Mathematical Modeling and Proof

In this paper, it is argued that modeling could be seen as the first stage of the proving process. An experiment conducted with grade 10 (15 year old) learners in a small suburb in Durban will be discussed. The experiment showed that as a result of the modeling process, learners felt the need to know why the result was true, not because they doubted whether the result was true, but due to the innate desire for an explanation. A lot of work on similar topics have been done elsewhere in the world, but not much has been done in South Africa. Furthermore, the experiment was conducted using Sketchpad as a mediating tool. This in itself was a difficult task because our learners have not been really exposed to dynamic geometry environments