EKS Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 My son is almost finished with TT Geometry and will be starting Foerster's Algebra II in January. While he is generally getting great scores on the assessments (95%+), he still struggles somewhat with proofs, though he will usually get the proof problems mostly right on the tests. Should he have mastered the "proof process" by now? Is there a supplement out there (not a full program) that deals specifically with geometry proofs that I could use with him to help him master this process more fully, or should I just let it go for now? He will most likely be going into a math-intensive field like engineering or physics, if that factors in to how you respond. Any insight would be most appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 You can't force 'logic' on a student... you can teach them strategies and tricks--but the part of your son's brain that he needs for Geometric Proofs may still be in development! In order to be fluent in proofs you need the ability to think several steps ahead while remembering all sorts of 'unrelated' postulates, theorems and definitions. Many very intelligent high school students will NEVER develop this ability--some students of 'average' intelligence can do it with ease! If your son is making 95% on the tests--even if he feels uncomfortable he is still doing a GREAT job. I'm a Mathy person and in high school I had an IQ in the 160s. I was 'profoundly gifted'... I could do all sorts of advanced Math--yet Geometry was my stumbling block (when it came to proofs)! A few years later when I started teaching Geometry a light suddenly went on--and I realized that my brain had actually matured and that proofs were now 'easy'...a few years too late! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
langfam Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Thanks, Jann for that insight. I've been working Jacob's daily with my son. There are times I want to bang my head against the wall. I find that I have to ask him leading questions for him to find the answer. It helps to know that some kids just can't really get it....at least for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullia Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 My son struggled with proofs at first. One thing that helped was that I allowed him to work a certain percentage of the proofs by starting with the answers and working back from that point. Also, he used Video-Text which, on new proofs, provides some of the steps. Even so, he never really felt comfortable with proofs even though he'd loved and excelled at the Traditional Logic books. I think the idea finally clicked with him, of all places, in this semester's CC Analytical Writing class while he was writing multi-sourced literary analysis paper. He'd made a couple of faulty assertions one of which didn't include the necessary context, and another which went too far beyond the facts he'd cited earlier in the paper. He had to go back and insert information that he neglected to include because it seemed obvious to him. The second faulty assertion required some tweaking; he backed off his first assertion and settled for a more properly cautious scholarly statement;). That proved to be one of those light-bulb moments where he saw the connection between including a logical progression of ideas, thinking carefully about demonstrating cause and effect, and then using his knowledge of grammar to select a more appropriate mood for the verbs he employed. As some other folks have said, it was probably a matter of increased maturity and his brain being more ready today than a couple of years ago to make the proper connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 You can't force 'logic' on a student... you can teach them strategies and tricks--but the part of your son's brain that he needs for Geometric Proofs may still be in development! In order to be fluent in proofs you need the ability to think several steps ahead while remembering all sorts of 'unrelated' postulates, theorems and definitions. Many very intelligent high school students will NEVER develop this ability--some students of 'average' intelligence can do it with ease! If your son is making 95% on the tests--even if he feels uncomfortable he is still doing a GREAT job. I'm a Mathy person and in high school I had an IQ in the 160s. I was 'profoundly gifted'... I could do all sorts of advanced Math--yet Geometry was my stumbling block (when it came to proofs)! A few years later when I started teaching Geometry a light suddenly went on--and I realized that my brain had actually matured and that proofs were now 'easy'...a few years too late! Thanks for this post; I found it especially helpful. This is something to consider in more than just math, too. I had logic in high school, but the term paper writing light didn't turn on until my third year university when my aunt went through some of my papers line by line and word by word. I wasn't pg, but was Mensa level IQ and bored stiff all through high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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