An investigation into whether student use of graphics calculators matches their teacher's expectations

Abstract

This research examines students' use of graphics calculators and investigates the extent to which the students' use meets their teachers aim when using graphics calculators in the classroom. The teacher's use of her graphics calculator was analysed over a week using Key Record software. The teacher was questioned about her aims and expectations for the students when using a graphics calculator. As a result an interview schedule for students was constructed in order to determine whether the teacher's aims had been met. It was found that in general all of the teachers' aims were met to some extent by most of the students.

Secondary school teachers’ conceptions and their teaching practices using graphing calculators

“…Dawn and Clare's students are still focused on the mechanics of operating graphing calculators, whereas Victoria's students can focus on constructing their mathematical knowledge and understanding because determining the solution is not an issue for them. These findings are again consistent with the findings of Graham et al (2008) in that students who are more familiar with the graphing calculator use it for a variety of purposes.…”

“…Dawn and Clare both use the viewing screen to demonstrate what the students' should be seeing on their graphing calculator screens. This supports prior research findings (Graham, Headlam, Sharp and Watson, 2008) in which students were positive about the teacher's use of the viewing screen as an effective display tool.…”