Calc 2 online tutoring for college student?

[ssexton]

Does anyone have experience hiring an online tutor for a struggling college student? My son is struggling in his calc 2 class, and we need to find some help for him. He has been a good math student up until this point--he just seems to have hit a wall. The school offers peer tutoring, but it is quite limited in scope and time. I've been looking at Wyzant in particular, and wondered if anyone had experience with this site or can recommend another site or even tutor?

 

Thanks!

Shannon

Edited October 1, 2017 by ssexton

[lmrich]

Has he asked the professor for a recommendation?

[ssexton]

Has he asked the professor for a recommendation?

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

The professor has told him to go to the free student tutoring offered by the school. He has tried this, and it seems helpful with individual questions about particular problems, but his issues seem to be deeper and more conceptual. He looks at a problem and doesn't know where to begin. I'm not sure what happened. He finished Calc 1 through DE at the local 4-year university and earned an A. When picking his DE professor, he went through Rate My Professor and picked a good but difficult prof. He just seems lost now. The professor is encouraging those in the class that do not do well on this next test to drop. However, he only has 14 hours and cannot drop a class and remain a full-time student. His schedule was drafted by his department, and we went with their recommendations.

Edited October 1, 2017 by ssexton

[EKS]

If he were my son, I'd have him drop the class and start over in Calc 1 next term (or even this term if they'll allow it).  I see that there are some logistical problems associated with this, but perhaps he can speak to someone at the school about it and work something out.

[ssexton]

If he were my son, I'd have him drop the class and start over in Calc 1 next term (or even this term if they'll allow it).  I see that there are some logistical problems associated with this, but perhaps he can speak to someone at the school about it and work something out.

 

That is my gut feeling too. He can't get in to see his advisor until Oct. 16th. I'm a first-time college mom, and I'm unsure how involved to get, but he doesn't seem to be making progress with his department. Dropping the class could really mess with his financial aid, I'm afraid. But so could failing the class.

[debi21]

Around here, near where collleges/universities have their free tutoring (math lab), there is some kind of bulletin board where students advertise paid tutoring. That should give you some local options. If he doesn't see it, he can ask the front desk at the math lab too - they usually have a list of tutors offering their services and sometimes they also have a set-up where you can arrange repeated sessions with the same tutor at a given time each week. The front desk people and/or managers of the peer tutoring could also possibly have insight into who is really good for calc 2 in particular. If you are at a larger university, you might also explore whether either graduate-level math students or adjunct faculty who teach lower level classes offer tutoring as well.

 

Again, not sure how large an institution you are at, but I'd have your son be at the professor's office hours asking more questions, seeing if he get get a better handle on where he got lost, or where his gaps or weaknesses are. This will provide a better understanding of what he needs more help with. Also, it's possible that the professor himself can recommend a good tutor for the class from among his past students or TAs or whatever. Is there a TA for this class? If so, contact the TA and pursue help from him/her. If not, I believe the student should be persistent about showing up for office hours for the professor. At some universities no one ever goes to office hours, and then it's so easy for the professor to say/think, well they never asked for help. At smaller colleges with smaller classes, at least, the professors are expected to help students out during office hours. This class might take more time and effort than classes in the past.

 

The recommendation that students who fail the first (second?) exam should drop the course along with the inability to see an advisor for 2-3 weeks makes me wonder if this is a large university and they are using this class as a "weeder" for students interested in engineering/sciences/math? I find that to be a crappy attitude and I would counter it by being defiantly persistent. Make sure the TA and professor know who you are and know how motivated and willing to work  you are.

 

Also, Khan Academy covers through AP Calc BC - have you looked at whether that, or other free online resources, could help him out in the meanwhile as you look for a tutor?

 

[amyx4]

I don't know if this will help but ds in currently taking Cal3.

 

During Cal2 he signed up for a tutor. My guess is that the tutoring "secretary/appointment setter" was a student. Ds went back every day for a whole week at different times.  Each time he went, he asked for a tutor that had taken Cal 2 with the same professor that ds was taking for Cal2. For the first couple of days, no one seemed to be tutoring Cal 2 or had had that professor.  (Really?)  Eventually, after showing up all week and being persistent the secretary finally found him a tutor who had had that same professor.

 

Ds booked that tutor every single week, all semester long, at the same exact time.

 

If that hadn't worked, his next plan was to stand outside of all the Cal3 classes and beg someone to tutor him. :)

[ssexton]

 

The recommendation that students who fail the first (second?) exam should drop the course along with the inability to see an advisor for 2-3 weeks makes me wonder if this is a large university and they are using this class as a "weeder" for students interested in engineering/sciences/math? I find that to be a crappy attitude and I would counter it by being defiantly persistent. Make sure the TA and professor know who you are and know how motivated and willing to work  you are.

 

 

 

This! It is the "weeding out" course for the engineering program. My son had DE experience at another large 4 year university and learned to utilize office hours, but this prof's office hours fall during my son's other class and work-study schedule. He was slotted into his class schedule by the engineering department, and because he had quite a bit of DE credit, he was given a light schedule. I'm really kicking myself that I didn't say something when I saw he only had 14 hours. No possibility of dropping a class without falling below full-time hours. Lesson learned! 

Edited October 1, 2017 by ssexton

[ssexton]

I don't know if this will help but ds in currently taking Cal3.

 

During Cal2 he signed up for a tutor. My guess is that the tutoring "secretary/appointment setter" was a student. Ds went back every day for a whole week at different times.  Each time he went, he asked for a tutor that had taken Cal 2 with the same professor that ds was taking for Cal2. For the first couple of days, no one seemed to be tutoring Cal 2 or had had that professor.  (Really?)  Eventually, after showing up all week and being persistent the secretary finally found him a tutor who had had that same professor.

 

Ds booked that tutor every single week, all semester long, at the same exact time.

 

If that hadn't worked, his next plan was to stand outside of all the Cal3 classes and beg someone to tutor him. :)

 

Your son did a great job in being so proactive! That is great! It's encouraging to hear he's now in Cal3!

 

As a follow up, I've hired a tutor that I think will be helpful. I really appreciate all of your thoughts!!

[daijobu]

I

During Cal2 he signed up for a tutor. My guess is that the tutoring "secretary/appointment setter" was a student. Ds went back every day for a whole week at different times.  Each time he went, he asked for a tutor that had taken Cal 2 with the same professor that ds was taking for Cal2. For the first couple of days, no one seemed to be tutoring Cal 2 or had had that professor.  (Really?)  Eventually, after showing up all week and being persistent the secretary finally found him a tutor who had had that same professor.

 

Ds booked that tutor every single week, all semester long, at the same exact time.

 

If that hadn't worked, his next plan was to stand outside of all the Cal3 classes and beg someone to tutor him. :)

 

Wow, good for him!  

[Bootsie]

I am sorry that I don't have any online tutoring recommendations, but I would suggest the following:

 

1.  Check with the professor about meeting outside the professor's normal office hours.  Most professors will gladly accommodate a request if a student can't attend office hours because of a class conflict.  

2.  If he has a work study job, most campus jobs are flexible so that he might e able to meet with the professor during that time slot if he makes prior arrangements.

3.  Visit the math lab as often as possible.  Even if he doesn't think it is the best help right now, he is probably getting something out of it.

4.  Ask other students for recommended tutors; in my experience, a live tutor is better than online, especially if he is having trouble framing what his questions are and his confusion is.

5.  See if there is a way that he can sit in on a Calc 1 class in addition to the class that he is taking to fill in some holes.

[gstharr]

Last year, I helped a struggling college student get through college chemistry.  How we did it.  Signed up for Thinkwell College Chemistry.  He attended his college chem class, and then at home, he would review the corresponding unit on TW.  Replay, replay, and replay, then did the  TW assignments with instant grading.  Then did  his college classwork. if he still got jammed with something in his college text, went to ClutchPrep for additional tips for his  particularly textbook.          https://www.clutchprep.com/usf/mac-2312-calculus-2. we are doing organic the same way.    Straighterline.com, for one, offers general cal 2 classes,  I'm sure there are more.  Then use with ClutchPrep.   Just make sure you are not enrolling for college credits that could lead to a transcript.   Also,  Us.alhea.com has calc2 tutoring videos, but I have not used - so no opinion.

[plansrme]

Last year, I helped a struggling college student get through college chemistry.  How we did it.  Signed up for Thinkwell College Chemistry.  He attended his college chem class, and then at home, he would review the corresponding unit on TW.  Replay, replay, and replay, then did the  TW assignments with instant grading.  Then did  his college classwork. if he still got jammed with something in his college text, went to ClutchPrep for additional tips for his  particularly textbook.          https://www.clutchprep.com/usf/mac-2312-calculus-2. we are doing organic the same way.    Straighterline.com, for one, offers general cal 2 classes,  I'm sure there are more.  Then use with ClutchPrep.   Just make sure you are not enrolling for college credits that could lead to a transcript.   Also,  Us.alhea.com has calc2 tutoring videos, but I have not used - so no opinion.

 

Thanks so much for posting this.  My HS senior is going to need it next year for chem.

[gstharr]

Thanks so much for posting this.  My HS senior is going to need it next year for chem.

 

  Good luck. I suggest that he starts TW in the summer. Could be nearly 1/2 through before college gets in full swing. Having one of the harder first year class well  under control will be a big bump.

[gingersmom]

This is our second year using Wyzant for local tutors. Both are PhD students at local university.

[kiana]

jdahlquist has already given the suggestions I would have so I won't repeat them. But I will say that if he needs to drop, there are often classes that begin partway through the semester (not math ones, but it would give hours) specifically for students who have dropped a class. Check to see if that's an option when considering options. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Could he Drop Calc 2 AND also Add Calc 1. Just because a student took a course dual enrollment or has SO credit doesnt necessarily mean they have to take that credit.

 

Both of my son's have repeated Calc 1 from DE when they got to university. They wanted to make sure they were up with the level taught at the 4 year school.

[gstharr]

Found this discussion at College Confidential.  http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/science-majors/1242679-calc-vs-calc-ii-vs-calc-iii.html Does your son see himself somewhere in there.  Are there other factors involved? Is this son's first year at college?  Has he adjusted to the rigors of college pace, and the amount of independent  work required.  

[katilac]

My dd has done a lot of tutoring and recently became a Chegg online tutor. You can see her profile here; 

 

https://www.chegg.com/tutors/online-tutors/Gabrielle-C-4493360/

 

Feel free to PM me for more info.