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Shawn Green
Math Ed 308
Jul 15 2016
THE ROLE OF CALCULATORS IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
What?
The Role of Calculators in Math Education by Heidi Pomerantz addresses how
calculators aid in the learning process for students. Specifically, calculators make what would be
monotonous procedures quick so that students can focus on the important concepts of
mathematics. It agrees that there is certainly a need to understand procedures, but that calculators
actually help students understand the procedures better since they boost confidence and curiosity.
They help students recognize patterns in the math they are doing and give additional
representations, making the mathematics more accessible. Pomerantz also debunks some myths
that calculators cause dependency and lack of mathematical understanding. She cites research
concluding that calculators led to improved mathematical understanding and did not lead to
dependency since students still need to evaluate the reasonableness of what the calculator is
telling them.
So What?
This article concludes that calculators greatly enhance mathematical learning so it implies
that calculators should be used frequently in the classroom. Specifically, it says calculators are
very inexpensive compared to computers. Thus it is implying that every math class should use
calculators from elementary school to any further education. These calculators can be provided
by the school, or the school can ask students to purchase their own calculators. Either way,
Pomerantz makes the claim that calculators are today what a paper and pencil were to students in

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the past. They are tools to access mathematics and in the modern world, are essential to higher
performance in mathematics education.
Now What?
Reading Pomerantzs paper did bring up some benefits of calculator use that I had never
really thought of. I never had thought of calculators as boosting students confidence to be able to
do math. Additionally, I had never thought that some students are adverse to manipulation of
equations so calculators take away this drudgery and help them to engage in mathematics. To be
honest though, I am somewhat distrustful of Pomerantzs conclusion because of the paper being
published by Texas Instruments. I hope the research is reliable and is not just an attempt to
convince schools to buy calculators and increase revenue for TI. Maybe I am too much of a
cynic, but I do feel that calculators can be overused and actually distract from the actual
mathematics. However, if applied in the right way (exploration, conjecture making, etc.) I do
agree that they are a powerful tool to help students engage in mathematics.