Written by Yvonne Rennesia G
Edited by Brandon Trinh
There are numerous perceptions as to why a calculator is prohibited in Indonesian schools. In the last Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranking, the mathematical literacy ability of Indonesian students was very low because we were not allowed to use calculators during school and even exams. One of the experts said that the weakness of the Indonesian curriculum, the lack of trained teachers, and the lack of support from the environment and schools are all factors of the low literacy scores.
The mathematics education curriculum in Indonesia does not emphasize problem-solving matters. Students are trained to memorize formulas but are not taught to apply the formula when solving a problem. Meanwhile, the objective of the teacher's subject is also incomplete compared to the international curriculum. Outside Indonesia, students do not need to memorize the formula as it is already provided. For easy questions, they calculate manually. But if the questions given are difficult, then the use of a calculator is allowed as the teacher wants to encourage students' ability to solve problems.
One of the speakers said that memorization speeds up and makes work easier. However, not everyone can memorize a lot, and the human brain's memory capacity is limited. Instead of filling the brain solely with memorization, it is better to use it more to understand the concept. Currently, calculators are prohibited from the implementation of examinations from elementary to high school levels. However, calculators are allowed on some equivalence examinations with an international curriculum, meaning some schools allow elementary students to count with calculators.
Some materials discuss certain formulas that can only be calculated quickly with the help of a calculator. For example, on math questions, we were required to find x from the questions; it took a while when we found the x without using a calculator. However, the calculator is only a tool, so children can still count even though there is no calculator. Some advice against allowing calculators to be used in early elementary school-aged children in grades 1-3 and for children in grades 4-6 because they should learn how solving the questions without tools helps. Also, during that grade, they still learn how to solve some easy questions, so using a calculator is not necessary. Therefore, it would be wise if we monitor its use and make a calculator as a tool to understand mathematical concepts, so we can gain more knowledge on how to solve numeric problems with efficient time.
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