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Technology and the Development of Mathematical Creativity in Advanced School Mathematics

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Creativity and Technology in Mathematics Education

Part of the book series: Mathematics Education in the Digital Era ((MEDE,volume 10))

Abstract

The availability of sophisticated computer programs capable of complex symbolic computations has created challenges for mathematics educators working with mathematically motivated students. Whereas technology may be praised for enabling educators to bridge the gap between the past—when only some students were able to do mathematics, and the present—when an average student is able to enjoy finding an answer to a difficult problem using a computer, it can also put a barrier in the way of developing students’ creative mathematical skills. This dichotomy between positive and negative affordances of technology in the teaching of mathematics calls for the development of new curriculum enabling the outcome of problem solving not to be dependent on students’ ability to simply enter correctly all data into a computer. Towards this end, the chapter proposes a way of modifying traditional problems from advanced mathematics curriculum to be both technology-immune and technology-enabled in the sense that whereas software can facilitate problem solving, its direct application is not sufficient for finding an answer.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The university where the author works is located in the United States in close proximity to Canada, and many of the author’s students are Canadians pursuing their master’s degrees in education.

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  1. SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, USA

    Sergei Abramovich

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  1. Sergei Abramovich
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Correspondence to Sergei Abramovich .

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  1. Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Viktor Freiman

  2. Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA

    Janet Lynne Tassell

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Abramovich, S. (2018). Technology and the Development of Mathematical Creativity in Advanced School Mathematics. In: Freiman, V., Tassell, J. (eds) Creativity and Technology in Mathematics Education. Mathematics Education in the Digital Era, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72381-5_15

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