Since I have begun to dig deep into my inquiry project of calculators in the classroom, I am finding myself encouraging children to use calculators less in my classes, even for calculations I would once have let them use it for. It seems to be building their confidence as they are asking to use the calculator less and they do not complain as much when I say it is a no calculator day.
I also find that in my Math 3103 class, I am encouraging them more to use common sense and estimation rather than try to remember rules and tricks. I believe these to be important skills to build on in this course and it is something they will take with them outside of school. They are learning more to decide if a question makes sense or not. This may be a skill that one would think a Grade 12 student would have, but in reality most do not. I am always told by some students that even after doing 3103 they are using calculators less as they find it faster to just do it in their head or estimate correctly.
I strongly feel that a calculator should be used a tool to aid you with complex calculations, not one to replace math skills.
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