Technology and the Development of Mathematical Creativity in Advanced School Mathematics

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.