>A calculator on the other hand, adds the fraction without any
understanding of the concept.
I GUESS A CALCULATOR DOES ALL MATHEMATICS WITHOUT CONCEPTUALIZATION - WHEN
IT IS USED TO DO MATH. IT IS OUR JOB TO DEVELOP MATERIALS FOR THE
CALCULATOR THAT TEACH CONCEPTS -- GUIDED DISCOVERY EXERCISES WORK WELL FOR
THIS.
ED
Maybe great for applications, but I treat my basic math class as learning
basic math concepts with applications thrown in to show how to use the
concepts in the "real world". The concepts they learn will help them in
their other math classes.
>
>I teach my other math classes how to use the calculator and how to use it
right, but it doesn't do the algebra. I use the calculator extensively in
statistics because of the long data sets. But the students have to
understand how to use the answers the calculator gives them. Same for
applied calculus.
>
>Calculators are great. I can't imagine living without them, but I do get
a little upset when I go to the store and the computers are down so no one
can wait on you, because they don't understand the concept of sales tax and
discounts. :-)
>
>Sandra Rena Chandler (A listserv is now available for )
>Mathematics Faculty (all my students. If you would )
>Thomas W. Moss, Jr. Campus (like to join, let me know. )
>Tidewater Community College
>Norfolk, Virginia 23510
>tcchans@tc.cc.va.us
>http://www.tc.cc.va.us/faculty/tcchans
>757-822-1335
>--------------------------
>"Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe." --
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
>====================================
>
>
>>>> Edward Laughbaum <elaughba@MATH.OHIO-STATE.EDU> 02/25 1:44 PM >>>
>At 12:04 PM 2/25/99 -0500, Bret Taylor wrote:
>>Thank you.
>>
>>Our school is apparently one of the dwindling few who do not allow use of
>>technology at the developmental level.
>THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT HAND-HELD TECHNOLOGY IS A TEACHING TOOL. SO
>BY REFUSING TO ALLOW CALCULATORS IS TO DENY TEACHERS THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO
>TEACH. ANOTHER RELATED PROBLEM IS THAT HAND-HELD TECHNOLOGY IS A
>SOPHISTICATED TOOL AND REQUIRES TRAINING ON THE PROPER USE -- SOMETHING
>TEACHERS (COLLEGE) MAY THINK THEY DON'T NEED.
>
>ED
>______________________________
>
>
>>At 07:22 AM 2/25/99 -0600, Seese, Lillian wrote:
>>>I recently noted that 6 of my differential equations students began here
>>>in our developmental math classes - most in Basic Math (arithmetic). So
>>>I had a luncheon with these students and all of the math, science, and
>>>engineering teachers who had been their instructors, and we chatted for
>>>about 2 hours about what made them successful, advice they had for us,
>>>etc. Without exception they stated that they really felt that doing
>>>arithmetic without calculators was a big factor in their success in
>>>uppor level math classes. They said (without our asking them to) that
>>>the felt it was not possible to make the jump to abstractions in algebra
>>>without a firm understanding of the arithemtic operations in Basic
>>>Math. My favorite statement came from a young man who said that the
>>>one thing that was most influential in his moving forward in his math
>>>classes was when he finally had the courage to stop doing the
>>>comfortable and easy homework problems (because he felt so good when he
>>>got them right) and pushed himself to do the hard ones that he was
>>>almost sure he wouldn't be able to complete successfully. Getting
>>>outside of his comfort zone, and realizing that he could make some
>>>progress on difficult problems encouraged him to continue in this mode.
>>> Lillian Seese SLCC Meramec
>>>*************************************************************************
***
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>>>
>>
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Edward D. Laughbaum
The Ohio State University
Department of Mathematics
231 West 18th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Associate Director, The Ohio State University Technology College Short
Course Program
Associate Director, Ohio Early Mathematics Placement Testing Program
Director, AMATYC Outer Banks Summer Institute "Teaching in Context"
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics
(O) (614) 292-7223 or (614) 292-9504
(FAX) (614) 292-0694
http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~elaughba/
http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/shortcourse
http://www.empt.org
http://www.amatyc.org/SumInst/1998-1999/OuterBanks/OuterBanks.html
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