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Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya 157

THE IMPACT OF USING HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY ON STUDENTS'


ATTITUDE AND CREATIVITY IN MATHEMATICS

Noraini Idris
University of Malaya

Penggunaanteknoiogidalam pembelajaran matematik merupakan


langkah ke arah mewujudkan masyarakat berteknologi selaras dengan
hasrat Wawasan 2020. Kreativiti dalam matematik boleh membantu
pelajar memahami dunia di sekeliling mereka dan memperkembangkan
potensi mereka untuk mencapai kejayaan. Mereka belajar untuk
menaakul, mengkaitkan pendapat dan berfikir secara logik. Dalam
artikel ini penults akan membincangkan tentang definisi kreativiti,
penggunaan teknoiogi sebagai bahan bentuK pengajaran dan
memaparkan dapatan kajian ke atas kesan penggunaan teknoiogi seperti
kalkulator grafik terhadap kreativiti dalam matematik. Sampel kajian
melibatkan seramai 107 pelajar Tingkatan Empat. Kumpulan rawatan
menggunakan kalkulator TI-84 Plus dalam pembelajaran matematik,
menjalani ujian kreativiti dan pengukuran sikap serta mengisi soal
selidik mengenai persepsi terhadap penggunaan kalkulator dalam
pembelajaran matematik. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan kegunaan
kalkulator TI-84 Plus memupuk minat pelajar terhadap matematik, dan
meningkatkan kreativiti pelajar dalam matematik.

In this increasingly technological world, creativity development has been highlighted much
in many countries. Technology can play an important role in enabling people to become
imaginative, inventive, risk taking and unconventional (Cangelosi, 1996; Corcoran,
2000; Cox, 1997; Noraini Idris, 2001). The introduction of graphing calculator TI-84
Plus gave mathematics educators new opportunities to help students not only to solve
mathematical problems but also to discuss, justify, and help improve spatial visualization
skills, critical thinking ability, understanding of connections among graphical, tabular,
numerical, and algebraic representations, confidence in communication using English in
the learning of mathematics, and fostering creativity. The graphing calculator has become
more prominent in recent years (Dunham & Dick, 1994; Noraini Idris, 2001). This is due to
its practicability and ease of use.
Students in the mathematics classroom should not always be at the receiving end of
instruction. They should be encouraged to participate actively and to observe patterns, see
likenesses and differences in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. Students are often
unsure about how they should express their own creativity. It is essential that teachers
develop their students' creativity skills, both by providing good models and through
explicit instruction. In this article, the author will share how teachers can help to identify,
encourage and improve mathematical creativity and positive attitude with the help of
handheld technology with graphing calculator in the mathematics classroom. The author
158 Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya

will also share how to improve the mathematical creativity and attitude of students using
graphing calculator-based instructional activities.
A recent question in the educational community is whether students will have a
more creative mathematical learning experience by engaging themselves in a positive
classroom climate. Positive climate is important because it creates an environment that
encourages both creativity and attitude (Brophy, 1990; Calfee, 1986). A positive climate is
one where expectations for both performance and success are normally high. Students
understand the requirements of learning tasks and perceive them as challenging, yet feel
safe from threats to their emotional security and self-esteem; they believe the teacher is
genuinely committed to their learning and sensitive to their personal needs. Teachers with the
help of technology such as the graphing calculator would be able to create a positive climate
by encouraging students and allowing them to take intellectual risks without fear of being
criticized for their mistakes (Brophy, 1990). Creating a positive climate to foster exploration
is important because many mathematical theories are discovered from playing with
assumptions and creative explorations.
Our goal in promoting success is to create the feeling of creativity in learners, which
means that the success must be on tasks learners perceive as substantial and worthwhile.
Success on trivial tasks does little to create feelings of competence and creativity.
Teachers can promote success in several ways such as prompting students when they have
difficulty answering questions, encouraging mathematical creativity, using many examples
and demonstrations to promote understanding, providing teacher-aided practice before
students are put on their own, and providing extensive independent practice with the use of
handheld technology.
The classroom environment creates a positive foundation for students to think
logically and creatively. Essential elements include a strong task orientation, usage of
technology, positive expectations, and a success-oriented classroom climate (Kaput,
1992; Rosenshine, 1987). Within this positive learning environment, the teacher presents the
instructional activities by encouraging student involvement. However, the question now is
"How do we know if we're teaching for fostering creativity?" While this is a difficult
question, we can offer some beginning guidelines for teacher questions and the monitoring
of student answers in the classroom.
First, questions such as "Why?" "How do these compare?" ("How are they alike or
different?") "What would happen if ...?" and particularly "How do you know?" can do
much to promote student positive attitude and creativity. Surprisingly, teachers infrequently
ask these questions when interacting with students in the classroom (Calfee, 1986;
Rosenshine, 1987).
Mathematical creativity is difficult to develop if one is limited to rule-based
applications without recognizing the essence of the problem to be solved. The Professional
Standards (NCTM, 2000) call for a setting where students are able to:

confidently engage in complex mathematical tasks... draw on knowledge from a wide


variety of mathematical topics, sometimes approaching the same problem from
different mathematical perspectives or representing the mathematics in different
ways until they find methods that enable them to make progress, (p. 3)
Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya 159

In this setting, the teacher demonstrates a method with examples and then the students
practiced with similar problems.

Students who are engaged in their work are energized by four goals: success,
curiosity, originality, and satisfying relationships. But the questions now are, "How do
we cultivate these drives in the students?" and "What kind of work do students find
totally engaging to encourage creativity?" Students want and need work that stimulates
their curiosity and awakens theirdesireforiogic and mathematical creativity;

Furthermore, the essence of mathematics is thinking creatively, not simply


arriving at the right answer. Student answers that go beyond memorization provide
evidence that creativity is developing. Questions and comments like the above and a
conducive climate foster creativity and help students understand the reasons they are
studying a particular topic. All students -- especially those with potential talent in
mathematics -- need academic rigor and challenge as well as opportunities to explore the
nature of mathematics and to employ the skins they have developed. From social learning
theory, we know that learners must expect to succeed and also believe that what they are
learning is important and valued if they are to be motivated. To promote a sense of value,
students must understand both what they are supposed to be learning and also why they
are learning it. However, both of these are not present in the teaching and learning in the
Malaysian classroom.

Success in today's competitive, diverse, and global business environment requires


students to solve problems, collaborate with work teams, and use sophisticated
technology to communicate. To survive in this competitive environment, their knowledge
of mathematics must go beyond the simple skills to solving more complex problems.
Malaysia, like many developing nations, is cognizant of the need to facilitate the
education of smart learners capable of working competently in teams in an information
technology environment. Consequently, mathematics educators need to prepare students
who know how to identify a problem and its solution, work in teams, communicate well,
and know how to evaluate their own progress and learning.

Technology such as the graphing calculator was developed as an aid in teaching and
learning mathematics and to foster mathematics creativity (Kaput, 1992). As technology
is now a major player in visualization and in the exploration of challenging concepts in
Mathematics, this article examines the use of graphing calculator in teaching and learning
of Mathematics and shows how it helps to create a successful learning climate to
encourage mathematical creativity.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of Creativity and Procedure to Assess Mathematical Creativity

Literature shows that there are numerous ways to express and define creativity. For some
people creativity refers to a special kind of thinking, while for others it refers to the
generation of products. Creativity has been defined as the ability to produce new things
or new knowledge (Simonton, 2000) or the ability to produce something effective and
novel (Quigley, 1998). Standler (1998), in trying to differentiate between creativity and
intelligence points to differences between a creative person and an intelligent person;
160 Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya

according to Standler, intelligence is the ability to learn and to think, while a creative
person is able to do things that have never been done before.
There is yet to be one definition of creativity acceptable to everyone. However,
several experts on creativity generally agree on the five phases of the creative process: (1)
Preparation phase - acquiring skills, sensing and defining a problem; (2) Concentration
phase - focusing intensely on the problem; (3) Incubation phase - withdrawing from the
problem; (4) Illumination phase - the stage involving the emergence of an idea; and (5)
Elaboration phase - testing out the idea (Guilford, 1975).
Torrance (1984) defined creativity as a process of becoming sensitive to problems
and described four components in creativity assessment, namely: (1) fluency or the ability to
produce a large number of ideas; (2) flexibility or the ability to produce a variety of ideas;
(3) elaboration or the ability to develop an idea; and, (4) originality or the ability to produce
unusual ideas.
Kohler (1997) claimed that the inadequate success of students in mathematics might be
due to the lack of creative approaches in teaching and learning. Creativity-enriched
mathematical problems can be developed to assess mathematical creativity. Evans (1964)
identified three aspects that elicit creative thinking in mathematics. These are fluency,
flexibility and originality. These parameters are used for assessing general creativity in
Torrance's (1966) general divergent production tests. The Torrance Tests of Creative
Thinking (TTCT) (Torrance, 1974) has frequently been utilized to assess children's
creative thinking. Fluency refers to the number of ideas generated, flexibility to the shifts in
approaches, and novelty to the originality of the ideas generated.
The three components can be adapted and applied in the domain of mathematical
creativity. The fluency score is then the total number of relevant responses made by a
student. The flexibility score is the number of different varieties of methods or categories of
ideas, while the originality score is based on the number of unusual, unique or infrequent
ideas. Students' responses to mathematical creativity problems can be assigned by fluency
and originality scores (Prouse, 1967). The fluency may be awarded by counting the number of
acceptable responses made. Duplicate responses are eliminated. The originality score is
obtained by giving weight for correct responses within a percentage range by students
giving the same response (Prouse, 1967); for example, a weight of one is assigned to a
common response given by 25 percent to 50 percent of the students.
In order to assess students' mathematical creativity, it is necessary to select suitable
creativity-enriched mathematical problems rather than routine problems. A creativity-
enriched mathematical problem is one that can be solved by various approaches and permits
many possible answers. Torrance (1982) argued that tasks requiring the generation of a
variety of possible solutions could stimulate more creative thinking than those needing
only one correct response or answer.
Healy (1994) has defined creativity as the ability to generate, to approach problems in
any field from fresh perspectives. Similarly, Schifter (1999) defined creativity as the
ability to take existing objects and combine them in different ways for new purposes. Thus
according to this aspect of definition, creativity is the action of combining previously
uncombined elements.
The Oxford English Dictionary (1995) described creativity as "being imaginative and
inventive, bringing into existence, making, originating". So the word creativity seems
Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universal Malaya 161

to describe change that can generate novel ideas. It is the capacity to get ideas, especially
original, inventive and novel ideas.
One of the characteristics of the so-called creative mind lies in the ability to think
imaginatively. Being imaginative is having the potential of interpreting something in an
unusual way. Craft (2000) introduced possibility thinking as a core element in creativity.
Possibility thinking means refusing to be puzzled by a problem, instead being imaginative in
finding a way around it. This is very useful and appropriate especially when dealing with
mathematical problems. Many new ideas can be generated in various fields such as art,
music, design, mathematics, science, problem solving, and so on.
In summary, there is no single accepted definition of mathematical creativity. The
wide variety of definitions and characteristics has created challenges in identifying and
developing mathematical creativity.

Developing Positive Attitude and Mathematical Creativity

Positive classroom climate assists in the learning and teaching of mathematical creativity.
Creativity needs time to develop and thrives on experience. Students need to feel
comfortable and accepted as learners in the classroom. By recognizing the diversity of
ability, cultures and values the teacher will be creating an environment which stimulates the
natural enthusiasm, vitality, spontaneity and originality of students, as well as encouraging
an atmosphere of developing positive attitude and mathematical creativity. Mathematical
creativity encompasses both applying mathematics to solving problems arising from the
environment, and puzzling over and reasoning about questions that have arisen within a
mathematical context. Students need to be confident in applying the mathematics they
have learned to situations in their environment and in interpreting their conclusions.
Teachers can structure situations in which students investigate problems that are relevant
to their daily lives and that help to answer the questions that students themselves are
asking or can be encouraged to ask.
Encouraging them to reflect on and discuss the strategies they used and the
knowledge and skills they required will assist in this process. These types of activities,
which are good opportunities for group work, will also help students gain the confidence
to approach future mathematical learning and to be willing to apply the strategies they
develop in familial- circumstances to unfamiliar situations and problems.
Student motivation naturally has to do with their desire to participate in the learning
process (Noraini, 2001). Students seek to find self-satisfaction in what they do in class,
and they need external recognition or rewards for their achievements and creativity.

Technology as a Tool for Fostering Mathematical Creativity

Technology such as the graphing calculator can be used to enable students to investigate
and apply mathematical ideas in a way not easily achieved by other means to develop
mathematical creativity. It is known that knowledge and ideas emerge only from a
situation in which learners had to draw them out of experiences they find meaningful
and important. These situations have to occur in a social context, such as a classroom.
162 Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya

Technology also gives an opportunity for creating and exploring mathematical ideas
where irrelevant details are eliminated.
The graphing calculator has the ability to draw and analyze graphs, carry out
complex computations, numerically solve equations, perform matrix arithmetic, animate
and perform statistical analysis. With calculators and computers students can examine
more examples or representational forms than are feasible by hand, so they can make and
explore conjectures easily. The graphic power of technological tools affords access to
visual models that are powerful but that many students are unable or unwilling to generate
independently. The computational capacity of technological tools extends the range of
problems accessible to students and also enables them to execute routine procedures
quickly and accurately, allowing more time for conceptualizing and modeling.
Students' curiosity and creativity are enhanced when the activity relates directly to
students personally and when active participation in the lesson helps maintain interest
over time. In the mathematics classroom, Cangelosi (1996) has reported that mathematics
creativity is displayed by students who think divergently. These students generate ideas,
conjecture, algorithms, or problem solutions. When solving problems, students may be
involved in creative processes such as:
1) Searching for alternative methods of solving a problem.
2) Creating and recognizing patterns.
3) Experimenting with different ways of communicating mathematics and
scientific ideas.
4) Creating personal hypotheses.
5) Generating problems.
Calculators are not just tools for performing computations. They have great potential as
instructional aids for developing mathematical/scientific concepts and understanding. The
TI-84 Plus graphics calculator is a technology developed as an aid in arousing curiosity
and mathematical creativity.
The graphing calculator is a rich learning aid for developing creativity. Its potential is
great and as yet untapped both in developing concepts and in developing positive
attitudes and persistence in problem solving. As stated in the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, "the
thoughtful and creative use of the graphing calculator greatly improves the quality of the
curriculum and the quality of children's learning" (NCTM, 1989, p. 21).
Creativity thrives in an environment where ideas are valued on their own merit,
rather than how they were produced or who produced them. This shows how relevant
motivation, imagination, independence of thinking, and flexible thinking foster creative
thinking (Cangelosi, 1996). To enhance creativity, it is critical therefore that these qualities
be encouraged and developed in the mathematics classroom.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of using TI-84 Plus graphing
calculator as a tool in enhancing teaching to see the impact on attitude and creativity in
mathematics.
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Specifically, this research study seeks to:


(1) Compare scores on mathematical creativity between experimental and
control groups.
(2) Find out the effects of graphing calculator on attitude towards mathematical
creativity,
(3) Find out the perception towards the use of graphing calculator in fostering
matnemaucai creativity.
The research questions are:
(1) Is there a significant difference in students' mathematical creativity score
between experimental and control group?
(2) Does graphing calculator improve the attitude of students toward
mathematical creativity?
(3) How are. The student involved ha the process of learning in the classroom?
(4) What are the perceptions of students towards the use of the graphing
calculator in fostering mathematical creativity?

METHODOLOGY

Site. The study took place in one of the public secondary schools in Selangor. This school
has 1203 students. It serves a diverse academic, social, economic, and cultural population.
The school's major goal is to enable all of its students to be successful in life by preparing
them for higher learning.

Sample. The participants in this study were students (male and female) in Form Four. The
students were between 16 to 17 years old. There were five classes in Form Four. According
to the Principal, classes were of mixed ability — high, average, and low. After discussion
with the Principal and teachers, two intact classes were identified for this study. One class
was assigned to be the experimental group and the other class was assigned as the control
group. Both groups had comparable socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds as well as
comparable mathematics grades, according to the teachers' grade book.

Instruments and Equipment. The instruments in this study consisted of:


(1) Instructional Materials - modules/worksheets to be used in the teaching and
learning to foster mathematical creativity. The activities in the worksheet
provide opportunities for self-initiated learning and established creative
relationships with students to encourage creativity in the mathematics
classroom.
(2) Mathematics Creativity test.
(3) Attitude Inventory Items.
(4) Questionnaire for students' perception.
The equipment used in this study is the TI-84 Plus graphing calculator.
164 Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya

Procedure. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to gather data.
Quantitative data were collected using a pretest and posttest for Mathematics achievement
and a questionnaire for students' perception. Qualitative data on the other hand were
collected by means of observation and interview. The researcher interviewed six students.
The interview sessions were audiotaped.

Data Analysis. Data from students' achievement in pretest and posttest and questionnaire
were analyzed using quantitative analysis by SPSS software. The analysis of students'
responses was carried out based on the audiotaped interviews and the notes made by the
researcher while conducting the interviews and the observation.

FINDINGS

Student Achievement in Mathematical Creativity


To answer the question whether students in the experimental group using graphing
calculator TI-84 Plus achieve significantly greater improvement on Mathematical creativity
compared to students in the control group who do not use the graphing calculator, the
adjusted mean scores on the posttest of the two groups were determined. Table 1 provides a
summary of the adjusted means of the experimental and control groups of subjects.
Table 1
Means and Standard Deviations for Experimental and Control Groups on Pretest and
Posttest Mathematics
Test Experimental Control
Covariate (Pretest) N 53 54
Mean 11.19 11.21
Standard Deviation 3.68 3.22
Dependent (Posttest) N 53 54
Mean 33.71 28.27
Standard Deviation 3.21 3.14
Adjusted Means 33.81 28.33

The pretest mean for the experimental group was 11.19 (SZ>=3.68) compared with the
control group mean of 11.21 (SD=3.22). The posttest means for both groups increased
from the pretest, with the experimental group showing the greater increase. Table 1 shows
the summary of results of the ANCOVA. It shows the adjusted mean of the experimental
group was significantly higher than the adjusted mean of the control group. The results
showed that students in the experimental group had significantly greater improvement on
mathematics achievement than students in the control group.
Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya 165

Students'Attitude toward Mathematical Creativity


Table 2
Mean, Standard Deviation, t-Testfor Experimental and Control Groups
Category Group t p
Experiment Control
Usage of Mathematics al
Pretest
Mean 3.97 3.71 1.74 .21
SD .60 .71
Posttest
Mean 4.58 4,01 1.38 .03
SD .38 .41
Interest towards Mathematics Pretest
Mean 4.01 3.91 .95 .30
SD .60 .71
Posttest
Mean 4.98 4.11
SD .38 .41 1.75 .02

Development of Mathematics Pretest


Creativity Mean 3.89 3.81
SD .57 .61 1.43 .43
Posttest
Mean 4.61 4.23
SD .42 .45 1.52 .04
p<.05

Table 2 shows that in the category of the usage of mathematics, the f-test suggests that the
difference of means between the two groups for the pretest results was not significant at
p<.05, but the difference of means between the two groups for the posttest was significant
at/x.05. In the category of students' interest towards mathematics, the results of the r-test
show that the difference of means between the two groups for the posttest was significant
at p<05. The result also show there was a significant difference for the posttest in the
category of development of mathematics creativity.

Student Involvement in the Process of Learning in the Classroom


Attitude towards Learning. Some students view learning using graphing calculator as an
opportunity to acquire new abilities and skills. Others consider learning using graphing
calculator as presenting competitive situations in which their existing abilities and skills
are challenged. As the observation and interview data were analyzed, it became clear that
the students believe that the use of the graphing calculator helps them to visualize and
develop mathematical creativity.
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Self-confidence. The amount of effort students are willing to invest in a mathematical task
is dependent not only on the value they recognize in the task but also on their perception
of the likelihood that they will successfully complete it. Problem solving, discovering
relationships, proving theorems, analyzing situations, and interpreting mathematical
communications are all cognitive tasks requiring students to work through perplexing
moments. Those who are not confident in their own mathematical abilities tend to stop
working on a task as soon as they become perplexed; the more confident students tolerate
perplexity longer and are more likely to continue with the task.
In this study the majority of respondents are motivated to achieve learning goals they
consider relevant to their needs. Students usually aim to achieve goals they perceive as
interesting. Students, especially those with potential talent in mathematics, need challenge
as well as creative opportunities to explore the nature of mathematics.
Mathematics students especially need time to think about the problem before gaining
an insight into possible solutions. In this study, students in the experimental group were
given similar opportunities to gain insight and this opened up possibilities for creative
mathematical thinking.

Communication Skills, Teachers who focus on efficient communication skills are better
able to develop effective teaching styles. Mathematics lessons typically require students to
receive messages (e.g., by listening to the teacher and to one another and reading
explanations, examples, and directions appearing in textbooks, on visual classroom
displays, worksheets, computer screens, and tests). Schools typically provide students
with extensive exposure to lessons targeting general communications skills (reading,
writing, speaking, and listening). Most of the students in the experimental group agreed
that "... efficient communicators present coherent and meaningful messages." In this
study, it was found that the students were able to sequence messages in ways that allow
students to interpret the intended meaning correctly. It was observed that with the help
of the graphing calculator, students in the experimental group emphasize important and
relevant aspects of mathematics and also established positive relationship with each other
and the teacher.

Perceptions of Students towards the Use of Graphic Calculator to Foster


Mathematical Creativity
Fifty three Form Four students completed a form with the questions as shown in Table 3.
The scaled score is calculated based on 5 - strongly agree, 4 - agree, 3 - not sure, 2 -
disagree, and 1 - strongly disagree.
As shown in Table 3, most of the students showed positive reactions towards the use of
graphic calculator TI-84 Plus.
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Table 3
Student Responses to the Survey on the Usage of Graphic Calculator

Item 5 4 3 2 1
1. It was easy to leam math using TI- 4 48 1 0 0
84 2.1 enjoy math better now than 10 41 1 1 0
before 3.1 like math better now 12 38 2 1 0
4. I learn math better with TI-84 11 41 1 1 0
instead of 9 42 1 1 0
only with book
5. I spend more time on math now 12 40 1 0 0
than be
fore 11 41 1 0 0
6.1 feel confident about trying a new
problem on the TI-84 8 43 0 2 0
7.Graphic calculator TI-84 helps me
in 10 41 1 1 0
understanding the topics better
8.I am able to interact with my
teacher and
friends
9.It helps me to learn math by discovering

CONCLUSION

To support mathematical creativity, teachers must create a classroom community where


students will feel free to express their ideas and create a climate for imaginative, inventive
and risk taking behavior (Brophy, 1990; Corcoran, 2000; Noraini Idris, 2001). Students
who obtain lower grades need help from teachers in order to explore alternative solutions
and share mathematical ideas in ways clear enough for other students to understand.
Resourcefulness, persistence, and problem solving are all characteristics of the potentially
creative mathematical thinker (Meissner, 2000). In a positive classroom climate, students
are treated as competent individuals capable of learning and understanding the need to
learn; they participate in whole-class discussions and respond to one another directly,
besides listening, paraphrasing, questioning, and interpreting others' ideas. Yet students
in the secondary schools are often reluctant to stand out during group interactions. In
this study, learning to see things from another person's perspective is a challenge for
students.
Teachers can create communication rich environments in mathematics classrooms
by using the graphing calculator as a tool in their teaching. The results of the study
suggest that using the graphing calculator enhances students' level of understanding,
communication skills, mathematical creativity and positive attitude. The results also
suggest that involvement is the key in fostering mathematical creativity. By the time
students complete secondary school, they should have internalized standards of dialogue
and argument so they always aim to present clear and complete arguments. Modeling and
carefully posed question can help clarify age-appropriate expectations for student work
(Cairncross, 2000; Saracho, 1990). Furthermore, a good mathematical mind is capable of
168 Jurnal Pendidikan 2006, Universiti Malaya

investigating a problem from many different aspects. The graphing calculator helps promote
these characteristics because it fosters student involvement and participation in classroom
discussion. It encourages students to ask for explanations and discuss justification for
their answers, thus creating a conducive climate for mathematical creativity.

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