MATHEMATICAL EXPLORATIONS ENABLED BY TECHNOLOGY: A RICH CONTEXT FOR INTEGRATING COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL THINKING IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

This article describes an open-ended activity which was undertaken to explore the possibilities of integrating computational thinking in secondary school mathematics classrooms. While policy documents recommend that computational thinking be incorporated in different subjects in the K-12 curricula, mathematics seems to be a more  natural choice for this integration. However, a considered approach is required to prepare activities and lessons which foster both mathematical and computational thinking. In the described activity,  24 grade 9 students explored an open-ended problem, enabled by spreadsheets and engaged in multiple paths of inquiry. Their investigations revealed that they conducted a systematic experimentation of the problem by simplifying it to simpler versions, identified patterns within data generated on the spreadsheet, generalized patterns, generated algorithmic as well as mathematical solutions and discovered new problems for exploration. Engaging in these processes helped to elicit computational thinking skills as expounded by Weintrop et al. [3] and also fostered their mathematical thinking as articulated by Cuoco et al. [1]. Received: June 15, 2024Revised: July 31, 2024Accepted: August 9, 2024