He has served in advisory capacities for the California Board of Education as well as the Los Angeles County Office of Education. In the primary grades, calculators can enhance the learning of basic facts. That point is made convincingly by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, a strong advocate of calculator use at all grade levels. The organization also concluded that, at all grade and ability levels, students who use calculators possess a better attitude toward mathematics. My participation in the Thinking Math program, part of the AFT's Educational Research and Dissemination program, has given me opportunities to discuss the use of calculators as a strong motivational tool for students.
Calculators help children focus on the problem-solving process.
They relieve the drudgery of drill, and for many students remove the anxiety felt during math class. For many of these students, time constraints hinder learning. They may possess the skill and knowledge of a particular mathematical process, but speed is an obstacle. Calculators provide the confidence needed to achieve and also make these students more efficient. Cooperative groups lend themselves most readily to the use of calculators.