At the high school where I teach
Algebra and Geometry, our schools provide
graphic calculators only for the "higher level" classes.
For Algebra and Pre-Algebra classes, Scientific calculators
are provided to calculate square roots, trig ratios,
to add or subtract, multiply or divide fractions,
to change from standard number notation to "scientific
notation", etc.
I guess I'm old fashioned and slow to change; in Algebra-I and also in
Pre-Algebra, I require the students to:
(1) start with some equation which I provide
(2) develop an x-y data table of "values"
(3) choose 8-10 "x-values" with 4 or 5 negative x's.
(4) manually plot the 8 or 10 points from the data table
(5) connect the points to get a straight line or
a parabola
(6) then, make some conjectures about the equation
and try to see if or how the equation gives any hints
about what the shape and/or the location of the function
will be.
I believe that it's still
OK for today's students to begin to "feel" and to "see"
how certain equations give certain plots, and to
be able to construct/draw the graphs independent of the
graphic calculator.
graphs on lined paper, most of the time, what
they "draw" is fairly removed from what the actual
graph looks like; so I keep returning to graph
paper.
In California, our State Math Framework, recommends the use of graph paper
for high school Algebra (now called "Integrated Math"); I'm not sure what
percent of our teachers
use graph paper, but I think that I will poll our
15 teachers and report back on what they are doing.
The question I have for readers of this list; do you
think it's OK for students to use Graphic Calculators
while they are in high school???
Regards,
The Old Pro
>
>At 10:02 AM 2/25/1998 -0500, you wrote:
>>
>> I would like to ask a question concerning current instructional
>>practices among the individuals contributing to this list. Specifically,
>>to what extent and in what ways do you use _graph paper_ in conjunction with
>>teaching of graphing?
>>
>> While some of my colleagues here at NTID believe strongly in having
>>students "develop a feel" for plotting points by actually setting up axes
>>on a sheet of graph paper and marking down points with given (or determined)
>>coefficients, and some still have students carry out the plotting of (say)
>>a parabola point by point, I myself have not touched graph paper (nor
asked my
>>students to) for some years now. The explorations that can be carried
out with
>>a graphing calculator (which we require of all our students), combined
with the
>>experience and insight to be gained from producing an acceptable _sketch_
(on
>>plain paper) of what one sees in the calculator window -- a report of what
>>_ought_ to be showing if the calculator could produce a perfect graph --
>>together allow me to get at all the areas of understanding that I used to
>>depend on the use of graph paper to develop in students.
>>
>> In fact I now find the use of graph paper (or the use of lined
>>notebook paper functioning as "half-graph" paper) to be _limiting_. I
find it
>>much more satisfactory to have students practice setting up approximate
(but
>>fairly accurate) scales of their own, and estimate positions of points and
>>shapes of curves "by eye", rather than having them automatically follow the
>>blue lines.
>>
>> But I've always been the radical in this department! Every department
>>needs one, but also needs a degree of control. I've had to retreat in
the past
>>from positions I've taken and experiments I've tried, and in general am
happy
>>to bow to wisdom from my colleagues. Perhaps I have gone off the deep
end here
>>again. What is your take?
>>
>>RWW Taylor
>>National Technical Institute for the Deaf
>>Rochester Institute of Technology
>>Rochester NY 14623
>>
>>>>>> The plural of mongoose begins with p. <<<<
>>
>>P.S. I have no financial stake in this issue, having long ago sold off
>> all my stock in graph-paper-printing comapnies. :-)}
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