Middle School Math: Using Technology to Accelerate Learning

Using state-of-the-art, graphing calculator technology in the classroom gets middle school students excited about mathematics and prepares them for high school.

Dec. 14, 2011 (TAMPA, Fla.) – Do you know what the graph of f(x)=5x^2+3x-7 looks like?

When it comes to plotting graphs such as this, solving simultaneous equations, analyzing statistics, and even doing fundamental calculations with integers, middle school students at Independent Day School- Corbett Campus are more engaged than ever. That's because hands-on learning has acquired new, cutting edge meaning as students explore math using the latest graphing calculator technology upgrade available.

Seventh-grade students use the new TI-Nspire™ calculators to perform a coordinate graphing activity. They manually graphed and plotted the points and then checked their work using the calculator. All middle school students are learning to use the new technology.

Thanks to Parent Faculty Association fundraising efforts, state-of-the-art TI-Nspire™ calculators are helping IDS-CC students visualize and understand challenging math concepts and sparking new enthusiasm over square roots, parabolas, and other functions.

Since 2006, math teachers at IDS-CC have integrated the TI-84 Plus model graphing calculator into the three-year middle school math curriculum, which includes Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II Honors, and a Geometry elective. Doing so has helped prepare students for high school, where mathematics teachers encourage, and many require, students to use graphing calculators. Standardized tests and college entrance exams also permit or require the use of a graphing calculator.

"We want our students to become comfortable in middle school with the technology they will be encountering in high school so they can be ahead of the curve," said teacher Thelma Rosenberg. "The TI-Nspire™ is going to quickly become the new standard for high school math."

The new calculator offers features that assist teachers in bringing learning to even higher levels: personal folders to which students can save their individual work, a split screen for comparing multiple graphs, and the ability to utilize images, create shapes, and measure angles, to name a few.

"The TI- Nspire™ is more than a calculator. It's really a mini-computer," said middle school math teacher Telma Largent. "When you first look at it, it could be intimidating. But it's actually very user-friendly." Being digital natives, middle school students are fearless when it comes to touching buttons and are excited about the opportunity to explore new technology, according to Mrs. Largent. "That gives us, as teachers, another way to reach students and increase engagement in mathematics."

In addition to using the calculator with her sixth-graders, Mrs. Largent is also starting to use the calculator with the fifth-grade students she teaches. "Using the latest and greatest technology gets students excited about math, even when they are learning the fundamentals," she said.

IDS-CC math teachers agree that using the calculators increases student engagement because it also adds variety to lessons, providing another option for accelerating the learning process and increasing time on task. After receiving instruction about mathematical theory, students have the opportunity for hands-on application, minus the time-consuming, manual labor, which enables teachers to cover more curriculum and delve into concepts at deeper levels.

For example, instead of manually plotting and drawing multiple different graphs to understand the effect of a slight change in an equation, students can plug the new variable into the calculator and quickly compare graphs side-by-side on a split screen.

"Or if you're determining the average of the interior angles of a polygon, your focus can be more on understanding the concept and being able to apply it, as opposed to computing," said teacher Jeanne Rivera.

"There are so many advantages to having this new technology available in all of our middle school math classes," said Mrs. Rivera. "Students are really excited about it, and so are we."