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The Sherpa-Student Role With A Graphics Calculator: Empowering Or Disempowering?

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The Sherpa-Student Role With A Graphics Calculator: Empowering Or Disempowering?

Author: Pat Forster, Peter Taylor & Craig Davis

Publication Year: 2002

Abstract

This paper explores student empowerment in the context of graphics calculator usage.
The setting is revision and a student has her calculator attached to an overhead
projection panel, hence the Sherpa-student role. She is working according to the
teacher's instruction. Problematically, she lags the teacher's instruction and another
student preempts her answers. In addition, the teacher uses tripartite questioning which
can mediate against student empowerment, but a mitigating factor is students disrupt the
questioning repeatedly. Use of the overhead panel and the conditions that worked
towards and against student empowerment are discussed in the paper.

Type: research paper

Pat Forster, Peter Taylor & Craig Davis

The Sherpa-Student Role With A Graphics Calculator: Empowering Or Disempowering?

Short Communications & Round Tables

The following documents are essential to read and complete when considering submitting a short communication or round table to the MERGA conference (available in the Submission section of this website).

MERGA Paper Template – to be used to write the abstracts which are then submitted to the MERGA conference website
MERGA Publication Agreement – to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the abstract submission

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Short communications are suitable for reports on research in mathematics education that do not fully meet the requirements for published papers. These might include works in preliminary stages, reports of pilot projects, initial reviews of literature, ideas or suggestions for future study, and briefer discussions of particular issues. Short communications allow new researchers to obtain feedback on projects in a constructive and supportive environment, and foster the building of links between researchers with similar interests.

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MERGA Paper Template – to be used to write the papers which are then submitted to the MERGA conference website
MERGA Publication Agreement – to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the paper submission

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a statement of the problem/issue and a discussion of its significance;
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MERGA Paper Template (to be used to write the papers which are then submitted to the MERGA conference website)
MERGA Publication Agreement (to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the paper submission)

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