Re: TI-89 and AP Test
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Re: TI-89 and AP Test
I think that most people pretty much agree with what you said. The
fact is that you *have to* understand how to do anything even a litle
complicated before doing it, even with a calculator. The calc does
parts of the work for you, the relatively simple, time consuming,
repetetive work, and that's OK... to a point!
When I see other students in my classes (secondaire V = grade 11) who
are going to go to college next year who have trouble mentally adding
two numbers over 1000 without making a mistake, It gets depressing.
How will these people get through life, much less college/university
without being able to do that? You won't always have a calc in your
pocket!
I'm not talking about 4 or 5 people either, it's easily half of the
class, if not more. And I have to admit, I can do it, but not fast
enough if you ask me, It just takes more practice!
It's very important to be able to do simple math, because that's what
most people will use more during their lives. As we learn new things,
we should also make sure we don't forget what we already learned.
It's pretty ironic, a person can do all kind of relatively complicated
things in math, but can't even solve a very simple addition!! This is
why I think that the use of calculators in classrooms should be
somewhat more limited. At least some exercises should be done without
calculators, sure the exercises will take longer, but that's the only
downside I can see. It won't hinder understanding at all.
But if all students forget how to do math without a calc, that can be
a huge problem!
Now, I agree that calculators, especially graphing calculators, can be
a great help to understanding, and that they save a lot of time that
would otherwise be "wasted". So I am not against the use of
calculators in class, but I am against the fact that people are
becoming much too dependant on them.
Probably the most unpopular high school student in all of Canada after
writing this:-),
Philipp K.
John Landis <johnlandis@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
36E1A1E8.45B2@hotmail.com">news:36E1A1E8.45B2@hotmail.com...
>Peter Ammon wrote:
>>
>> The College Board allows the new TI-89 on the AP Calculus AB and BC
>> tests.
><SNIP>
>> Comments?
>>
>> -Peter
>
> IMHO, this debate is just the tip of a much larger
>question concerning the use of electronic aids
>in the classroom.
<HUGE SNIP:>
> These ideas are not unfamiliar to good teachers. Indeed, I would
say
>that the problem of integrating technology into the classroom is one
of
>the foremost problems confronting educators as the century draws to a
>close.
>
>
>JLandis
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