How To Incorporate Calculators Into The Teaching Of Mathematics To Get The Best Results

Many parents fear that what the student will learn after a mathematics course is only how to use the buttons of a calculator.

Moreover, they fear that their children would become so dependent on calculators that they can not do without it.

These fears are due to their experience with mathematics which was long hours of paper and pencil calculations. The way mathematics is perceived and practiced has changed dramatically today and it is not at all what they used to practice. They used to see it as hard work with tedious paper and pencil calculations, memorization of formulas, and implementation of algorithms.
Mathematics as seen today is about logic, sense, abstract thinking and problem solving. It is about understanding concepts and applying appropriate methods.
The mathematics manipulations are not the goal but are the lowest level tools for reaching the goal.

This is the principle reason why the use of calculators is recommended for teaching mathematics from as early as kindergarten.

The emphasis of this article is to show how to incorporate calculators into the teaching process.

There are many different approaches to handle this problem but they all revolve around some basic principles. First is the use of calculators to experiment with concepts. For example calculators can be used to experiment with percent, fractions, area, and volume.
This makes the student actually take an active role in the education process rather than sit back and listen to the input information.

It also has the advantage of making the student at ease with modern technology and breaks any psychological barrier with modern technology.

The emphasis should be made on gaining estimation and data analysis skills. The student should look at the output of calculations with a scientific critical eye.
It should make him able to estimate and predict facts. The speed at which the calculators can finish tedious calculations should give the teachers more time to spend on understanding concepts.

The books should be written in a way that allows more time for concept understanding.

Since calculators are used to solve tedious arithmetic calculations the books can contain problems with real life complicated numbers. This makes realistic answers that relate to real life situations. Incorporating calculators according to these broad guidelines will not only improve the mathematical abilities of the student but it will improve his communications skills with other students and teachers.

This is because he had an active role in his education and he did communicate his observations with others.
In addition, the students would love mathematics and be excited about it