Problem Statement

As I make my research about using calculator in the classroom, I hope

that this could be helpful for the pupils especially in the Grade 7 regarding on

the use of calculators. At some point, we do use calculators to lessen the time

in solving or getting answers through thinking and jotting down some

solutions, it will help us to check and correct the problem but we must

consider also that if we use calculator all the time the ability of the pupils in

math solving could be weaken and made them rely on calculators.

I make this research in order for the pupils to understand that

calculators should be a source for better understanding on how insignificant

computations got and as a means of checking their solutions after they have

solve the problems and make the calculator useful when really needed not just

only for basic computation and as well as for the teachers that must be aware

of what could be the change of this technologies to both teachers and pupils

that even the simplest problem in math, the students would rely on the

calculator to solve it and teacher allow it.

Upon completion of my action research, I wish that my research findings

could be useful and beneficial for the teachers especially math teachers to pace

new technologies. I hope that my findings could be very useful and motivate

pupils and teachers to better understand the use of calculators in the

classroom. I want that math classrooms could be the place where students will

be motivated to learn on the new technologies we encounter.

Review of Related Literature

Calculators present in the classroom setting occurs some questions

especially in the Grade 7 that is not adequate for their learnings in math

subject yet and to the parents concern. I hope that the answers through

interviewing, observing, and surveying would help to answer my questions

regarding using calculator as a part of my method in giving my lesson. I wish

that my findings could help me guide when I become a teacher and so as to the

other teacher in math subject.

As I began my research, I identified the possible problem regarding the

use of calculator in the Grade 7 students. In which the learning requires of the

students is actively learn with understanding and build new knowledge from

experience and prior knowledge. The students might lose their grip on vital

prior knowledge, in which the new knowledge after all is built on the basis of

pre-existing ideas, according to Bazzini (2002) in her study of teaching

experiments based on body-related metaphors. In my study I hope to uncover

whether or not my students are retaining the foundation that was built in

elementary school.
 My next step was to turn to research. The first question I tried to answer

while sifting through educational journals was, “How does the calculator affect

the learning of the students in Mathematics?” Most of the journals found

calculators to be a positive force in the classroom. Even in very young

students, calculator usage can be seen as a positive. The task required a great

deal of problem solving on the students’ part, and at one point in the process

one small group became frustrated after attempting a long string of repeated

addition. The authors comment on the fact that the students’ frustration and

impatience could have been alleviated if a calculator would have been available

(Thom & Pirie, 2002, p. 16). Clearly the integrity of the problem wouldn’t have

been challenged by the presence of a calculator, and maybe the uniqueness of

the task is the key. Nowhere in the article does it suggest that these students

used calculators on a regular basis.

I found several articles that supported the use of calculators, specifically

graphing calculators, as tools that deepen a student’s understanding of

abstract or merely difficult mathematical concepts. One such concept is the

idea of a variable in Algebra. Graham and Thomas (2000) conducted a pilot

study in five United Kingdom schools using the TI-80 graphing calculator. This

study focused on variables, one of the more difficult topics in Algebra. They

implied that the students who used graphing calculators could gain a better

understanding of the use of letters as variables, without an adverse effect on

their basic ability to manipulate the symbols to solve an equation or inequality

(Graham & Thomas, 2000, p. 271). Graham and Thomas believe the students
involved in this study all saw an increase in understanding but stated that the

students with the lowest ability appeared to show the most improvement

(Graham & Thomas, 2000, p. 279). The authors, however, did note that one

teacher involved with their study stated that her students were very reluctant

to give up the calculators. Her students had become dependent on the

technology and feared failure without it (Graham & Thomas, 2000, p. 277).

This sounds that many students want to push the buttons on the calculator to

do the simplest of tasks such as dividing by negative one.

Grade 7 students are unique in the manner in which they approach

problems. They have the knowledge foundation from elementary school, but

they are not always certain how, when, or where to apply it. Given a powerful

tool like a scientific calculator, will they use it wisely or merely mindlessly push

buttons? Grade 7 students are the priority of my study in terms of teaching the

very foundation into next grade level, and I feel they are what sets this paper

apart from the others based on this topic.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of my research is to find the effect of technology on the

student learning, especially the use of calculator in Grade 7 students. Based on

the research that I red, I found out that calculator is not as needed unlike in
the other grade level for the reason that they are only just beginning to explore

the new fundamental in concept of Mathematics. Now to understand what

could be done about the use of calculator there should be a boundary to be set,

but how and when? The classroom should not be a technology-free because

these affect the attitude and the prior mathematical knowledge of the student.

To determine the effects of calculator on the computational skill, problem

solving, and reasoning skill, I am going to conduct a survey for both teacher

and the students and after that, I plan to give a test with the use of calculator

and not. This study might be a very help and necessary for the world especially

for the teachers because we become more technologically advance now. To give

something advantages for the students by the use of calculator, do we need to

persuade and not limit the use of calculator, or we need to set boundaries for

the good of the students and the teacher?

The questions that I considered to clarify my research were:

- How does the calculator affect the learning of the students in

Mathematics?

- What problem will arise if the usage of calculator is done all the time?
 Method

This study was conducted on September 4 – October 3, 2017 in the

Grade-7 pupils. I gave survey questionnaires to the students and the teacher to

determine the possible outcome of having calculator present in the classroom.

This could be my guide to see how or if the calculator usage affected the

students’ problem solving skill, and computational skill. As I was studying the

answered surveys, I thought it is not enough information to clarify and prove

the calculators’ effect.

To determine the effect of calculator to the teacher, I prepared an

interview question that will give an idea that came from the teacher about the

said technology that is roaming in the classroom. This will help to gain more

opinions and knowledge of the teacher regarding the use of calculator. This will

help also the teacher to manage and guide the students whether to use

calculator or not.

Finally, I came up of having a test that will measure the ability of the

students through computational by the use and not of the calculator. I chose

10 pupils out of the class and divided it into two groups, the other one was

using calculator and the other one was not. This clarifies if the students’

problem solving and computational skills were improving or declining.

 Findings

I observed the 9:45-10:45 A.M. Grade-7 Math Class of Ms. Irene U.

Orcales. There are 40 students, 15 of them were boys and 25 are girls. The

class was not the advisory of Ms. Orcales but she handled them very well. The

boys and girls are combined in their sitting arrangement where alphabetically

order.

On my observation period, class begins with the teacher asking about

their homework given last meeting and then presenting it in front. Then she

start now her new discussion about introduction in statistics and afterwards

she make exercise and call students to solve the given problems. Then she will

let the students explain their work and if the other students get the idea. After

that she will give a short quiz if there is a remaining time, but if there isn’t

enough time for quiz, she gives homework.

The strategy of her teaching were effective and students participates well

in her discussion, the use of calculator is one of the strategy of Ms. Orcales,

which my action research take place. Students solve problem solving and

computational by manual, I thought, “what if the calculator is present? Would

they rely on it or it will just a tool for them for better understanding?” and

that’s where I formulate my survey questionnaire, the effect of existence of

calculator inside the classroom. I talked to the teacher that if I am allowed to

give survey questions to the students regarding the effect of calculator and to

gain opinions.

Survey Result

I used convenience sampling method were there are four (4) students

Students Survey
40 YES NO
35
NO. OF RESPONDENTS

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Question 1 Question Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8
2
SURVEY QUESTIONS
that was not included in the data below because they are not around the time I

gave the surveyed questionnaires. The following data will only consists of 36

respondents, were 13 boys and 23 girls.

From the data collected (Appendices A) of survey questions, the graph

above are generated. The red bars represent the YES answer and the blue bars

represent the NO answer of the respondents.

What problem will arise if the usage of calculator is done all the time?

My findings show that based on the surveyed question no. 8, there are

lot of students who agreed that their ability to compute and solve problem

could weaken if it is being done all the time. As I interview Ms. Orcales, she
said that “Calculator could make the children stubborn.” She does not allowed

calculator inside her classroom because she also said, “Grade 7 level is the

foundation to learn more on mathematics, if they rely on calculator they

couldn’t learn how to compute and check the problem by manual, it will be

difficult for them that even the simplest form of computation they cannot

perform.”

Students can’t rely on the machines to do the thinking for them, they will

not know the errors in their answers and they will trust the machine more than

their own knowledge. It will be hard for them to compute than it needs to be

and they will never develop their math skills.

Quiz Result

Before I give a quiz to the students, I ask Ms. Orcales to select 10

students that will answer the quiz. Those 10 students are excel in her subject.

Students Quiz
10

6
SCORES

0
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5
WITHOUT CALCULATOR
 The data above is collected from the Appendix B where the first group do

not use calculator while solving the problems.

Students Quiz
10

6
SCORES

0
Student 6 Student 7 Student 8 Student 9 Student 10
WITH CALCULATOR

The data above is collected form appendix B where the second group is

using calculator while solving the problems.

How does the calculator affect the learning of the students in

Mathematics?

My findings show that the good thing about calculator is that this allows

the students to spend less time on tedious calculations and more time on

solving problems. The things listed below are what could be the positive effect

of calculator to the students while doing mathematics:

- Calculators are fast and accurate

- Are immensely valuable for validating work.

- Use to practice more problems and had fewer error answers

 Another one is the negative effect of calculator to the students when they

are permitted to use it to do all their thinking. Below are list of some concerns

of critics of calculators stating that they:

- Students can’t perform basic tasks without the calculator

- Prevent students from understanding mathematical concept

- Students mind are not trained and disciplined to promote logical

reasoning

- Students don’t know how to spot errors in their answers

- Students trust the machine more than their own knowledge

For the most part, students did very well especially those who did not

use calculator because they got a higher score even manually answering the

quizzed. From the group who used calculator, I took two students to perform

their answers on the board, I was impress that even I did not allow them to use

calculator in the board they got the correct answer and performed it well. It will

be a good thing for teachers to present calculator to their students, when they

are cultivated to calculate answers on their own and fully aware to use

calculator.
 Conclusion

In the entire time that I conducted the research, I was surprise

that the students in Grade 7 level were aware on the purpose of calculator in

their subject. Many students did not feel that they needed to use calculator to

be successful student in mathematics. To the group that take the quiz with the

use of calculator, they are relieved to the computational pressure because they

were given a time to understand and finish fast the quiz.

I realized that calculator is not a problem if the students are aware of

using it and the teachers taught them the basic computational skill, so that

students won’t rely on the calculator. I saw an improvement to the students

that did not use the calculator in the quizzed I’d given them.

Overall, calculator is not a threat to the students learning with the

proper use of it. However, if either the result of the students in the quiz were

compared, I was not certain to the group that calculator was permitted if they

truly understand the computation they’d made. I agree with Ms. Orcales that

Grade 7 students must be focused on teaching the fundamentals or concept of

mathematics to improve the ability of the students through problem solving,

reasoning, and students’ capacity in computational skill.

 Implication

This research gives a lot of new learnings regarding the use of calculator

especially in the middle school. This helps me to remind that students must

learn computation through by their hand and does not rely on calculator for

basic computation. Calculator may seems to be struggled to some teachers and

parents but this tool could help the students in the time that the tasks are

necessary to use calculator. I believe that this research will greatly influence

the teachers in the sense of technology education. I hope to use what I have

found through my research to promote the use of calculators within the

classroom as a means of support rather than a means to a solution. I do not

wish to make calculators as a basis in a classroom, but as a tool for students

for further understanding of mathematics.

Recommendation
References

Forster, P. A., Taylor, P. C. (2000). A multiple-perspective analysis of learning

in the presence of technology. Educational Studies in Mathematics,

42(1), 35-59.

Huntley, Rasmussen, Villarubi, Sangtong, Fey (2000). Effects of standards-

based mathematics education: A study of the core-plus mathematics

project algebra and functions strand. Journal for Research in

Mathematics Education, 31(3), 328-361.

Kilpatrick, J. (2001). Understanding mathematical literacy: The contribution of

research. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 47(1), 101-116

Thom, J. S., Pirie, S. E. B. (2002). Problems, perseverance, and mathematical

residue. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 50(1), 1-28. Wheatley, C.

L. (1980). Calculator use and problem-solving performance. Journal for

Research in Mathematics Education, 11(5), 323-334.

Szetela, W. & Super, D. (1987). Calculators and instruction in problem solving

in grade 7. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 18(3) 215-

229.
Appendix A

Instruction: Check (√) the box that best corresponds to your answer for each

question below.

Questions Yes No

1. Do calculators help you to enhance your

computation skills?

2. Do your teachers allow you to use

calculator?

3. Do your teachers let you use your cell

phone as means as calculator?

4. Is there a positive effect using calculator?

5. Is more preferable to compute through

solving in a piece of paper than knowing the
answer in the calculator without solution

6. Calculator is a tool for solving hard

computation.

7. Do your teachers set rules in using

calculator?

8. Does using calculator all the time weaken

the ability of the students to solve problems
through solutions?
Appendix B

Name: Score:
Mean, Median, Mode & Range

Find the mean, median, mode and range in each problem.

1) Nine conical flasks have sodium chloride solution of different

quantities. The amount of solution (ml) in each flask is given
below.

2, 10, 16, 2, 20, 18, 22, 14, 9

Mean : Median : Mode : Range :
2) Phillip has 8 red balls, 3 green balls, 6 yellow balls, 3 orange
balls, 13 black balls and 15 blue balls in his bag.

Mean : Median : Mode : Range :

3) Ten students from a class participated in a math quiz. The
scores obtained by them were recorded as follows.

11, 6, 7, 13, 1, 13, 16, 7, 13, 16

Mean : Median : Mode : Range :
4) Ray’s music album had 15 rock songs, 8 karaokes, 12 hip
hops, 10 pop songs, 15 lullabies, 13 jingles and 17 rap songs.

Mean : Median : Mode : Range :

5) Ian traveled 3 miles by a bus, 25 miles by a train, 9 miles by a van, 30
miles buy a car, 9 miles by a bike and walked 2 miles to visit few historical
monuments.
Mean : Median : Mode : Range:
Appendix C

Instruction: Check (√) the box that best corresponds to your answer for each

question below.

Questions Yes No

1. Does calculators help to enhance the

computation skill of a student?

2. Do teachers need to persuade his/her students

to use calculator?

3. Do teachers must let the students use their cell

phone as means as calculator?

4. Is there a positive effect using calculator?

5. Is more preferable to compute through solving

in a piece of paper than knowing the answer in
the calculator without solution

6. Calculator is a tool for solving hard

computation.

7. Does the teachers set rules in using calculator?

8. Does using calculator all the time weaken the

ability of the students to solve problems through
solutions?

9. Does Grade 7 pupil required using calculator in

their math subject?
Appendix D

Teacher Interview Questions

1. Does Grade 7 students already needed to use calculator in their math

subject?

2. What do you think about calculator inside your classroom?

3. What do you think would happen to the students learning presenting a

calculator?

4. Do you set rules inside your classroom regarding the use of any gadgets?

5. What might be the reason why some teachers allowed the use of

calculator inside the classroom?