I am a second-year 8th grade math teacher. This is the first year many of my students will need a TI-30XS Multiview calculator for all their unit/chapter exams as well as their Oklahoma State Math Exam at the end of the year. These calculators provide excellent abilities for conversions, are user-friendly and easy to navigate, and appeal to most students as the display can be changed to scientific, engineering, fraction, decimals, radians, etc. It is an extremely versatile calculator that can be used all the way to high school. Even though we have had several exams already, these students are still struggling with basic calculations and this can be avoided by the use of a calculator. Many of the students do not have the correct calculator simply because they do not have the financial means to buy one. For this grant, I want to propose an idea where I receive 30 of the correct model calculators and allow my students to borrow them for exams, homework assignments, etc. All calculators will be labeled with my name and students will be made aware of how and when to properly return the calculators. By doing this, the students who have not had a chance to practice critical functions on the calculator will have a fair opportunity. Every calculator is different and since many students use primarily their phone calculator, they are learning the wrong functions which will only hinder them in the future when they are given the correct calculator to use on the state exam and not know how it works. For this reason, the goal of this grant is to close the learning gap in math by ensuring that everyone has equal access to technology and is not suffering from a simple issue.
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I am a second-year 8th grade math teacher. This is the first year many of my students will need a TI-30XS Multiview calculator for all their unit/chapter exams as well as their Oklahoma State Math Exam at the end of the year. These calculators provide excellent abilities for conversions, are user-friendly and easy to navigate, and appeal to most students as the display can be changed to scientific, engineering, fraction, decimals, radians, etc. It is an extremely versatile calculator that can be used all the way to high school. Even though we have had several exams already, these students are still struggling with basic calculations and this can be avoided by the use of a calculator. Many of the students do not have the correct calculator simply because they do not have the financial means to buy one. For this grant, I want to propose an idea where I receive 30 of the correct model calculators and allow my students to borrow them for exams, homework assignments, etc. All calculators will be labeled with my name and students will be made aware of how and when to properly return the calculators. By doing this, the students who have not had a chance to practice critical functions on the calculator will have a fair opportunity. Every calculator is different and since many students use primarily their phone calculator, they are learning the wrong functions which will only hinder them in the future when they are given the correct calculator to use on the state exam and not know how it works. For this reason, the goal of this grant is to close the learning gap in math by ensuring that everyone has equal access to technology and is not suffering from a simple issue.
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