Students struggle with fractions, order of operations, and the distributive property.
Questions:- Is the calculator to arithmetic as spell checker is to writing?
- If I can't compute accurately, can I just use a calculator?
- Do multiple representations of an idea help or get in the way?
- What strategies and support should be employed when students struggle with prerequisite skills?
- Should they be retaught during class? What about those that possess these skills?
- Should students that don't possess prerequisite skills choose to come to Office Hours?
- Should students that don't possess prerequisite skills be required to come to Office Hours?
To address your first question, I believe that a calculator for arithmetic is not the equivalent of a spell checker for writing. When you enter text into a document that is equipped with spell-checker, the words are automatically underlined in red. When numbers are entered into a calculator, it still relies on a student's judgement; they must know the right numbers and parentheses to get the outcome they are seeking. Spell-checker requires no thought on the student's part, and a calculator requires some sort of knowledge on the subject.
ReplyDelete- Caroline Paxton
Verying interesting point, Caroline. Thank you! I hadn't thought of it that way. Mr. McCalla pointed out to me that our English teachers embrace more technology that math teachers. This caused me to wonder about using calcuators more frequently for basic arithmetic so that we can get to problem-solving.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that the calculator require some knowledge and that when used, we are not taking thinking out of the process.
I am a student in Mr. McCalla's Algebra II class. I think that just as a spell checker is a learning instrument to learning to properly spell, so is a calculator. A student should not rely on spell check to properly spell words; they should have a general sense of spelling and be not completely reliant on spell check. I think that this should also be applied to the calculator as students should know how to do math without the use of a calculator; it should simply be used as a device to double check and for very difficult problems. Just as most students tend to rely on the dictionary for extremely difficult and long words.
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ReplyDeleteHi, I am also a student from Mr. McCalla’s algebra class! After reading this post, I have to disagree with Caroline. I agree with Elianna; I think that if calculators are used too early in a student’s education, they can slow progress in learning fundamental math skills. Spell-check can suggest words that it believes are what you are trying to spell, but because spelling is not usually as logical as math, it can’t give you a definite answer, as a calculator can. In addition, most basic math is simply logic, and an inability to perform simple functions, such as the example of adding fractions, can result in a handicap later in high school. If a student wishes to pursue math further outside of school, they can’t use a calculator; most high school competitions don’t allow it. I agree that problem solving is the main point of math and the most fun part of it, but problem solving becomes more difficult when you are constantly reaching for your calculator. Part of problem solving is logic, a skill developed in simple arithmetic. As far as multiple representations, I believe that any kind of visual representation is very good in demonstrating mathematical concepts. Most of the people I have talked to about learning styles have told me that they are visual learners, and being one myself, I can attest to the fact that a visual representation helps a lot! Finally (I know I am writing far too much, but please bear with me), if a student lacks the fundamental skills in any subject, I believe they should have a choice between going to seek help or trying to help themselves. He or she may think that learning the subject a different way from everyone else will help them more, or they may simply need more practice. In any case, being forced to attend extra lessons doesn’t help a student to enjoy a subject they are already struggling in.
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