Funded Oct 3, 2019Thank you so much for the calculators. There are many advantages to this type of calculator, relevant to the 8th grade curriculum.
On the TI-34, there are two very helpful buttons in the upper-left: one that says "U n/d", and one that says "n/d". These allow for much easier entry and processing of mixed numbers and fractions, because they don't require any spaces to be entered for mixed numbers, and because the fractions are entered vertically, using a horizontal fraction bar, due to the large screen space available.
While the 8th grade curriculum doesn't deal heavily with fractions, students who are weaker at using fractions, combined with weaker calculator literacy, are at more of a disadvantage, but these disadvantages are minimized with a calculator like the TI-34. For instance, a problem such as 3/4 x + 1 = 10 is a plausible, state exam-type problem that 8th graders could see. Last year, I taught my 8th graders (after subtracting 1 from both sides), to get rid of the fractional coefficient by multiplying by the reciprocal. This requires them to do 4/3 times 10/1 on the right side of the equation. Near the end of the year, however, I was noticing that students had taken it upon themselves to prefer dividing by the fraction (I hadn't taught them this); meaning, they wanted to do 10 divided by 3/4, rather than multiplying by the reciprocal. Of course, this still works and is mathematically valid and still gets them the same answer. On the TI-34, fractions can be entered more easily, so that a student would be able to enter 10, then press the division key, then press the "n/d" key to trigger a fraction, and then fill in the numerator and denominator.
This will be of great help to students, especially those who may struggle in math.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Capp