Thinkwell Math or something else?

[cjzimmer1]

I have a young student who is extremely advanced in math. He has self taught himself Algebra and is currently working on geometry. We used Harold Jacobs Algebra followed by Alex's Algebra and will finish Jacob's geometry and then follow up with Alex's geometry. My son LOVES to read math books in his free time. He has spent many hours reading and rereading trigonometry the easy way and calculus the easy way as we as some other math books lying around the house. He is 10 years old.

 

My plan was to go to Thinkwell next but I'm not sure of the level. Should we hit up Trigonometry next (I know he has covered some of this topic between the Jacob's books and Alex but I don't know if it's the full topic or not) or should we go straight into precalculus. Do they have placement tests available to determine the correct level? Also does anyone know if there is a difference between the Thinkwell you buy directly from the company (at $219) versus other retailers (around $90)? I'm trying to figure out why there is such a huge price discrepancy.

 

Finally is there any program that you would recommend instead of Thinkwell? I really need something with a self-grading component because with 3 younger siblings and another on the way I'm drowning in ungraded assignments as it is.

 

Thanks so much

Stephanie

[Sharon in MD]

We used THinkwell for part of the year last year and as a supplement this year. Their College Algebra is at the Al II-Al III level for the most part. Then you could move into their Trig course.

 

But, that said, I do have a few reservations about Thinkwell based on our experience that I want to share with you.

 

We did find some errors in the material that were pretty frustrating for our ds. They were very good about checking into our complaints and granting credit for correct answers, but it was really frustrating to deal with. Unless your 10 year old is pretty independent and up to the task of emailing and phoning to get things credited, it might drive you, as a busy mom, nuts. Also, for the exams, there are some free responses where you have to use the precisely correct sequence of key strokes to get the answer counted as right. That could also be a source of frustration for you.

 

Burger is funny as a teacher and really easy to learn from, but he does use the occassional mild curse word.

 

Since you are looking for a full course with self-grading, you would need the course from THinkwell. The full course is what gets you the access to the exercises and tests that are graded for you. What I can't figure out from their web site is what the difference is between the "Homeschool" version of the course and the "independent study" version of the course. There is a huge difference in price between the two. I would call them if I were you, and ask what you get with the independent study version. If it gives you access to all the graded exercises and tests, then I can't see what you would gain by virtue of the homeschool version. Unless they have added some sort of tutorial support or question and answer service for the homeschool version, then you would not need to pay the extra money. My guess is that they looked around at the cost of things like Chalkdust, video text, and teaching textbooks and decided to see if they could make a little more money off the homeschool market.

 

Since you said that your son really likes Jacobs, have you thought about the courses from Math without borders? Here is the link for that:

 

http://www.mathwithoutborders.com/

 

There have been several threads lately about Foerster's texts which might be helpful to you. I personally think that Foerster is way better than Thinkwell, but I don't know much about these videos. The course is supposed to be ready by this fall. I don't know if he goes over the answers to the exercises and tests on the cd's or not.

 

Also, one other thing to think about, since your ds is so young, you might want to look at Teaching Textbooks. I think they are supposed to be pretty much hands free for the mom.

 

Hope this has been of some use to you.

[Barb_]

I agree with everything Sharon said. Thinkwell is a very strong program, but contrary to their sales pitch, it is not a good stand alone program. Think of it like a personal tutor, not a textbook. We weren't impressed with the problem sets because they don't require a high enough level of thought. Half the battle is to understand the concepts, the other half is to be able to do the math. The first part is Thinkwell's strength, the second is its weakness.

 

Take a look at the Dolciani, Foerester, Jacobs discussions we've been having. I would suggest a challenging Algebra II/Trig textbook and a combination of ALEKS and Thinkwell for reinforcement. You can get the Thinkwell lectures (no problem sets or tests) for just $20 a year at Hotmath.com. It's a good idea to slow him down and have him overlearn the concepts at this stage because they are a hugely important stair landing (not just a step, LOL) on the way to college math.

 

My radically accelerated math girl was about where yours was at the same age, but we began to bog down a little in Algebra II. We had to wait it out until she hit puberty and her development caught up with her intellect. She's 13 now and after taking about a year off formal math, spent 6 months redoing Algebra I and Geometry on ALEKS and then going through Dolciani's Algebra II. She is working through Trig now and will begin Calculus at the community college next year. You may or may not hit the same development-related difficulties, but be aware that they may come in the months ahead. You may need to change tacks on occasion to accommodate his brain growth.

 

Good luck to you both!

 

Barb