Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 53 Issue 2, June 2015
11 – 14
Solve the Following Equation: The Role of the Graphing Calculator in the Three Worlds of Mathematics
Jayne Powell
In 2013, David Tall published a book entitled How Humans Learn to Think Mathematically: Exploring the Three Worlds of Mathematics, which tries to make sense of how mathematics is taught and learned in a world where the spectrum of positions on mathematics ranges from feelings of absolute beauty and power to anxiety and distress (p xiii). He proposes a framework of three worlds of mathematics through which learners construct mathematical meaning. As graphing calculators are now a near-ubiquitous tool in the mathematics classroom, this paper will explore how using a graphing calculator is both supportive and problematic within these three worlds of mathematics, by considering how students may come to solve quadratic functions.
