The effect of using calculator in the mathematical activities on the student achievement at primary level

The present study investigates the effect of using calculator on the student achievement in the mathematical activities at primary level. In order to determine the effectiveness, pretest-posttest comparison design of quasi-experimental method was used. Also in this study, survey was conducted to the experimental group students for observing the differences of the views of students on the usage of calculator in the activities of mathematics. The research was carried out on the thirty students in the eighth grade of a primary school in Gaziantep during the 2009-2010 academic year. The students were equivalently distributed to the control and the experimental groups. In this study, three different activities were applied in the units of exponential numbers, squared numbers and triangles measuring. Three-week period of four hours per week devoted to these activities. Over the entire study, the experimental group students used calculator in the activities whereas the control group students did not use. At the end of the teaching process, the results of the pretest and posttest were analyzed with SPSS program. The views of student about the survey were analyzed using the frequency tables. The findings of the research indicate that the group who used calculator in the mathematical activities is more successful than the group who did not use calculator. Also, the positively improvement on the experimental group students thoughts about using calculator and the increase in interests and appetite for using calculator in mathematical activities were observed. In the consideration of the whole study, it was concluded that the usage of the calculator in the mathematical activities at primary level increase the general achievement of the students.Key Words: Mathematical activities, Calculator, Student achievement