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Attitudes and beliefs of parents of middle school children about calculators in school mathematics

Sweeney, Sharon Shriver
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1095709423

Abstract Details

2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Teaching and Learning.
This was a qualitative study to learn the attitudes and beliefs of parents of middle school children about calculator use in school mathematics. A survey found that the parents were mostly neutral about the use of calculators in school mathematics, although there were some who very positive and others who were quite negative. The survey was followed by focus group interviews to learn why they held these attitudes and beliefs. Focus group interviews revealed that among other concerns most parents thought children would not learn operational mathematics if they were using a calculator or that it would become a crutch and they thought there is benefit from doing mathematics by hand. Many of the parents saw advantages to using a calculator, such as calculator use can be quicker and more efficient and that children would learn real life experiences using a calculator in their mathematics classes. An intervention was conducted, including a newsletter and a mathematics lesson. The newsletter informed the parents about the project and included information about research on the use of calculators as a pedagogical tool in mathematics. The lesson showed parents one way the calculator could be used as a learning and teaching tool by leading them through a discovery lesson. The parents used the calculator to learn or relearn how to multiply fractions by looking for patterns using a calculator. The intervention was followed by individual interviews with the parents to learn their attitudes and beliefs and to learn if they became more positive about calculators in school mathematics. Most of the parents in this study were more positive about calculator use in school mathematics after the intervention. They had several reasons for becoming more positive, but most of the reasons could be categorized as the parents not realizing the calculator could be used as a discovery tool and not only for computation. Most parents became positive after experiencing the calculator as a pedagogical tool. Teachers need to know how to teach with the calculator and need to keep communication lines with parents open. Similar studies should be done with parents of elementary students.
Douglas Owens (Advisor)
258 p.
Parent; Attitude; Belief; Calculator; Middle School; Mathematics; Qualitative Study; Texas Instruments; TI15

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sweeney, S. S. (2004). Attitudes and beliefs of parents of middle school children about calculators in school mathematics [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1095709423

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sweeney, Sharon. Attitudes and beliefs of parents of middle school children about calculators in school mathematics. 2004. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1095709423.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sweeney, Sharon. "Attitudes and beliefs of parents of middle school children about calculators in school mathematics." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1095709423

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1095709423
3,688
© 2004, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.