tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post8795557446443007542..comments2024-01-14T18:14:23.866-08:00Comments on Delta Scape: When is it okay to use a calculator?delta_dchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18024582157985654525noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-20770437382987310382017-04-24T01:01:54.206-07:002017-04-24T01:01:54.206-07:00I really admire your approach to letting the stude...I really admire your approach to letting the students judge for themselves when it is okay to use it. They will see how much it actually helps them and how it can hinder them in the same way.<br /><br />In the same way a computer does not learn mathematical concepts by performing calculations, students will realize that they do not learn much mathematics my simply making calculations without making sense out of them.Pablo Minchezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10290597117615157108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-13820520647920935572014-08-26T13:53:55.804-07:002014-08-26T13:53:55.804-07:00You have something here, putting the responsibilit...You have something here, putting the responsibility in the hands of the student and giving her the tools to decide whether to use the calculator. My administration routinely gave birth to farm animals when they walked into my room and saw me giving the students any control. They wanted ANSWERS. Correct ones. Ones that would result in graphite in the right bubble every time. That's partially why I'm now a writer and not an educator.<br /><br />There's a cognitive load issue here for students from deprived backgrounds. My students, many of whom relied on finger counting to solve the four function computation part of any math problem. This week, I took a look at the cognitive load placed on the student by math anxiety and by dyscalculia (www.mathnook.com/blog). Both stressors constrict working memory. Anxiety operates on the central executive, a top-down load, taking students with lots of working memory and reducing that attribute. Dyscalculia just stuffs more of a load on working memory - a bottom-up load - than the brain can handle effectively.<br /><br />I used to think skeptically about computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for math. It seemed to me that if the student got addition and subtraction as fast counting, and multiplication and division as fast addition and subtraction, they would be motivated to know the facts. The problem for most of these students (hard to say what is organic dyscalculia and what occurs developmentally through poor teaching and home follow-up) is that they gave up on themselves too easily, saying that they "didn't have a brain for math," or some such rot. I am starting to be convinced that any child who gets MDAS handled at reaction speeds gives himself a gift that is measurable in terms of working memory untaxed by anxiety and the need to figure out 6+7. Until the student develops automaticity in these facts, he should be able to make an intelligent, informed choice about assists.The Aquabloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00012517864249324205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-64115063897456957362013-11-18T21:54:50.864-08:002013-11-18T21:54:50.864-08:00Yes your are wright and thanks for post a good top...Yes your are wright and thanks for post a good topic . your post is<br /><br /><a href="http://www.topmost100.com" rel="nofollow"> top most </a> in realated post .Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09061280543431570336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-13811512809411355282013-06-05T12:33:06.075-07:002013-06-05T12:33:06.075-07:00I appreciate your comment. I'm glad you think ...I appreciate your comment. I'm glad you think this approach is at "the heart of our job as teachers." It is good to know that other teachers also see empowering learners as important.delta_dchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024582157985654525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-52942955126060817962013-06-05T12:29:44.944-07:002013-06-05T12:29:44.944-07:00Whenever I meet with a group of educators I try to...Whenever I meet with a group of educators I try to talk about "phronesis." It has become one of my favorite words. For me, it captures what is central to teaching.delta_dchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024582157985654525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-27875349253675859062013-05-25T13:32:43.480-07:002013-05-25T13:32:43.480-07:00Empowering students to decide for themselves! I th...Empowering students to decide for themselves! I think you've gotten to the heart of our job as teachers. Thanks.ERFinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14717129930034177348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957896812820341397.post-55335384474663885182013-05-22T11:36:16.706-07:002013-05-22T11:36:16.706-07:00What a great, commonsense piece. I taught 7th grad...What a great, commonsense piece. I taught 7th grade math for two years--once, in the 1980s and again in 2005. In the 80s, calculators were considered a terrible form of cheating and confiscated. In 2005, my kids were using graphing calculators by following a "push this, push that" schematic in their books without understanding what their answer really meant.<br /><br />Pendulum swing, neither helpful to conceptualizing. You also added a new word--phronesis--to my vocabulary.Nancy Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00047575960944913289noreply@blogger.com