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AoPS Algebra online class - A or B?


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Hi all,

 

My son just finished 7th grade in a fairly challenging public school. He may homeschool next year if we move and I would like to sign him up for AoPS online for math. At school, he took "Math 6/7/8" in 6th grade and then took "Alg/Geom/Stat 1" this year. If he stayed at the school, I believe he would have two more years of integrated math, then PreCalc, then two years of "high level" math (this is an IB school - I think it is calculus and statistics combined).  His strength is math.

 

I am trying to decide if I should put him in Intro to Algebra A or B. On one hand, he has had a year of algebra (mixed with geometry/stats). On the other hand, it is not the same as AoPS. His school used EngageNY and Mathematics Vision Project. I think he understands the material well and can pick up things quickly, however I know the AoPS format is more challenging and he has never had an online class before. He says he may go back to school for high school the following year, so my original plan was to have him do Algebra B and Intro to Geometry this year. That way, if he does go back to school he should be ready for PreCalc instead of trying to fit into another integrated math sequence.

 

But, if he does Algebra A and B instead, it might be an easier transition (not that AoPS would be easy - I know it won't! But he will be familiar with the material). In general, he says he wants to learn "new math" - I think he is tired of review because at school he had to wait for other kids to pick up what he learned fairly quickly.  

 

He has excellent visual/spatial skills, but does not like writing out explanations in words. :) He has had practice with that at school, though.

 

There is about zero chance he will take a class over the summer, otherwise I would just do that. ;) He likes his summer off. :)

 

Anyway, anyone with experience with these classes who has advice? I'd really love to make Alg B/Geom work for the year, but I don't want to throw him in the deep end without any prior AoPS online experience.

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I haven't given it to him yet, but I suspect he would do fine content-wise. I'm just wondering if it would be hard to jump into the Alg B class without prior AoPS experience. (For example, he wouldn't know certain tricks or clever problem solving techniques he might have picked up if he took A).  Maybe I will have him take the test just to see how comfortable he is with the content, though. 

 

I could be totally over-thinking things, as I am often guilty of that. ;)

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How long were you planning to spend on Algebra? The classes are much shorter, so you could finish both in a year. 

 

I don't have much advice about the class as my son will be taking his first Aops online class in the fall (Intro B).  But he has done Aops PreA and the first half of Alg at home.  

 

Maybe he could try some of the Alcumus problems online? They aren't quite as difficult as the challenge problems in the book but it would give him a feel for the type of problem solving Aops uses. 

 

 

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I think with either A or B, it will still be a learning curve.  The best way to prep him for either class is to assign him some challenge problems on material he is already familiar with.  If he's already familiar with factoring quadratic equations, go straight to the challenge problems in chapter 10.  I don't think he'll find it to be review, and it will be the best introduction to the ways of AoPS.  

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I asked my kid who just finished Algebra in 7th at public school, but previously used AOPS pre-algebra at home (for grades 4/5), and the kid strongly recommends getting comfortable with AOPS before moving on to the next level.

AOPS recommends taking their Intro to Counting and Probability class prior to taking Algebra B. If your child takes that in the fall, that could satisfy their desire for something new while getting acclimated in the AOPS way of doing things. Then they could follow up with Algebra B in the spring semester.

 

[edited for clarity]

Edited by slackermom
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For ds, the hardest part of starting aops was learning to write up a satisfactory proof (full paragraphs, justifying steps, etc.), and it was helpful to him to start with Algebra a so he could practice those skills before diving into difficult quadratics. He had done aops prealgebra and intro counting and probability at home, and was comfortable with the math approach, but proof writing was hard.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a quick update and follow up question!

 

I gave ds the "are you ready" test for algebra B and he got almost everything right on the first try. However, there were several questions that he figured out without algebra (more of a guess and check method). When doing the problem solving questions he said he "likes these kind of questions" but also said he liked how he didn't have to write out how he did it in words.  :)

 

So my follow up question is does the AoPS algebra B class teach how to write up proofs or is it assumed that the student already knows how to do this? I'm guessing that will be the biggest issue for him - writing about what he is doing. I think he can do it, he just really dislikes it so it might make the class less enjoyable/more of a chore for him. He really likes to figure out the problem itself, not really discuss/write about it. Thoughts?

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