Tinkering in algebra - the case of John

International audienceFinding a general rule for a figural pattern is a common type of task in early algebra, intended to enhance the ability to express generalization. In light of the incorporation of programming in school mathematics, this paper reports on one teacher's experience of using tinkering as a didactic strategy for patterning tasks, in comparison with a traditional approach. The discussion centers around possible benefits of integrating programming and algebra. An affordance of working with a computer program was that the general expression became relevant for the students and changed from being the end point of a patterning task to function as the starting point for mathematical tinkering