During their middle and early high school years, students generally finalise their attitude towards mathematics and their perception of themselves as students of mathematics, in terms of aptitude, motivation, interest, and competence. Therefore, giving them varied opportunities to foster a positive and successful approach to the study of…

It seems that calculators continue to be misunderstood as devices solely for calculation, although the likely contributions to learning mathematics with modern calculators arise from other characteristics. A four-part model to understand the educational significance of calculators underpins this paper. Each of the four components (representation,…

When teaching transformations of functions, teachers typically have students vary the coefficients of equations and examine the resulting changes in the graph. This approach, however, may lead students to memorise rules related to transformations. Students need opportunities to think deeply about transformations beyond superficial observations…

Archimedes, the famous Greek mathematician, lived from 287 BCE until approximately 212 BCE. He thought that the figure of two semi-circles on a straight line enclosed by a larger semi-circle resembled a shoemaker's knife. Archimedes called this figure an "arbelos" since arbelos is the Greek word for a shoemaker's knife. The author describes the…

All common fractions can be written in decimal form. In this Discovery article, the author suggests that teachers ask their students to calculate the decimals by actually doing the divisions themselves, and later on they can use a calculator to check their answers. This article presents a lesson based on the research of Bolt (1982).

In this article, the authors show how students can form familiar geometric figures on the calculator keypad and generate numbers that are all divisible by a common number. Students are intrigued by the results and want to know "why it works". The activities can be presented and students given an extended amount of time to think about…

In this article, the author focuses on possible ways to develop the concepts of joint variation and function through the upper primary and lower secondary years of education. The examples demonstrate the building of a range of important mathematical ideas by modelling life-related situations using students' informal and intuitive knowledge. Over…

Illustrates the ease with which programs occupying only a single command line of a graphics calculator can be constructed. (MKR)

For mathematics teachers who are continually looking for ways in which to engage their students in the learning process, the capabilities offered by technology answer the call. Whether the technology comprises computer based applications or graphics calculators, often boring aspects can be bypassed so that students can work on the "good…

Discusses the appropriateness of lower secondary school students using graphics calculators instead of scientific calculators. (ASK)

Discusses the use of Calculator Based Ranger (CBR) in mathematics classrooms. Provides a classroom activity in which students graph walking in different directions and speeds. Presents student work and testing. (ASK)

Reviews 10 years of graphing calculators. Examines the issues associated with them and attempts to confront some questions such as, for the teacher, whether graphing calculators should be used in instruction. (ASK)

Offers a few examples of the ease with which science, mathematics, and technology can converge. Illustrates some of the potential of Calculator-Based Laboratory (CBL) and Calculator-Based Ranger (CBR) to study mathematics. (ASK)

Effective use of calculators is briefly discussed, and the importance of estimation noted. One example involving completion of a table is given. (MNS)

Discusses the benefits of new technologies, especially graphing calculators, in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Presents two activities for teaching algebra and regression using graphing calculators. (ASK)