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.

Interdisciplinarity is increasingly viewed as a necessary ingredient in the training of future oriented 21st century disciplines that rely on both analytic and synthetic abilities across disciplines. Nearly every curricular document or vision statement of schools and universities include a call for promoting creativity in students. Yet the construct of creativity and giftedness across disciplines remains elusive in the sense that the prototypical examples of such work come from eminent scientists, artists and mathematicians, and little if any work has been conducted with non-eminent individuals. This monograph is an attempt to fill this gap by putting forth the view that interdisciplinarity and creativity are related constructs, and that the cultivation of domain general creativity is possible. Mathematics has historically been anchored to numerous disciplines like theology, natural philosophy, culture and art, allowing for a flexibility of thought that is difficult to cultivate in other disciplines. In this monograph, the numerous chapters from Australia, U.S.A., Canada, Cyprus, Denmark and Japan provide a compelling illustration of the intricate connection of mathematics with literature, paradoxes, history, technology and modeling, thus serving as a conduit for interdisciplinarity, creativity and learning to occur.

In this collection of beautifully written essays, Mishra, Henriksen, and the Deep-play Research Group challenge myths about technology and creativity, debate time-honored instructional practices, and play with new ideas for schools to care for and nurture, rather than constrain, creativity. These essays are provocative ... refreshing, [and] insightful —Dr. Yong Zhao, Foundation Distinguished Professor, University of Kansas and Fellow, Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy, Victoria University, Australia. What is creativity? Why is it important? What does it look like across different disciplines and contexts? What role does technology play, if any, in the creative process? And finally, what do creativity and technology have to do with education? These are the questions that underlie the collection of articles in this book. These essays provide a broad analytic frame for thinking about creativity, technology and education and describe classroom examples as well as strategies for evaluating creative artifacts and creative environments. All of these are grounded in specific examples from across a wide range of disciplines and contexts—art, mathematics, engineering, computer science, graphic design, architecture, science to name just a few. The final essays take a broader perspective on creativity and technology focusing both on our highly inter-connected YouTube world but also possibilities for the future. Creativity, Technology & Education: Exploring their Convergence is a vital resource for educators and practitioners as they seek to incorporate creative work and thoughtful pedagogy in their personal and professional lives.

In a rapidly evolving local and global economy, skills related to mathematical problem solving, scientific inquiry, and technological innovation are becoming more critical for success in and out of school. Thus, Demystify Math, Science, and Technology addresses the need to cultivate these skills in young students so that ingenuity, teamwork, and imaginative skills become part of their arsenal in dealing with real world challenges. This whole package of attributes is essential for learners imagining new scenarios and future work in areas that don’t even exist yet. Another important issue is that teachers now deal with students who span the entire spectrum of learning. Students differ widely in levels of preparedness, personal interests, and cultural ways of seeing and experiencing the world. One size does not fit all. Teachers need to learn to turn diversity into an advantage because innovation builds on the social nature of learning; the more diverse the inputs, the more interesting the outputs. The authors also believe that no one should be sidelined with basic skill training in a way that keeps them away from the creative and collaborative engagement associated with problem solving, inquiry, and the technological products of math and science.

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.

The innovative volume seeks to broaden the scope of research on mathematical problem solving in different educational environments. It brings together contributions not only from leading researchers, but also highlights collaborations with younger researchers to broadly explore mathematical problem-solving across many fields: mathematics education, psychology of education, technology education, mathematics popularization, and more. The volume’s three major themes—technology, creativity, and affect—represent key issues that are crucially embedded in the activity of problem solving in mathematics teaching and learning, both within the school setting and beyond the school. Through the book’s new pedagogical perspectives on these themes, it advances the field of research towards a more comprehensive approach on mathematical problem solving. Broadening the Scope of Research on Mathematical Problem Solving will prove to be a valuable resource for researchers and teachers interested in mathematical problem solving, as well as researchers and teachers interested in technology, creativity, and affect.

This book explores the topic of using technology, both physical and digital, to motivate creative mathematical thinking among students who are not considered ‘mathematically advanced.’ The book reflects the authors’ experience of teaching mathematics to Canadian and American teacher candidates and supervising several field-based activities by the candidates. It consists of eight chapters and an Appendix which includes details of constructing computational learning environments. Specifically, the book demonstrates how the appropriate use of technology in the teaching of mathematics can create conditions for the emergence of what may be called ‘collateral creativity,’ a notion similar to Dewey’s notion of collateral learning. Just as collateral learning does not result from the immediate goal of the traditional curriculum, collateral creativity does not result from the immediate goal of traditional problem solving. Rather, mathematical creativity emerges as a collateral outcome of thinking afforded by the use of technology. Furthermore, collateral creativity is an educative outcome of one’s learning experience with pedagogy that motivates students to ask questions about computer-generated or tactile-derived information and assists them in finding answers to their own or the teacher’s questions. This book intends to provide guidance to teachers for fostering collateral creativity in their classrooms.