P.S. 56 Norwood Heights School students are gaining an understanding of the structure of number can be enhanced by the exploration of patterns, sequences and relationships with a calculator. Calculators help in the development of problem-solving skills by allowing the child to focus on the structure of a problem and possible means of solution.
Calculators can be used to check estimates, to perform long and complex computations, and to provide exact results to difficult problems. However, the calculator cannot be a substitute for practical activity with materials. Norwood Heights knows that the student needs a sound understanding of number to make judgments about when it is appropriate to estimate, to calculate mentally, to make a calculation on paper, or to use a calculator for an exact result. For these reasons, this curriculum provides for the use of calculators in mathematics from fourth to sixth classes, by which time the child should have acquired a mastery of basic number facts and a facility in their use.
