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Calculators

Should my child be encouraged to use a calculator for maths homework?

Many parents are unsure of what is acceptable practice and what is encouraged by the school. Your child may be completing homework in record time by using a calculator for what was intended to be mental maths homework, or he may genuinely be following instructions. Calculators form a part of most maths teaching these days (see below), and their use is often condoned and indeed encouraged. If in doubt, ask your child’s teacher for clarification of policy regarding their use.

At what age should children use calculators instead of mental or written arithmetic?

This is a good question and one that is at the centre of much controversy. In Britain, a report commissioned by the government discourages the use of calculators in mathematics instruction for children through to the age of eleven. In fact, the final report, in response to widespread criticism, does ameliorate this advice, but still espouses little or no use of calculators until the later years of primary school.

Educators, apart from those teaching maths, appear very reluctant to encourage young children to use calculators, supporting a ‘back to basics’ approach. Strangely, though, computer use is encouraged, which seems rather contradictory. Calculators are always used in professional settings, just as computers are, and there is unlikely to be any assertion that the users are somehow less able because they are not working out figures with a pencil and paper. A strong body of research suggests that using pencil-and-paper methods alongside teaching the appropriate use of a calculator, is the most effective way to teach maths to children of all ages. After all, a child must know how to work out a problem or a function before it can be undertaken on a calculator, which means that the calculator is just a tool to gain a result rather than a replacement for knowledge. It’s also a good tool for checking mental arithmetic or pencil-and-paper work for accuracy.

If calculators are used by your child’s school as part of maths study, you are within your rights to question the theory behind their use, and when they should be used. But rest assured that most research points to the idea that calculators can enhance an understanding of maths rather than undermine it.