Monograph,  No. 5,  Publications,  Technology

A POCKET CALCULATOR EXPERIMENT WITH FIFTH-AND SIXTH-GRADERS

Monograph No. 5: Calculators in the Classroom

November 1977

Publication of the Mathematics Council of The Alberta Teachers’ Association

101 – 104

A POCKET CALCULATOR EXPERIMENT WITH FIFTH-AND SIXTH-GRADERS

James Jordan and Gerard Bomotti

The effectiveness of pocket calculators as a teaching tool is in question. Hard data is needed to determine to what degree these devices are useful. Opinions are strong on each side of the question with subjective appraisals ranging from “the panacea” to “the ruination of science.” To help clarify the situation, an experiment was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of calculators with below average arithmetic achievers in the fifth and sixth grades. With a small experiment it was determined that the pocket calculator used in a specific manner can be effective.