Brain vs. Calculator
Martha F. Jamail
Just so you know before you read any further, I think the brain beats calculator every time – at least in the fundamentals of 4th grade multiplication facts.
It just happened to be an ordinary day in my 4th grade classroom at Park Elementary School. Math was usually the first subject I instructed in the morning when students’ minds were the sharpest.
We had been trying to master the basic 100 multiplication facts, and there was a practice sheet we used each morning. The students only had to read the numbers (e.g. 6 x 3) and write the answer – 18. The lessons were timed (only three minutes allowed), and they were to stop immediately when the timer rang. We traded papers for scoring, and the students recorded the number correct. No matter what the score was, they were encouraged to get a higher score the next day. The goal was for everyone to master the 100 facts.
As with all children, some are better at memorization than others, but one day I had an unexpected assist in proving its importance. A box of new calculators arrived for our class, and everyone was excited. One of the students blurted out, “Hey, now we don’t have to memorize those multiplication facts. We can do them with our new calculators!”
I decided right then was a good time to show the power of memorization. There were already a few students who could complete the sheet in less than 3 minutes, so I asked for a volunteer.
I made a transparency of the worksheet and placed it on the overhead projector for the whole class to see. Then I asked the student who favored the calculator if he would like to compete with the volunteer. He eagerly answered, “Sure!”
The timer was set and they both began. The student completing the problems on the overhead projector was finished long before the timer rang, and long before the calculator-assisted student. They were good sports about it, and eventually the entire class mastered the fact sheet in less than three minutes.
Score one for the brain!
