The scientific calculator as a pedagogical device in teaching the elementary transcendental functions to college freshmen

• Main Author: Torres, Herminia D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1990
• Subjects: Calculators; Transcendental functions; Teaching > Aids and devices; College freshmen; Mathematics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/641
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study assesses the effect of the calculator-oriented teaching approach on the college freshmen's scores in the achievement test on the properties of the four elementary transcendental functions. One hundred forty-five students who composed four freshmen classes were used as subjects in this post-exposure research design. The experimental group consisted of 78 students while the control group was composed of 75 students. The study was conducted by two teachers, each handling a control group and an experimental group. The teachers were guided all along by a teacher's manual which was prepared by the researcher and validated during a pilot study conducted earlier among similar students of the same university. The students in each group were further classified into three ability levels. T-test and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data with students' grades in college algebra, scores in the mathematics test of the DLSU entrance examination, and the raw scores in the National College Entrance Examination as the covariates. The study showed that there is no significant difference between the achievement test scores of college freshmen taught by the calculator-oriented teaching approach and those taught by the usual traditional textbook-oriented approach. No significant interaction between the types of teaching approach and the three ability levels was further noted although those students belonging to the upper average ability outperformed all the other groups in the calculated-oriented teaching approach.