Calculators have become an integral part in the teaching of
mathematics. In many classrooms that I have substitute taught in, the students
need to use a calculator to complete addition and subtraction computations.
From this the question arises, do these students understand the fundamental
concepts behind the calculations that the calculators are performing for them
or have they just formed a dependency on this tool? With the growing
accessibility to calculators in today’s society, it is imperative that students
not only learn how to complete the operations with the calculator, but also to understand
the operations behind the calculator.
With technology
today, it is almost impossible to find yourself without access to a calculator.
We have them installed on our phones, computers and tablets, and we can always
find more complex versions on the internet. Therefore, we are transitioning to
a time when memorizing multiplication tables are no longer necessary. With
consistent access to calculators, how will we now teach addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and addition? How will we be able to assess that students
understand these concepts? To what degree is it acceptable for a student to depend
on calculators for their computations? These questions, among many more, must
be well thought out in educating students.
I agree with you about the arguments lying behind using calculators. Even when I was younger, I remember using a calculator in almost all of my math assignments. However, when I got to high school many teachers did not allow us to use calculators. But the downside here is that some students who may not understand the computations involved in doing the mathematical problems, will use the calculators at home because it makes it easier for them. I am not a Math major so I do not know how to advise you on this. I just think that students need to be taught all the different methods involved in computing certain problems so that they do not need to rely on the calculator because they are so comfortable with their own computation skills.
ReplyDeleteJacklyn, I completely agree with your whole post. Doing my fieldwork I find that the students want to use the calculator for everything they do even for simple addition. I believe that sometimes it is not necessary for the students to use calculators; therefore, in the future I will select which assignments need calculators and which do not. I believe that students should first be taught how to apply a concept by hand then use the calculator once it is understood how to be done by hand. I do not really believe calculators are a bad thing, but only when students become too dependent on them.
ReplyDeleteI agree. This generation has changed a lot through technology. I cannot believe that nowadays phone are carrying calculator. All sorts of calculator usage can be download or buy on the phone. But i think its better to learn and educate students shouldn't use calculator for simple questions or equation because then, they will have to use calculator all the time, not giving them a chance to solve the question on their own. This in fact isn't helping the students to use their critical knowledge in math.
ReplyDeleteThere were very few teachers that I had that prohibited the use of calculators and I think there should have been more of them. From my experience with calculators, there was an option to save notes in them and I know many students would use this as a way to cheat. So while calculators were used, students also relied on cheating. This is the ongoing battle we have with technology. It makes our lives easier but it also takes away the authenticity in some aspects.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very important thing to consider. Should memorizing multiplication tables really be necessary? Surely the justification that students might not always have access to a calculator is valid but not as much as it used to be. Perhaps we should be showing students how much simpler life is without having to rely on a calculator to do simple addition and multiplication.
ReplyDelete