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ERIC Number: ED200274
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981-Jan
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Combining Basic Business Math and Electronic Calculators.
Merchant, Ronald
As a means of alleviating math anxiety among business students and of improving their business machine skills, Spokane Falls Community College offers a course in which basic business math skills are mastered through the use of desk top calculators. The self-paced course, which accommodates varying student skill levels, requires students to: (1) arithmetically solve business problems both with and without a calculator; (2) estimate answers, thereby improving self-confidence; (3) use a ten-key keyboard with touch control; (4) use the features provided on a variety of modern business electronic calculators; (5) use basic business math formulas; and (6) use the metric system. Course material is presented in a programmed text which provides frequent exercises for self-checking and requires students to devote an average of 50 hours to lab work. Because students learn to use a variety of calculators, the vocational relevance of the course is not endangered by the ongoing changes in computer technology. The course has proven to be successful on a number of counts: students give high ratings to the course and indicate that the programmed approach is neither boring nor overly time-consuming; the course is flexible enough to be used in a variety of on- and off-campus settings; and instructional costs have been minimized. The paper presents short answers to 15 questions concerning course management and equipment. (JP)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the National Conference on Educational Alternatives for a Changing Society (Miami, FL, January 28-30, 1981).