technology Should schools teach with or without calculators?

[Phaeston-e12 173]

University undergraduate 3rd year with physics major here, without a calculator and without computational programs like the Mathematica, I would want to kill myself when I'm trying to do some matrix/calculus/geometric/time consuming mathematics operations.

 

So the calculator is there to reduce the time you spend on doing complex and time consuming mathematical operations which otherwise could've been used for the conceptual analysis. But in order to get to that point, you have to know how those operations work and how to do it properly.

 

The calculator won't tell you how to do Lagragian, Hamiltonian operations nor will tell you how to do Fourier series analysis on some complex equations you've generated. It's not going to tell you what physical meaning a particular physics equation holds. Because of that, you need to have a solid foundation on what the calculator is doing it for you. Also from a societal point of view, everyone who graduates from the High school should at least know how to perform a variety of fundamental mathematical operations and some basic calculus operations as well regardless of what career path you want to take; those things are extremely easy to understand and the logical pathway you learn by understanding those will help you throughout your entire life.

Edited October 20, 2012 by Phaeston-e12

[khaine21x3 789]

Back in my day we grew up without calculator and even now still don't use them but I guess it's an older generation's thing.I'm used to see currencies in the millions so math is no problem for me.

[MVC NVMXD JVRXD 2,406]

I personally believe that calculators are necessary for a lot of the really.. erm.. useful math. Once you get passed the basics and into more challenging math, it'd be almost impossible NOT to use a calculator.

Plus, I don't see why people think depending on a calculator is a big problem. Aren't a lot of them solar powered, anyway? Unless all electronic devices stop working, you'll still be able to use one.

[Titan Rising 2,156]

Teachers should teach without so students actually understand the concept behind what they're doing. Teachers should also be granted more freedom with the rate that they teach things so they can actually go through the math proofs, because if students don't understand the proof then they don't understand the problem, and if they don't understand the problem then they're just memorizing formulas and will forget them immediately after the end of the term.

[5guysburgersnfries 216]

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Edited November 13, 2022 by 5guysburgersnfries

[Nohbdy 4,108]

Only after middle school. Before high school, students need to build a solid foundation on math. Calculators are essential for trigonometry and calculus, but it's really quite sad how so many people are unable to do basic arithmetic without a calculator.

 

Ever wonder why Asians are known for being good at math? Their schools don't allow calculators (at least in China, anyway).

[Skullbuster 1,906]

calculator use should start at 8th grade on, hell calculators are the only reason i even passed my math classes in high school

[spaghettinoodles 298]

Once you get to 9th grade algebra and more advanced math, a calculator is essential, especially when it comes to things like finding roots of imperfect squares and dividing very large numbers. But in elementary and middle school, calculators shouldn't be necessary. If people started relying on calculators for simple mathematics then we'd all become mathematically illiterate.

[mathboy 4]

An argument that I haven't seen here yet (correct me if I'm wrong) is how useful estimation and error-checking are. There are plenty of times you want to apply math to new situations and you'll want a calculator for accuracy. But when do you know that you punched in the numbers right? Especially getting into higher maths/science, or just longer calculations (like in accounting), error checking is really important. Knowing when an answer just *feels* a bit off, knowing when to look for mistakes...it's really crucial. That only comes from practice without a calculator, and explicit teaching and practice in quick estimation.

 

Should you be expected to answer 926*583 without a calculator? No. Should you be expected to know that it's 5-6,000? Yes. That requires at least some practice without a calculator.

[Teller 360]

Back when I was in Algebra, I didn't really need to use calculators because I could do most of the problems in my head.

 

Calculus, though, a calculator is a must. If you expect me to find the volume of the largest rectangular parallelepiped inscribed in ellipsoid x²/9 + y²+16 + z²/36 = 1, you better hand me a calculator.

[Jalaton 155]

I think that for more basic math like in elementary and even some of middle school a calculator should be discouraged but once you get to high school and start doing more advanced math calculators should be allowed. If you don't get what you're doing in those classes a calculator isn't gonna help you and they help to speed up how quickly you do the porblems. My teacher actually encourages people to bring scientific calculators. Funnily enough I did a test yesterday without a calculator cause I had forgotten mine.

[Skrinky 25]

I believe that people should have basic knowledge of maths, but in practical situations, there is rarely a time when one does not have some sort of calculator, be it on a phone or ipod, so I feel that these things should be taught with a calculator.

[Lost Profile 644]

i think yes... because in the old days there was no tech and students need to learn how to use the modern tech stuff!

 

but idk... math is for egg heads

[Leafeon 2,702]

Since people have calculators on their phones, and most people have phones, they should teach with them. It makes the teaching progress much quicker and also teacher kids how to use calculators. Which is nice.

[Zygen 6,066]

I don't have a problem with using a calculator, I see no harm as it saves you time, however just using a calculator to cheat your way through all the questions and not have any understanding of how you got it is kinda dumb.

 

While I COULD do all the questions in my head or on paper, it not only hurts my head to do that, or takes up more paper and time, but it just isn't efficent if you already know the basic stuff and understand the concepts, and you just need to get down other operations.

 

Once you learn the concepts and reasons why this equals this and all that I see no harm in using a calculator, and using it for big division multiplication and stuff is fine, I mean nobody wants to write all that out, I don't think students should use it to skip learning a formula, but use it to skip all the stuff they already understand.

 

This is coming from a student myself, I actually didn't use my calculator that much until later last year and this year in highschool. I use to do all the stuff in my head or on paper, but now I see that its just kinda a waste to do giant numbers in your head when you can not have to burden your mind with it and just use a calculator.

[Pinkazoid 3,493]

I can do work with or without a calculator but once I reached High school, I didn't have time to do smaller problems while I did a much more complicated equation, so I use it for the simpler parts such as a double digit multiplication, which'd take me only 30 seconds or so to figure out on my own.

[Pony Joe 583]

I'd say calculators should be forbidden until Algebra 1 (where they'd be used for graphing, quadratic formula, etc.) and used regularly from Geometry onward.  Most of the skills you learn after that require usage of trigonometric ratios, irrational numbers, and rectangular, polar, and parametric graphs.  Most of these are impossible or, at very least, excruciatingly time-consuming to work out by hand.

 

The thing is, after a certain point, math lessons become much more conceptual, focusing on the problem solving process rather than what tools you use to get there.  The focus shifts, as it should, away from basic operations and towards the more complex problems that they are building blocks for.  Making us do long division by hand to find the transverse axis length of a hyperbola is redundant and only wastes time that could be spent exploring new uses for the skills we've learned.

 

I'm not saying that mental math is unimportant; if you can't do things like multiplication by 5 and division by 2 in your head, you definitely need practice.  However, banning calculators from classes that teach more than simple equations is simply ridiculous.

 

Wow, I did not expect this post to be so long and persuasive-essay-esque.