If you have tried Chalkdust and it didn't work, can you tell me why?

[HSmom25andRN]

Thanks

[Michelle in AL]

dd didn't like the lectures and the book (we used Geometry with the previous book) didn't give good enough examples to be able to complete the lesson.

 

To be fair, dd doesn't like any DVD lessons, but does love online interactive classes. I'm not sure why she doesn't like DVD instruction.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Michelle in AL
additonal info

[Susan C.]

Too much, too fast, not enough examples taught on dvds for every type of problem. And, not enough instruction on skills needed to do the problems. The people at Chalkdust are as nice as they can be, and very responsive, but it just didn't work. Also, the college texts are too difficult, I had a terrible time picking problems (and if I skipped some, they showed up on the tests and my kids freaked out).

[Amy in CO]

way too much info on some problems and not nearly enough on others. We are still using the books, but not the dvds. She struggled with algebra and have to drop back down to pre-algebra and did much better. I think we will just take each objective as a lesson next year and not try to do all objectives at once.

 

My dd is doing better with "lectures" from me. Since I can sense when she gets it and move on, she doesn't get bored with endless explanation on something she already gets. Or if she needs more help, I can try to explain it another way.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Well, first of all the people at Chalkdust were great, as a PP just said. They were very helpful. Also, I liked the DVDs and the books. If I needed pre-algebra for myself, it's one I would like. My son was also going through a tough phase where he was not enjoying math of any kind. I don't know if it would be different now but since we are happy where we are and plan to stay here through the end, it's not relevant to try. :)

 

Chalkdust didn't work for us simply because a mastery program just wasn't for him. Plus the number of problems and size of each lesson was very daunting to his attitude. I always cut the problems to a resonable but highly adequate total but just seeing it was disheartening. It really threw him for a loop.

 

Hope that helps. :)

[Grace is Sufficient]

Didn't like the book (Larson's 3d ed. Precalculus), the lectures were WAY too long, and I hated having to try to figure out which problems to assign. Giving the student more than 1/4 of them, or even fewer at times, I just knew that my math skills weren't up to the task of choosing the right ones.

[MIch elle]

Longwinded lectures, didn't like the college text for high school, too many problems to chose from, no separate quizzes or tests, and not homeschool friendly (you have to make lesson plans & decide on which problem sets, etc). :thumbdown:

[sbaloue]

Tried it for pre-algebra, and the lectures were too long. The book was stuffed full of many problems. IMO too much money to wade through the book trying to determine which and how many problems to assign. We need shorter dvd instructions and the curriculum publisher to pick and deteremine the right number of problems to ensure coverage of the concept/topic.

[profmom]

My dd used CD Pre-Algebra this year, and she did well. I didn't watch many of the DVDs myself, but I was impressed with his teaching skills! Surprisingly, the most difficult part for us was scheduling! CD doesn't give a schedule and says just to work at it for an hour a day. The problem with that is that she wasn't 1/2 finished after our first semester! What we ended up doing, which was suggested here, was counting the remaining objectives + tests and reviews and spreading them out over the remaining school days. Some days were easier and quicker than others, but she finished last week. :)

 

We are going to try a TPS online class for Algebra next year because we think a live teacher will be a better option, especially as math becomes more complex in future years. (I want to find a solution that we can stick with throughout high school.)

 

ETA: I had her do the odd problems for the daily lessons and all the problems for the reviews and tests. I told her that she'd have to go back and do the evens if she missed too many of the odds, but she never had to do it.

Edited May 27, 2010 by profmom

[Miss Marple]

Lectures were onerous. While the lecturer is good, my ds didn't need the lengthy sessions. He's very mathy and decided to just use the textbook. The textbook isn't so great for an "on your own" study.

 

We changed to Jacob's Geometry with the Callahan DVDs. That was a better fit.

Edited May 28, 2010 by CynthiaOK

[sandra in va]

The problem with that is that she wasn't 1/2 finished after our first semester! What we ended up doing, which was suggested here, was counting the remaining objectives + tests and reviews and spreading them out over the remaining school days. Some days were easier and quicker than others, but she finished last week. :)

 

ETA: I had her do the odd problems for the daily lessons and all the problems for the reviews and tests. I told her that she'd have to go back and do the evens if she missed too many of the odds, but she never had to do it.

 

Hi Profmom,

 

I'm a little confused by what you did for the second semester. We are kind of in the same boat and I'd like to speed up the rest of the book. So, instead of just working for 1 hour a day, you assigned a certain number of problems? This was based on finishing all the objectives, chapter reviews and tests in the remaining chapters? How much did she end up working time-wise each day? Did she watch the videos for the sections, too?

 

Thanks for clarifying...my brain is really tired!

[Wildiris]

I am such a Chalk dust fan, so I loath the write that half way into Algebra 1 (DD did Chalk Dust pre algebra) DD started to flounder. She is in 7th grade and whizzed through pre algebra in 6th grade, I thought it a good idea to continue with Chalk Dust. Maybe it is the end of the school year blahs or maybe concepts are not explained well enough. All I know is that it doesn't work right now. For a break I had her pick up The Art of Problem Solving Introduction to Counting and Probability. This is mind bending for her coming from Chalk Dust. I picked Chalk Dust because it seemed a good fit for a kid accelerated in math, but now I'm questioning my choice.

[Mommyfaithe]

Thanks

 

The Dana Mosely lessons were very long and verbose. DS would literally fall asleep in his chair. I then began to plit them up into shorter segments.

The book (larson's text for Algebra 1 & 2 combined) had a gazillion problems and it was difficult for me to assign. I ended up choosing every other odd...

My test book answer key did not match the tests...AND THEY WERE IN THE SAME BINDING!!!! ???HUH???

 

The Larson text itself was also very wordy, cram packed with info so it took us about a month to get through each chapter and ds just couldn't follow what Mr. Mosely was teaching. i guess they just did not connect...if that makes sense.

 

We went back to TT, which I am not thrilled with as a stand alone...so DS is using Larsens as a supplement without the Dana Mosely DVD's and then we will be using Life of Fred as another supplement to solidify concepts.

 

~~Faithe (who REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted chalkdust to be a fit.)

[In The Great White North]

Ds just really didn't like watching the DVD's.

[HSmom25andRN]

I totally struggle with teaching math and I LOVE math. It just seems that I never have enough time to really teach, correct, etc. Thank you again for sharing your opinion. Angela

[profmom]

Hi Profmom,

 

I'm a little confused by what you did for the second semester. We are kind of in the same boat and I'd like to speed up the rest of the book. So, instead of just working for 1 hour a day, you assigned a certain number of problems? This was based on finishing all the objectives, chapter reviews and tests in the remaining chapters? How much did she end up working time-wise each day? Did she watch the videos for the sections, too?

 

Thanks for clarifying...my brain is really tired!

 

Sure, no problem! I looked at the table of contents in the text and counted objectives (the divisions under the section headings). In our case, the remaining number of objectives was roughly the same as the remaining days of school, so she needed to do one objective a day to finish in time.

 

So, looking at the table of contents in the text, this is an example of what her schedule looked like:

 

Day 1: Section 1.1 Objective A

Day 2: Section 1.1, Objective B

Day 3: 1.1, C

Day 4: 1.1, D

Day 5: Section 1.2, Objective A

Day 6: 1.2, B

Day 7: 1.2, C

 

.....

 

Day 15: Section 1.5, A

Day 16: Chapter Summary + Chapter Review Exercises

Day 17: Chapter Test

 

 

She was required to watch and/or read whatever it took to finish one objective.

 

I just asked her how long it took each day, and she said it varied quite a bit. Some days less than one hour and some days more.

 

HTH!

[sandra in va]

Thanks, profmom!! That did help!

 

Sorry for the little tangent in this thread! :001_smile:

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Sure, no problem! I looked at the table of contents in the text and counted objectives (the divisions under the section headings). In our case, the remaining number of objectives was roughly the same as the remaining days of school, so she needed to do one objective a day to finish in time.

 

So, looking at the table of contents in the text, this is an example of what her schedule looked like:

 

Day 1: Section 1.1 Objective A

Day 2: Section 1.1, Objective B

Day 3: 1.1, C

Day 4: 1.1, D

Day 5: Section 1.2, Objective A

Day 6: 1.2, B

Day 7: 1.2, C

 

.....

 

Day 15: Section 1.5, A

Day 16: Chapter Summary + Chapter Review Exercises

Day 17: Chapter Test

 

 

She was required to watch and/or read whatever it took to finish one objective.

 

I just asked her how long it took each day, and she said it varied quite a bit. Some days less than one hour and some days more.

 

HTH!

 

I like your schedule. We have worked 2+ chapters just watching the DVD lecture and then going over the examples in the book, then assigning the whole end of section "developing skills" to be done over a couple of days. I like your approach much better as it doesn't throw all of the concepts at the student at once.

 

Thanks so much for sharing -- I think your way makes so much more sense.