The Didactical Challenge Of Symbolic Calculators

A significant driver of recent growth in the use of mathematics in the professions has been the support brought by new technologies. Not only has this facilitated the application of established methods of mathematical and statistical analysis but it has stimulated the development of innovative approaches. These changes have produced a marked evolution in the professional practice of mathematics, an evolution which has not yet provoked a corresponding adaptation in mathematical education, particularly at school level. In particular, although calculators -- first arithmetic and scientific, then graphic, now symbolic -- have been found well suited in many respects to the working conditions of pupils and teachers, and have even achieved a degree of official recognition, the integration of new technologies into the mathematical practice of schools remains marginal. It is this situation which has motivated the research and development work to be reported in this volume. The appearance of ever more powerful and portable computational tools has certainly given rise to continuing research and development activity at all levels of mathematical education. Amongst pioneers, such innovation has often been seen as an opportunity to renew the teaching and learning of mathematics. Equally, however, the institutionalization of computational tools within educational practice has proceeded at a strikingly slow pace over many years.

A significant driver of recent growth in the use of mathematics in the professions has been the support brought by new technologies. Not only has this facilitated the application of established methods of mathematical and statistical analysis but it has stimulated the development of innovative approaches. These changes have produced a marked evolution in the professional practice of mathematics, an evolution which has not yet provoked a corresponding adaptation in mathematical education, particularly at school level. In particular, although calculators -- first arithmetic and scientific, then graphic, now symbolic -- have been found well suited in many respects to the working conditions of pupils and teachers, and have even achieved a degree of official recognition, the integration of new technologies into the mathematical practice of schools remains marginal. It is this situation which has motivated the research and development work to be reported in this volume. The appearance of ever more powerful and portable computational tools has certainly given rise to continuing research and development activity at all levels of mathematical education. Amongst pioneers, such innovation has often been seen as an opportunity to renew the teaching and learning of mathematics. Equally, however, the institutionalization of computational tools within educational practice has proceeded at a strikingly slow pace over many years.

While computational technologies are transforming the professional practice of mathematics, as yet they have had little impact on school mathematics. This pioneering text develops a theorized analysis of why this is and what can be done to address it. It examines the particular case of symbolic calculators (equipped with computer algebra systems) in secondary education. Drawing on a substantial program of French innovation and research, as well as closely related studies from Australia and the Netherlands, it provides rich illustrations of the many aspects of technology integration, and of the ways in which these are shaped at different levels of the educational institution. This text offers the first English-language exposition of how an innovative synthesis of the theories of instrumentation and didactics can be used to illuminate the complexities of technology integration. It offers important guidance for policy and practice through its analysis of the central role of the teacher and its identification of key principles for effective didactical design and management. These distinctive features make this book essential reading for researchers, teacher educators, and graduate students in mathematics education and technology in education, as well as for teachers of mathematics at upper-secondary and university levels. This is a revised, English-language edition of D. Guin & L. Trouche (Eds.) (2002) Calculatrices symboliques. Transformer un outil en un instrument de travail mathématique: un problème didactique (Editions La Pensée Sauvage, Grenoble).

This book brings together mathematics education research that makes a difference in both theory and practice - research that anticipates problems and needed knowledge before they become impediments to progress.

(Published in Co-operation with the National Council of Teacher of Mathematics) According to NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, "Technology is essential in teaching and learning of mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and it enhances students' learning." How does research inform this clarion call for technology in mathematics teaching and learning? In response to the need to craft appropriate roles for technology in school mathematics new technological approaches have been applied to the teaching and learning of mathematics, and these approaches have been examined by researchers world-wide. The second volume has a dual focus: cases and perspectives. It features descriptive cases that provide accounts of the development of technology-intensive curriculum and tools. In these cases the writers describe and analyze various roles that research played in their development work and ways in which research, curriculum development, and tool development can inform each other. These thoughtful descriptions and analyses provide documentation of how this process can and does occur. The remaining chapters in the second volume address research related issues and perspectives on the use of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The lessons learned from the research presented in these volumes are lessons about teaching and learning that can be applied more broadly than solely in technological settings.

This book provides international perspectives on the use of digital technologies in primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school mathematics. It gathers contributions by the members of three topic study groups from the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education and covers a range of themes that will appeal to researchers and practitioners alike. The chapters include studies on technologies such as virtual manipulatives, apps, custom-built assessment tools, dynamic geometry, computer algebra systems and communication tools. Chiefly focusing on teaching and learning mathematics, the book also includes two chapters that address the evidence for technologies’ effects on school mathematics. The diverse technologies considered provide a broad overview of the potential that digital solutions hold in connection with teaching and learning. The chapters provide both a snapshot of the status quo of technologies in school mathematics, and outline how they might impact school mathematics ten to twenty years from now.

This book is an exploration of tools and mathematics and issues in mathematics education related to tool use. The book has five parts. The first part reflects on doing a mathematical task with different tools, followed by a mathematician's account of tool use in his work. The second considers prehistory and history: tools in the development from ape to human; tools and mathematics in the ancient world; tools for calculating; and tools in mathematics instruction. The third part opens with a broad review of technology and intellectual trends, circa 1970, and continues with three case studies of approaches in mathematics education and the place of tools in these approaches. The fourth part considers issues related to mathematics instructions: curriculum, assessment and policy; the calculator debate; mathematics in the real world; and teachers' use of technology. The final part looks to the future: task and tool design and new forms of activity via connectivity and computer games.

The diversity of research domains and theories in the field of mathematics education has been a permanent subject of discussions from the origins of the discipline up to the present. On the one hand the diversity is regarded as a resource for rich scientific development on the other hand it gives rise to the often repeated criticism of the discipline’s lack of focus and identity. As one way of focusing on core issues of the discipline the book seeks to open up a discussion about fundamental ideas in the field of mathematics education that permeate different research domains and perspectives. The book addresses transformation as one fundamental idea in mathematics education and examines it from different perspectives. Transformations are related to knowledge, related to signs and representations of mathematics, related to concepts and ideas, and related to instruments for the learning of mathematics. The book seeks to answer the following questions: What do we know about transformations in the different domains? What kinds of transformations are crucial? How is transformation in each case conceptualized?