Graphing Calculators as a Primary Teaching Tool

If you are wondering what graphing calculators can do in areas like developmental math’s programs then this is for you. There have been some astounding results after a few researches have examined how these calculators can work as primary teaching tools especially when it comes to teaching students on subjects like algebra etc. these studies also proves how these calculators have effected the learning abilities of these students and their general take and attitude in mathematics.. It has also been used to prove how well they aid in retention for subsequent courses in colleges.

Some of these researches basically showed how a graphing calculator mattered in fostering an understanding of developmental math. They pointed out two main features that these calculators could achieve, Firstly students can be taught different ways of how they can perceive particular mathematical problems and how they need to resolve them. This is because of the HP 50g and the HP 40gs CAS programming that is integrated in the calculators. This system does not in any way spoon feed students with results, without knowing how they arrived at it. What this system does is, it shows how the results were arrived at, giving the student a complete knowledge of how to achieve the right answers. This not only builds confidence among students, but teachers also aid from it since its now possible to help students understand how to solve problems with the aid of tables, graphs, algebraic expressions and even geometric figures.

With the help of the HP 50g and the HP 40gs teaches can now ask students to explore, collect and analyze data for their projects. This is again aided with the help of the USB port that the HP graphing calculator comes along with. It not only makes sharing of data easy and simple, but data, graphs etc can be downloaded on to their personal computers for further use and manipulation if required. In most cases, these graphs, charts and data are downloaded on to personal computers so as to complete a study thesis or paper. Another interesting fact is that these calculators help students attitude towards math, which otherwise could have been really bad. This is largely contributed because of its ability to allow the students to understand how a certain answer is arrived at, rather than just displaying the answers. Because of this teachers are not pressed if students do not understand certain mathematical derivations, the calculator takes care of it.  With its high storage memory these functions and even formulas can be stored for future use.

HP 50g and the HP 40gs graphing calculator therefore is recommended by most teachers who feel that it is a wise investment. Since it not only gives the right answers but also acts as their teaching guides. With the HP graphing calculator students can now make a choice between RPN, Algebraic entry, textbook and customize data with it different font sizes and styles. The new SD card slot can also be formatted and upgraded.