Re: Explaining the foundations of math

From: Chergarj (chergarj_at_cs.comhaho)
Date: 08/31/04 

Date: 31 Aug 2004 15:39:24 GMT

marsh@privacy.net discusses:
>are
>youngsters spared such demeaning demoralization by being taught
>to use hand calculators instead?
>
>These days community colleges are promoting and emphasizing use of
>graphic calculators as algebra. Does this forebode of yet more
>mathematical incompetence?

Difficult to be sure about the graphing calculators. A certain level of
technology has been in use for college preparatory Mathematics for several
decades. Slide Rule, to "small" hand calculator, to scientific calculator, to
graphing calculator. The purpose was to handle arithmetic quickly. More
topics could be clearly tested in the classroom. With graphing calculators,
technology handling skill becomes more of an emphasis, possibly interfering
with learning the mathematical skills and concepts. STill, the sensible
instructor can design tests and deliver instruction to emphasise the
fundamental mathematics so that technology handling is separated from the
componants of concept & math skill.

Truly, students who don't properly understand the mathematics will not know how
to obtain the proper answers with the graphing calculator.

G C

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