USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF STUDENTS' WORK ON ROUTINE PROBLEMS

Abstract

A continuing discussion addresses the effect of technology on curriculum on two fronts. Which topics of the standard curriculum are rendered obsolete or diminished in importance by the availability of modern technology? Within a given topic, what levels of questions should students be able to answer unassisted by technology, and at what levels should students be encouraged to use technology to solve problems? Both questions are becoming increasingly important with the increasing use of hand-held technology such as conventional and graphical calculators and compact algebraic processors in the classroom. In this paper the authors look behind this discussion to address certain related concerns. Firstly, in a context where it is accepted that students should use calculators, what changes in strategy should be promoted? These include issues of accuracy and rounding, and a reversal of the traditional preference for hand simplification to precede computation. It is also vitally important that students are encouraged to develop a habit of checking their work through a process of initial estimation, review and (if necessary) repetition to promote confidence and accuracy. Teachers have always recognized the importance of checking, but it is not easy to develop the habit in any but the most diligent students. Secondly, in a context where traditional paper work is expected, how can students use technology as a supporting medium to improve the quality of their work? For routine work this might at least include numerical and other checks, and in more complex tasks a full range of exploration and analysis of the problem before and after attempting a solution. The authors have developed a five-stage process which in the most detailed problems leads students through initial exploration to multi-stranded exploration of the problem given.