Calculators in the Math Classroom

by Jim McCue
(Boise, Idaho)

Hello Fellow Math Teachers,

I have another survey question for you:

Do you allow calculators in your math class and why ?

I was shocked to see students who did not know their times table, could not do simple mind calculations like adding 8 + 7,multiply by 10 or 100.

What age do you believe students should be allowed to use calculators in class?

I strongly believe the use of calculators in math classes is having a direct impact on students ability to use their own minds to perform simple 'mental' calculations.

This ability to do 'lighting math' as my college accounting professor called it is being lost by the current generation of students in schools.

Now I teach community college math and I observe the younger students struggle with this while the older students are quick in their minds doing the mental calculations.

While I believe a calculator should be used for difficult problems such as 8543.3 divided by 567.4, students should be able to divide 85 by 5 !! at the very least be able to perform 'side work' to determine the answer.

Thanks for your input,

Jim McCue

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Calculators in the Math Classroom

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Dec 31, 2009
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Calculators in the Classroom
by: Karin

Hi Jim,

Another great survey question! I think that this is a very frustrating problem for many teachers! It's difficult to teach the higher level skills when students can't get passed the basic math facts. Then when you throw integer rules on top - it not only adds to our frustration, but to our students' frustrations as well!

Unfortunately, I believe that many students in the elementary school are not encouraged to "memorize" their math facts. I believe that this is due to how the curriculum has changed over the years! Since we have moved away from traditional ways of learning, there is a serious impact on our students in higher level math classes. The question is: what can we as teachers do?

I don't have a solution, but let me think on that one....

I did not allow calculators for purposes of calculating. After learning the Algebra skills (on paper) I did teach students how to use the graphing calculator functions to check their answers. I felt that this was preparing them for higher level math classes!

We'd love to hear your ideas if anyone else experiences this problem!

To Your Success,
Karin

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