CAS-enabled technologies as 'agents provocateurs' in teaching and learning mathematical modelling in secondary school classrooms

This paper draws on a one year study of three secondary school classrooms to examine the nature of student-student-technology interaction when working in partnership with computer algebra systems (CAS) on mathematical modelling tasks and the classroom affordances and constraints that influence such interaction. The analysis of these data indicates that CAS enabled technologies have a role to play as provocateurs of productive student-student-teacher interaction in both small group and whole class settings. The authors' research indicates that technologies that incorporate CAS capabilities have the potential to mediate collaborative approaches to mathematical enquiry within life-related mathematical tasks. [Author abstract]