Openness and Constraints Associated with Creativity-Directed Activities in Mathematics for All Students

In this response paper, I address the collection of chapters devoted to creativity-directed activities in mathematics. I analyse the chapters in the light of recommendations for the development of twenty-first-century skills that include creativity. I outline the commonalities and differences in the works of different authors through the lens of activity theory. Then I suggest categorization of the creativity-directed mathematical tasks presented here using three distinct features that appear in multiple chapters: openness, constraints and mathematical insight. Finally, I argue that creativity-directed activities constitute a springboard for the development of cognitive, intrapersonal and interpersonal skills by means of mathematical instruction.