This article is written to share teaching ideas about using commonly available computer applications—a spreadsheet, The Geometer's Sketchpad, and Wolfram Alpha—to explore three classic and historically significant problems from the probability theory. These ideas stem from the authors’ work with prospective economists, mathematicians, and teachers. The historical contexts include the problem of the division of stakes (14th century), the problem of the Grand Duke of Tuscany (17th century), and the problem of co-primality of two natural numbers chosen at random (19th century). The suggested use of computers can be extended to other probability contexts to achieve at least two goals: to make complex mathematical ideas more accessible and to emphasize the importance of experimental evidence as a means of conceptual development in mathematics for all student populations.

Translated title of the contributionПреподавание классических вероятностных задач с помощью современных цифровых средств
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)318-336
Number of pages19
JournalComputers in the Schools
Volume34
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Oct 2017

    Research areas

  • computational experiments, historical perspectives, mathematics education, Probability, relative frequency, spreadsheets, Wolfram Alpha

    Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science(all)
  • Education
  • Library and Information Sciences

ID: 10853360