LearningArithmeticinthe21stCenturyFischerAparicio
Last modified by Holger Dick on 2010/11/29 12:51
LearningArithmeticinthe21stCenturyFischerAparicio
To-Do
Develop principled arguments (backed up by: research, empirical findings, your personal experience, hypotheses about resulting cognitive developments, and the topics discussed in class) which of the four positions YOU will favor!- Principled argument which of the four positions YOU will favor!
- Pencil and Paper First, Technology Second Mathematics is one of the most important aspects of our contemporary society. Without the knowledge of the basic skills of mathematics, many of the things that humans do in everyday life would not be done. Anything having to do with money would be unusable without the skills of at least the basic mathematics. This is why we believe that students need to at least learn and master the base skills of mathematics first, before having the ability to have the use of technology help them out. Pros for Calculator Use Calculators are extremely handy tools to have around, especially when one needs to obtain a precise answer. For example, a student attempting to complete a project may have the need to divide two rather large numbers, and end up with a result that has eight or ten decimal digits of precision. This can be done by hand, with pencil and paper, but at this point the task of doing the long-division method is just tedious. It would be much better for the student to just be able to input his data into a calculator and have the machine do the calculations, many times faster than he or she would ever have been able to do. This allows the student that much more time in order to finish other calculations, obtain other data, or even go over his or her work one last time instead of only doing the division calculation. In this way, calculators are a necessity to a students learning ability. Basics First Though calculators are quite useful tools, we do not believe that they should be used in the place of learning the basic mathematical skills. This basic knowledge is what allows everyday society to function correctly. Every person, will eventually have need to use basic math skills some time in their life. So, if they do not learn these skills and are instead allowed to use calculators whenever they wish to use them, everyday situations will be altered. Mathematics would be lost to the world. Due to the need for basic mathematical skills, the basics must be learned. However, students may also have the need to use calculators within the given curriculum, for projects and other such things requiring precise results. This is why we believe that the present curriculum should stay the same as it is and the students should first learn the basic mathematics before being allowed to use a calculator. Resources http://www.sedl.org/scimath/quicktakes/qt9803.html http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/calculator-use-math-teaching.php http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=119
