for the relationship between reading comprehension and perceived mathematical problem-solving skills, aside from the non-significant mediator of mathematics content competencies. 2. Researchers may pursue qualitative research to examine how students use both verbal and nonverbal information in solving problems, offering valuable knowledge about how each affects problem-solving, as suggested by Dual Coding Theory.

  generalrecommendationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: solving researchers problem based conclusions recommends following conduct further investigating mediating variables help account relationship

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