This study sought to determine the impact of the graphing calculator on prospective math-teachers` mathematical thinking while they engaged in the exploratory tasks. To understand students` thinking processes, two groups of three students enrolled in ...
This study sought to determine the impact of the graphing calculator on prospective math-teachers` mathematical thinking while they engaged in the exploratory tasks. To understand students` thinking processes, two groups of three students enrolled in the college of education program participated in the study and their performances were audio-taped and described in the observes` notebooks. The results indicated that the prospective teachers got the clues in recalling the prior memory, adapting the algebraic knowledge to given problems, and finding the patterns related to data, to solve the tasks based on inductive, deductive, and creative thinking. The graphing calculator amplified the speed and accuracy of problem-solving strategies and resulted partly in students` progress to the creative thinking by their concept development.