March+1+Article

In this article, the teacher used calculators in a kindergarten mathematics class to show the magnitude of numbers and the helpfulness of technology in the classroom and in our lives'. She had the students first type in numbers such as their age and how many legs a spider has to test out the calculators, and then she had them start adding numbers together and predicting the outcome before they pressed the equal button. This activity helped them compare numbers, and connect the number words to their significant symbols in math. The teachers kept detailed journals of how the calculators were incorporated in the lessons, and how the students responded to them. Even though the children were not formally assessed, many of them showed familiarity in using calculators in other classes down the road which helped increase their math skills. This skill served them well in later grades, and in a lot of cases they were ahead of other classmates. Students were provided feedback and scaffolding when the teachers walked around and helped them individually if they were having problems, and when they did group lessons/lectures to show how to use certain functions on the calculators. This experiment showed that it is better to implement technology when the children are young, because they are more familiar with it in the future then.

"Using Calculators with Students in K-2."www.cited.org.web.01 March. 2012.