Questions tagged [calculators]
Questions about the use of various handheld calculating devices and their role or effect in mathematics education.
17
questions
13
votes
6answers
3k views
Is it a bad idea to offer variants of a final exam based on the type of allowed calculators?
Background/rant:
I am in charge of teaching our single quarter course on vector calculus (don't ask me why the department head thinks the area can be covered in half a semester). The two biggest ...
12
votes
1answer
192 views
Do electronic calculators inhibit mathematical thinking?
I am interested in educators real-world experience or being pointed to any research in this area.
I have a student whose arithmetic skills are weak for his/her age. The student counts on his/her ...
6
votes
9answers
5k views
Why are calculators not allowed in post-secondary exams?
Before you downvote this question, I actually want an answer to this. Is the calculator going to give me my derivative? No. Is it going to give me my integral? No. It can sure give me the answer to my ...
9
votes
1answer
402 views
Are there examples of countries where the use of CAS systems or graphing calculators was deemphasized or discontinued?
In the last 30 years more and more countries introduced graphing calculators and then CAS systems to their high-school students. But are there already any examples of a trend in the opposite direction?...
24
votes
8answers
4k views
How can I convince someone to use a calculator and not worry about the mechanics too much?
I'm trying to help someone pass their final exam (analysis of functions) so they can graduate high school and move on to college. (Not a teacher, just another student, currently in high level math)
...
4
votes
3answers
218 views
Statistics students lack calculator skills, how to help them?
Many of my statistics students will calculate the standard deviation for a set of data using the formula when it is not required or appropriate. When faced with something like $\sqrt{56}$ they will ...
9
votes
2answers
476 views
Becoming independent of the calculator
I have an excellent undergraduate student who is suddenly being put into math classes where she does not have access to a calculator. She is fine with all the new topics, but when running into ...
7
votes
2answers
225 views
High school level activities to decrease reliance on calculators?
At the school I am student teaching at starting in 2 weeks (Algebra 1), students are strongly encouraged to rely on their calculators for nearly everything, from any operation with fractions to ...
17
votes
3answers
1k views
How to create a misuse of calculator!
Let me start by sharing what happened in my class today. The subject was complex number and I started with the historical problem of "finding two numbers whose sum is equal to 10 and whose product is ...
3
votes
2answers
203 views
How to reinforce mental times tables skills in a senior calculus (optimisation) class?
Like many teachers, I see the students reach for the calculators to solve problems - now graphics calculators are indeed very useful for modelling in topics such as optimisation.
However, I notice ...
11
votes
3answers
539 views
Appropriate ways/sayings to discourage undergraduate students' overreliance on calculators
Main question: How do I, in a medium- to large-sized undergraduate class setting, appropriately and effectively discourage students from relying too heavily on calculators?
There have been several ...
20
votes
2answers
672 views
Handing out $2 calculators for tests?
In a store last weekend, I saw a simple solar-powered calculator for $2. It had four functions plus a square root key. I'm considering the possibility of buying 50 such calculators and handing them ...
6
votes
2answers
344 views
Is there a calculator centered secondary school curriculum somewhere?
(tl;dr: skip to the question)
Context
For the last few years I have been pondering about the use and disuse of calculators in secondary school level mathematics. Now, after coming across a 'hot ...
51
votes
14answers
13k views
Student: Why not use a calculator?
The kid I am teaching math (subtraction for large numbers right now) just said this is all too easily done by a calculator, why don't we use it?
Well, I did tell him that you can only learn more ...
12
votes
6answers
1k views
Should my high school students use tablets or conventional calculators?
Background: I'm teaching mathematics at a high school with emphasis on mathematics and natural sciences. Usually, pupils at our school have to buy a calculator (TI-89) and we work with those during ...
13
votes
2answers
644 views
How does a reliance on calculators affect student performance?
Overheard in the Math Office while another Professor was helping a student with Statistics:
Always use a calculator when doing decimal arithmetic because you'll eventually make a mistake if you do ...
16
votes
2answers
1k views
A study comparing effects of calculator usage on later math skills?
Each year my university tries to decide whether or not it will have calculator and CAS based introductory math courses (the calculus sequence, linear algebra, and ODE) or not. Other than some hearsay ...
