On the development of UJ-MaGT scientific calculator

Abstract

Graphing is an important skill/knowledge required by almost every scientist, engineer and other professionals that require analysis of data to make sense of phenomena, relationships, etc. This important knowledge is learned right from secondary school through to advanced level of education and it is developed through the study of functions in mathematics and laboratory exercises in sciences, etc. At the secondary school level, learning to graph by hand is the most preferred and common practice in most countries in the African continent and other parts of the world. However, studies have shown that graphing by hand present numerous difficulties to science students due to its high “procedural load”. To reduce the procedural load, an algorithm called UJ-MaGT was developed and tested for effectiveness. Excellent result in time management, simplification and pedagogical change in graph plotting process was achieved with the help of UJ-MaGT. Currently, the algorithm has been incorporated into a scientific calculator.