In regards to technology and mathematics, one of the biggest debates in education deals with whether using calculators helps or hinders students' number sense. I would like to get the opinions of other educators on when they think calculators should be introduced. I currently student teach with 7th graders who are NOT allowed to use calculators, although I can remember using them as a student in my math classroom as far back as 6th grade, even though my 7th grade students are learning the material I did not see until 8th grade.
While I understand that we want students to master arithmetic before letting them use calculators, I also feel that being able to use them to check your work can provide benefits. While calculators do not provide practice with long division or other computations, the time saved can provide students exposure to even more problems so that time is spent understanding and processing the problems instead of crunching the numbers to only a question or two.
I find it interesting that some states have eliminated the use of calulators for students below grade six, while other states are exposing middle school students to graphing calculators. (Read more)
Also, see what the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) has to say about the topic.
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