Introduction - Sharp EL-531RH Teachers Manual

Introduction

The use of calculators as a classroom teaching tool is becoming more and more
popular. Contrary to the belief that their use encourages dependency and inhibits
the development of mental skills, research has proven that calculators are highly
unlikely to harm achievement in mathematics and using them can actually improve
the students' performance and attitude.* Calculators allow students to quickly gen-
erate large amounts of data from which patterns can be spotted, and predictions can
be made and tested. This is an important aspect of the development of mental meth-
ods of calculation. Therefore, priority must be given to create new ways to exploit
the potential of the calculator as an effective learning tool in the classroom.
This Teacher's Guide presents several classroom activities that make use of Sharp
scientific calculators. The purpose of these activities is not to introduce the calcula-
tor as a device to relieve the burden of performing difficult calculations, but rather
to develop the students understanding of mathematical concepts and explore areas
of mathematics that would otherwise be inaccessible. Mental methods should al-
ways be considered as a first resort when tackling calculations introduced in these
activities. The development of trial and improvement methods are supported by the
activities as well. We hope you will find them interesting and useful for reinforcing
your students' understanding of mathematical concepts.
* Mike Askew & Dylan Williams (1995) Recent Research in Mathematics Education HMSO
2