This study investigates how the use of calculators during high school mathematics courses is associated with student performance in introductory college calculus courses in the USA. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 7087 students enrolled in college calculus at 134 colleges and universities. They included information about…

This paper provides an instrumental account of precalculus students' graphical process for solving polynomial inequalities. It is carried out in terms of the students' instrumental schemes as mediated by handheld graphing calculators and in cooperation with their classmates in a classroom setting. The ethnographic narrative relays an instrumental…

Presents an inquiry into students' conceptual development of a graphics calculator function for direction. Discusses reflective thinking and reflective enculturation, operational and structural understanding, and situated abstraction. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/ASK)

We find that students in the big mathematics service courses at the Johns Hopkins University who were encouraged to use calculators in K-12 have somewhat lower grades than those who weren't.

Compared the performance of (n=710) college students taught precalculus using a graphing calculator approach to the performance of students using the traditional approach. Students in the first group scored significantly higher than the others on a comprehensive final exam. (16 references) (Author/MKR)

Presents an exploration of conversation in a single episode of a 12th grade girls' calculus class. Analyzes Habermasian communicative competence which requires students to show critical thinking and the ability to express their views. Explains learning outcomes by teachers' mode of questioning, cooperative endeavor by students, instructional…

Compared was the mathematical performance of secondary school students for whom a graphic calculator was a standard mathematical tool, with that of students of similar background without regular access to graphing technology. Increased achievement on symbolization tasks, especially for females, was shown for students who used the graphing…

The importance of teaching computational estimation is discussed, with note of its increased significance because of widespread use of calculators and the need to develop number sense. The reason for its failure to be taught is traced to the multiplicity of methods, and some detailed suggestions are therefore presented. (MNS)

Offers 3 teaching designs developed for 12- to 16-year-old pupils taking into account personal differences in gender, culture, knowledge, and use of calculators. The designs concern the representation of three-dimensional objects in the plane, directions and great circles on the sphere, and exploration of the integrating calculator. (Contains 31…