Rethinking computers in schools: Calculus in primary

It has been suggested that computers can transform the nature of schooling, but the process to devise a new Australian curriculum embeds information and communication technology (ICT) as a general capability servicing the needs of traditional subjects. We sought to explore the capacity of ICT to enhance learning of topics considered so complex they are rarely introduced to students under the age of sixteen. This project undertook an investigation in four Australian schools to train laptop-equipped students aged ten to twelve years how to solve problems using integral calculus with computer algebra system software. Using Allenʼs (2001) non-template problem solving method, students were introduced to the operational functionality of the software, and then shown how to solve real world problems using it. After eleven lessons the students completed a test constructed from items at the level of a first year engineering degree calculus examination. Mean achievement was at the credit level, and students showed good understanding of the applications of integral calculus. The project is subsequently being trialled in another school with a more conventional computer laboratory infrastructure, and with free software in New Zealand. The inference is that computers can make concrete what is unteachably abstract in the context of pen and paper. It therefore has ripple-on implications for the development of the Australian national curriculum, and suggests treating ICT as a general capability understates what can be achieved with the appropriate equipment and software. It also challenges what we mean when talking about ʻmasteryʼ, since these pupils did not need to remember lists of functions and their integrals, the computer application serving this purpose for them. Lastly, since professional engineers habitually use such mind tool software, we discuss to what degree students should be compelled to do without them.