By the way, see the new name of our department, at the end.
There is something profoundly wrong in thinking that students can possibly
learn how to use advanced features of Ti-83 calculators from the so-called
guidebook. It is like expecting somebody to learn calculus from a table of
integrals. Tables of integrals are extremely useful to those who know
calculus. But they are not suitable for learning it. Likewise, dictionaries
are useful but they are not main instruments for learning foreign languages.
The provided Ti-83 book is good to recall what was forgotten but not to learn
for the first time. My suggestion is to replace the name "Guidebook" by the
name "Reference". And to print a warning "learning from this book may be
dangerous to your mental health", on the front cover. Real guidebooks should
be provided for the Ti-83 and CBL units.
What is a real guidebook? It is a text which promotes learning with pleasure.
How? By emphasizing internal logic and practical usefulnes of basis concepts.
By making sure that these concepts are introduced gradually and that what
is explained today does not depend on what is going to be explained tomorrow.
Furthermore, students must be given opportunities to manipulate what they
are exposed to, in one way or another. Central ideas first, secondary concepts
later. Completness is NOT essential for a guidebook, it is essential only for
a reference book.
All this is trivial. Why is it not practiced by those who promote technology?
At least 90% of the printed material supplied with the Ti-83 unit is for
references. Enumerating keys and menus for various "list operations", for
example, makes no sense unless students have some idea about what the list
are for, and when such operations are needed. Lists, by the way, are types
of data which are ofen used when a Ti-83 is interacting with a CBL unit.
Similarly a sentence "all variables are global", on page 16-22, makes no
sense to a non-programmer. Students may loose confidence in themseves while
trying to understand materials provided with calculators. We teachers must
protect them from all kinds of brain domaging activities, including pseudo-
scientific ways of teaching about black boxes. Black boxes are here to stay
and we must think about the best possible ways of using them, or not using
them, in teaching physics.
CBL-like units will probably dominate math and science activities in schools
which will depend on distance learning. How else can the central role of
the laboratory be preserved? Gadgets will be borrowed and used at homes,
probably by small groups of students. Then experiments will be discussed
over the Internet. Those who are comfortable with the CBLs have an
opportunity to make useful contributions in that area.
Ludwik Kowalski
Department of Mathematical Sciences,
Montclair State University,
Upper Montclair, N.J. 07043
The new deparment name will
become official in July.