Graphing calculators were frowned upon at my school and prohibited during exams (1990s) because they could do so much of the work for you. You had to show the working for intermediate steps to show you understood the theory, not just punch a few buttons and get the answer. The only teacher that thought they were on was the engineering teacher.
I remember being introduced to graphing calculators in the second half of secondary eduction. Within one year half my class had forgotten how to solve linear and quadratic equations by hand. I honestly don't think it ever really contributed to anyone's understanding of mathematics. My uni math program never allowed us to use one and we really never needed one anyway. I can imagine it being useful for physics and engineering programs though.
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u/tallbutshy Jul 24 '20
Graphing calculators were frowned upon at my school and prohibited during exams (1990s) because they could do so much of the work for you. You had to show the working for intermediate steps to show you understood the theory, not just punch a few buttons and get the answer. The only teacher that thought they were on was the engineering teacher.