EJMT Abstract

A counterexample is an example that refutes the propriety of some statement. For a mathematician, constructing counterexamples is a common way to disproof mathematical conjectures. Counterexamples also help her to establish the constraints imposed on theorems. This paper shows that in mathematics education, counterexamples can and should be applied at the earliest stages – in the study of concepts, long before the first acquaintance with the theorems and proofs. Herewith, the use of software becomes an organic element of the learning process.