Creativity in the Classroom‐‐A Discussion of the Place of Original Work in a Mathematical Education

Summary

As a teacher of undergraduates, the main concern of the author in this article is the development of that aspect of a student's mathematical ability which may be called ‘originality’ or ‘creativity’.

After discussing the traditional view by way of an introduction, an analysis is given which highlights several important components of a student's mathematical abilities. This leads to a discussion of the contribution which can be made to the development of these components by ‘discovery methods’, and of how these may be used in undergraduate teaching. Finally a brief account is given, with references, of work of this kind which is in progress at all levels of mathematical education.