The Elements Of Creativity And Giftedness In Mathematics

The Elements of Creativity and Giftedness in Mathematics edited by Bharath Sriraman and KyeongHwa Lee covers recent advances in mathematics education pertaining to the development of creativity and giftedness. The book is international in scope in the “sense” that it includes numerous studies on mathematical creativity and giftedness conducted in the U.S.A, China, Korea, Turkey, Israel, Sweden, and Norway in addition to cross-national perspectives from Canada and Russia. The topics include problem -posing, problem-solving and mathematical creativity; the development of mathematical creativity with students, pre and in-service teachers; cross-cultural views of creativity and giftedness; the unpacking of notions and labels such as high achieving, inclusion, and potential; as well as the theoretical state of the art on the constructs of mathematical creativity and giftedness. The book also includes some contributions from the first joint meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Korean Mathematical Society in Seoul, 2009. Topics covered in the book are essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in researching issues and topics within the domain of mathematical creativity and mathematical giftedness. It is also accessible to pre-service and practicing teachers interested in developing creativity in their classrooms, in addition to professional development specialists, mathematics educators, gifted educators, and psychologists.

This book breaks through in the field of mathematical creativity and giftedness. It suggests directions for closing the gap between research in the field of mathematics education and research in the field of creativity and giftedness. It also outlines a research agenda for further research and development in the field.

Our innovative spirit and creativity lies beneath the comforts and security of today's technologically evolved society. Scientists, inventors, investors, artists and leaders play a vital role in the advancement and transmission of knowledge. Mathematics, in particular, plays a central role in numerous professions and has historically served as the gatekeeper to numerous other areas of study, particularly the hard sciences, engineering and business. Mathematics is also a major component in standardized tests in the U.S., and in university entrance exams in numerous parts of world. Creativity and imagination is often evident when young children begin to develop numeric and spatial concepts, and explore mathematical tasks that capture their interest. Creativity is also an essential ingredient in the work of professional mathematicians. Yet, the bulk of mathematical thinking encouraged in the institutionalized setting of schools is focused on rote learning, memorization, and the mastery of numerous skills to solve specific problems prescribed by the curricula or aimed at standardized testing. Given the lack of research based perspectives on talent development in mathematics education, this monograph is specifically focused on contributions towards the constructs of creativity and giftedness in mathematics. This monograph presents new perspectives for talent development in the mathematics classroom and gives insights into the psychology of creativity and giftedness. The book is aimed at classroom teachers, coordinators of gifted programs, math contest coaches, graduate students and researchers interested in creativity, giftedness, and talent development in mathematics.

This book discusses the relationships between mathematical creativity and mathematical giftedness. It gathers the results of a literature review comprising all papers addressing mathematical creativity and giftedness presented at the International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME) conferences since 2000. How can mathematical creativity contribute to children’s balanced development? What are the characteristics of mathematical giftedness in early ages? What about these characteristics at university level? What teaching strategies can enhance creative learning? How can young children’s mathematical promise be preserved and cultivated, preparing them for a variety of professions? These are some of the questions addressed by this book. The book offers, among others: analyses of substantial learning environments that promote creativity in mathematics lessons; discussions of a variety of strategies for posing and solving problems; investigations of students’ progress throughout their schooling; and examinations of technological tools and virtual resources meant to enhance learning with understanding. Multiple perspectives in the interdisciplinary fields of mathematical creativity and giftedness are developed to offer a springboard for further research. The theoretical and empirical studies included in the book offer a valuable resource for researchers, as well as for teachers of gifted students in specialized or inclusive settings, at various levels of education.

The Relationship of Affect and Creativity in Mathematics explores the five legs of creativity—Iconoclasm, Impartiality, Investment, Intuition, and Inquisitiveness—as they relate to mathematical giftedness. This book: Discusses these affective components relevant to mathematical learning experiences. Shares how affective components impact students' creative processes and products. Shows the influence of learning facilitators, including teachers, afterschool mentors, and parents. Describes facilitating environments that may enhance the likelihood that creative process and ultimately product emerge. Utilizes the expertise of two young scholars to discuss the practical effects of affect and creativity in learning experiences. This practical, research-based book is a must-read for stakeholders in gifted education, as many advanced students are underidentified in the area of creativity in mathematics.

The Creative Enterprise of Mathematics Teaching Research presents the results and methodology of work of the teaching-research community of practice of the Bronx (TR Team of the Bronx). It has a twofold aim of impacting both teachers of Mathematics and researchers in Mathematics Education. This volume can be used by teachers of mathematics who want to use research to reflect upon and to improve their teaching craft, as well as by researchers who are interested in uncovering riches of classroom learning/teaching for research investigations. This book represents the results of a collaboration of instructors discussing their own instruction research, analyzed through a conceptual framework obtained via the synthesis of creativity research and educational learning theories, based upon the work of Piaget and Vygotsky. The editors see an urgent need for creative synthesis of research and teaching, an example of which is presented in the book. Two central themes of the book are the methodology of TR/NYCity model and creativity, more precisely, creativity of the Aha moment formulated by Arthur Koestler (1964) in a very profound but little known theory of bisociation exposed in his work “The Act of Creation”. Incorporation of the theory of bisociation into classroom teaching of mathematics provides the key to enable students who may struggle with mathematics to engage their own creativity, become involved in their learning process and thus reach their full potential of excellence. Creativity in teaching remedial mathematics is teaching gifted students how to access their own giftedness.

This volume provides new insights on creativity while focusing on innovative methodological approaches in research and practice of integrating technological tools and environments in mathematics teaching and learning. This work is being built on the discussions at the mini-symposium on Creativity and Technology at the International Conference on Mathematical Creativity and Giftedness (ICMCG) in Denver, USA (2014), and other contributions to the topic. The book emphasizes a diversity of views, a variety of contexts, angles and cultures of thought, as well as mathematical and educational practices. The authors of each chapter explore the potential of technology to foster creative and divergent mathematical thinking, problem solving and problem posing, creative use of dynamic, multimodal and interactive software by teachers and learners, as well as other digital media and tools while widening and enriching transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary connections in mathematics classroom. Along with ground-breaking innovative approaches, the book aims to provide researchers and practitioners with new paths for diversification of opportunities for all students to become more creative and innovative mathematics learners. A framework for dynamic learning conditions of leveraging mathematical creativity with technology is an outcome of the book as well.

Creativity of an Aha!Moment and Mathematics Education introduces bisociation, the theory of Aha! moment creativity into Mathematics Education. It establishes relationships between bisociation and constructivist theories of learning laying down the basis for the new theory integrating creativity with learning.