Calculators in the High School Classroom: Anxiety Levels and Attitude Towards Mathematics

Student: Kendall Lloyd
Majors: Mathematics, Education
Advisors: Dr. Jillian Morrison, Dr. Marian Frazier

Students often fear failure in the math classroom, especially when performing various algebra calculations. Seeing equations with both numbers and letters can be very intimidating at first when the math skills are already weak, and a student typically uses a calculator. This Independent Study aims to focus on three factors related to students’ calculator use: Anxiety, Attitude, and Time. The research studied the self-rated anxiety levels when performing algebra problems using or not using a calculator and how this affects students’ attitude toward mathematics. The data was collected from Wayne County math students using an online survey during class time. The results conclude that relying on a calculator does affect student attitude towards math but does not influence a student’s anxiety levels. A student’s favorite subject and year of school is correlated with anxiety in a math classroom.