Technological mediation and development of creativity in exploratory mathematical contexts

Abstract

Creativity is recognized as a fundamental skill in the information society but many countries lack a school model that is able to promote the creative potential of their students. In mathematics, the development of higher-level skills, such as creativity, is not possible through direct teaching practices. The Digital revolution brought a set of different technological tools with great potential to engineer collaborative work environments and to mediate communication in the classroom. The main objective of this qualitative is to evaluate the potential of digital technologies to construct collaborative environments and as communication mediation tools and how these dynamics influence the development of creativity and communication in mathematics as well as students’ (10-12 years old) digital literacy. The data obtained by enquiry, direct observation and document collection were subjected to content analysis. Preliminary results seem to indicate that the implementation of these technologies in educational contexts can provide us with opportunities to effectively change the educational paradigm and to develop mathematical and technological skills, both transversal and specific.