The objectives of this module on making comparisons and ratios include using ratios to compare sets of objects and expressing ratios as decimals or fractions in lowest terms. The module provides six experiments. An envelope of manipulatives accompanies each of the first three experiments. The fourth experiment requires a multispeed bicycle. The…

A 30-item survey was developed to assess several dimensions of attitudes about calculators. Reliability and validity data were gathered on students in a college statistics course. Based on N = 135, coefficient alpha was .874. Factor analyses identified 3 interpretable factors: trustworthiness of calculators, usefulness, and educational value.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on achievement and attitude resulting from the use of a calculator-based curriculum and a classroom set of hand-held calculators in ninth-grade general mathematics. Six teachers participated in the study, each having one class in the calculator treatment and one class in the non-calculator…

Limited systematic instruction was provided for two third-grade classes on a calculator-assisted approach to solving selected types of simple open addition and subtraction sentences involving three-place whole-number addends, moving from a Guess-and-Test procedure to more direct and efficient sentential transformations. Pupils exhibited a…

Presents a set of guidelines for the selection of electronic calculators with features appropriate for junior high and secondary school students. (CP)

The article recounts a conversation with preschool students about calculators. The author found the children to be familiar with calculators. Also, the Calculator and Mathematics Project, Los Angeles (CAMP-LA), a project which assumes every child has a calculator, is briefly described. (PK)

Three worksheets are given that use calculators to free students from computational restrictions and allow them to focus on the recognition of patterns and the application of numeration concepts in the development of their estimation skills. (MNS)

Use of calculators for teaching percent to first-year general mathematics students is explained by addressing such areas as sequence of lessons, teaching/learning problems, calculator errors, and recommended instructional strategies. Teaching concepts independent of calculator usage, not using special percentage keys, and initiating estimation as…

This study investigated the relationship between instructional use of handheld graphing calculators and student achievement in Algebra 1. Three end-of-course test forms were administered (without calculators) using matrix sampling to 458 high-school students in two suburban school districts in Oregon and Kansas. Test questions on two forms were…

Graphical representations play an important role in both science and mathematics education. Graphs can summarize very complex information or relationships very effectively. Although graphs are explicitly taught in mathematics classrooms as an end in themselves, many subject areas such as science or social studies utilize graphs to represent and…

Handheld devices, most familiar to educators today in the form of graphing calculators, are rapidly improving their interface, computational, and communication capabilities. Communication capabilities allow participants to rapidly share mathematical objects among their handhelds, potentially contributing to improved classroom discourse. We have…

The concept of function is central in mathematics and grows in importance as one progresses in depth and breadth of understanding mathematics. Results from national assessment progress reports indicate that the majority of students do not comprehend the concepts of function and graphing. Technology has the potential to improve the understanding of…

This book is a compatible instructional component to any algebra textbook and was developed by University of Hawaii under the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education Improvement Act. The tasks align with the content and instructional approach used in daily classes that emphasize standards-based teaching and learning. The tasks…

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC) helps teachers by offering a broad assortment of services to enable them to quickly locate educational resources. This theme issue of the serial "ENC Focus" is designed to give educators information about curriculum resources available for teaching math and…

Handheld computers, sometimes known as PDAs, have been available for purchase since the mid-1990s, as have their handheld relatives, the graphing calculators. It is only in the past few years, however, that these diminutive devices have made their way into K-12 schools in numbers significant enough to allow us to draw conclusions about their…