Problem-based Digital Making Tasks
Make a device that would display a student’s piggy bank balance after each deposit. Compare two offers:
- The first offer is that the teacher gives her $3 today and $222 everyday thereafter.
- The second offer is to give her $3 today; then each subsequent weekend (Saturday and Sunday), he gives her double the amount he gave her the previous time.
Suppose the offer is valid for two months from today, which offer should the student take?
How CT may Support Mathematics Learning
Under the two offers, two variables (e.g. balance and deposit) will be operated on to yield new terms in an arithmetic sequence or series. A counter will be used to keep track of the reiteration of adding deposits.
Reference: Ng, O., & Cui, Z. (accepted). Towards a computationally enhanced mathematics education: Primary students’ problem-based digital making. ZDM: The International Journal of Mathematics Education.
