Prof. Jonaki Ghosh

Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi

Title of the talk:

Technology enabled explorations: A rich context for integrating Computational thinking and mathematical thinking

Abstract :

In recent times computational thinking (CT) has been identified as an important skill to be developed in children right from the school years. While CT encompasses a broad skill set applicable across contexts and domains, it is also intimately connected with mathematical thinking (MT). Thus mathematics as a school subject becomes the natural choice for integrating CT based activities. However, developing appropriate tasks, which foster both CT and MT in students, is a key pedagogical challenge. This talk will illustrate the synergistic interplay between computational thinking and mathematical thinking through examples of CT – MT integrated tasks enabled by technology. Such tasks enable students to engage in the processes of visualization, recursion, generalization, decision-making and analyzing algorithms - all of which are critical from computational as well as mathematical perspectives. Evidence of progression in students’ thinking, as they are engaged with such tasks and their positive feedback leads to a convincing argument for integrating such tasks in the mathematics curriculum.

About the speaker :

Jonaki Ghosh is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Elementary Education, Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi where she teaches courses related to mathematics education. Prior to joining LSR she taught mathematics at the Delhi Public School R K Puram for nearly 13 years. She obtained her Ph.D in Applied Mathematics from Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi and Masters in Mathematics from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Her primary areas of research interest are in use of technology in mathematics instruction, professional development of mathematics teachers, project-based approach to mathematics learning and popularization of mathematics. She regularly participates in national and international conferences by delivering lectures and conducting workshops. She has published articles in proceedings of conferences as well as national and international journals and has also authored books for school students. She is on the editorial panel of At Right Angles, a mathematics magazine published by the Azim Premji University and the Electronic Journal of Mathematics and Technology. She is on the international program committee of the Asian Technology Conference in Mathematics and on the program committee of several national conferences in mathematics education. She has also set up the Ramanujan Foundation for Initiatives in Mathematics Education which caters to professional development programmes and training for mathematics teachers at all levels of school education. Her workshops focus on innovative practices in teaching mathematics through hands – on activities and technology and emphasize on enhancing the content knowledge of teachers. She has helped to set up mathematics labs in various schools. She has recently been a member of the National Education Policy Interdisciplinary Courses Committee this year and has been actively involved in designing courses on mathematics and IT skills. She is a member of the Scientific Review Committee of the DST sponsored Initiative in Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) project. She has been the recipient of National Women’s Empowerment and Development Award conferred by the International Association of Educators for World Peace on 11th July 2017 at the India International Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.