List of Contents

Summer 2014

Editorial

The Creative Enterprise of Mathematics Teaching-Research: Elements of Methodology and Practice – from Teachers to Teachers. Title and List of Contents
Bronislaw Czarnocha, William Baker, Olen Dias, Vrunda Prabhu, Ruslan Flek (editor)

Bisociation in Math Education
William Baker

Bisociation – the theory of the Aha! moment. The basis for human mathematical creativity and for computer creativity of data mining (teaching-research report based on the presentation to Mathematical Transgressions conference in Krakow, June, 2014)
Bronislaw Czarnocha

Five presentations on Koestler and Human and Computer Creativity
Bronislaw Czarnocha

• Bisociation of Koestler (The Act of Creation, 1964) as the Theory of the !Aha!-moment. The basis for the mathematical creativity in the mathematics classroom, and beyond. Napoli, May 9, 2014
• Bisociation of Arthur Koestler in the Act of Creation (1964) as the foundation of Human and Computer Creativity. Napoli, May 13, 2014
• What’s happening with Mathematics Education in US and in New York City? Napoli May 27, 2014
• Bisociation of Koestler (The Act of Creation, 1964) as the Theory of the !Aha!-moment. Lanzhow, China, June 27, 2014
• THE AIM: To introduce new, “authoritative definition of creativity” in mathematics. July 15, 2014, PME 30, Vancouver, Canada
• Download the Five Presentations

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Editorial

The 21st issue of MTRJ is focused on Arthur Koestler’s Act of Creation, which have recently become a powerful inspiration for us, for the mathematics Teacher-Researchers of the Bronx. Koestler was introduced to us by Vrunda Prabhu, who coordinated the approach she developed together with her classroom collaborators while conducting the C3IRG 7 CUNY grant supported teaching-research experiment on problem solving, with the Koestler’s bisociation theory of the Aha moment.

It became clear that Teaching-Research NYCity model is actually a bisociative framework that is such a framework which provides the necessary basis for creative spontaneous thinking of the Aha moment. It became clear that the power and excitement of TR/NYCity is exactly in those unusual creative possibilities which this methodology offers to its practitioners.

This issue informs about the book Creative Enterprise of Teaching-Research submitted to the publisher by the teacher-researchers of the Bronx with the expectation of publishing it by the Summer 2014. We provide the title page and the list of content which contains several extended treatments of Koestler’s theory from different points of view.

Two articles concerning Koestler by Bill Baker and Bronislaw Czarnocha follow the introduction of the book.

A special feature of this issue is the collection of 5 presentations about Koestler and related issues delivered by Broni Czarnocha during first half of his sabbatical (Spring 2014). They have the same or similar title proposing collaboration between in practicing and investigating human and computer creativity, however, each presentation focuses on different aspects of this interphase. The first three presentations were done in May 2014 to the professors and students of education at Federico Segundo University in Naples, Italy. The next one is from the conference of Chinese National Association of Mathematics Teachers in Lanzhow, Ghansi province, China and the last one is from the PME 30 conference in Vancouver, July 2014. Together with the two articles, they provide and interesting and intriguing entry into the relevance of Koestler’s work for math education, for crossing the achievement gaps in US and many other countries and redirecting the attention of educators into investigating the conditions of “creativity of all” and its classroom practice.

All those themes are explored deeper in the upcoming book Creative Enterprise of Teaching-Research, Elements of Methodology and Practice – from Teachers to Teachers.