My Africa Today

Hands as a calculator have many advantages over the pencil and paper methods in arithmetic. The students require no external device and can practice the procedures at any time or place. Rote memory of the addition and multiplication tables, facts that can not be visualized, is the most difficult memorization possible. Representing numbers with the hands provides the visuals needed to enable a much easier memorization process to occur. A good pedagogical approach is to have the students verify the addition and multiplication tables using their hands as a calculator.