On a January afternoon at the Russian School of Mathematics headquarters, a 6,500-square-foot bilevel brick building in a Newton corporate office park, Inessa Rifkin leads 15 excitable third and fourth graders through a lesson on graphs. Today, the program has 40,000 students in 53 schools in 12 states, Washington, DC, and Canada, in addition to a booming online program. Consider investing in a handful of graphing calculators that students can check out and share with the class.Russian School of Mathematics cofounder Inessa Rifkin started teaching kids extra math at her dining room table in Newton more than 20 years ago. While you can purchase a simple calculator generally for under $10, graphing calculators and other more advanced devices cost about $100.Īdditionally, calculators require batteries in order to operate, which is a recurring cost as far as the electronic devices are concerned. This brings us to our final con of calculators: the cost. That’s why it’s important that the teacher implement a calculator policy that clearly spells out when students are allowed to use calculators in the classroom. If you allow students to use calculators on tests in your class, they might store formulas, rules and other notes on their calculators and use the information to cheat on the test. They also allow users to store notes, but that’s not always a good thing for teachers or students.
Graphing calculators are advanced calculators that can perform a variety of functions besides basic multiplication, subtraction, addition and division. Don’t let your students become complacent. That’s where teachers have to be careful because if students fall into a pattern of just using a calculator to complete all of their math work, they’ll never appropriately develop their math skills, which will surely come back to hurt them during standardized tests and elsewhere in their lives.
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Cons ComplacencyĪlthough calculators are able to quickly add, divide, multiply and subtract, students still can’t use calculators as their complete fall-back plan – they still need to know how to do math long-hand. Students should learn calculators are helpful tools that students can turn to for help, not just fast answers. Calculators are immensely valuable for validating work. For instance, you might have students complete a set of problems and then check to see if they’ve gotten them right on their calculator.Ĭalculators are great for this purpose if both answers don’t line up students can go back and re-check their work to see where they may have gone wrong. AccuracyĬalculators are fast and accurate, which makes them a great complementary feature for students. Consider having “calculator days” to ensure that you’re not overdoing it with the devices. When all else fails, just remember – people like pushing buttons.
Calculators help make it more enjoyable and students and teachers alike seem to agree that they have some sort of use in the classroom environment. Math is tedious and might not be everyone’s favorite subject. Just think – calculators are something that your students are going to use to set a budget, do their taxes and complete other tasks throughout their lifetimes. Technology is huge and learning how to use such technology is huge – which is why it’s good for students to have an understanding of how to use a calculator.Īs far as electronics go, it’s a fairly simple instrument to use and students will need to use such devices elsewhere throughout their lives. Apple iPad devices are a necessity in every classroom. Let’s face it – we live in a society that is always changing thanks to the plethora of ever-advancing technology. Calculator math and non-calculator math is a tough thing to balance, so let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons associated with using the popular electronic devices in the classroom: Pros Technological knowledge
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