vmsurbat Posted May 5, 2008 Posted May 5, 2008 I am needing a short course to round out my order to make the needed $150 limit to use the coupon and I am considering one of these three courses: Joy of Thinking Zero to Infinity: History of numbers Intro to Number Theory Any comments? Pros or Cons? Best for a "first" course in broadening one's number sense? TIA, Quote
Janice in NJ Posted May 5, 2008 Posted May 5, 2008 I am enjoying Zero to Infinity myself - but am only on lecture 4. I haven't tried it out on my kids yet. :001_smile: I have Intro to Number Theory waiting on the shelf. (I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!) BUT I would do Joy of Thinking first! It is a bit broader and more artistic; it conveys more of the beauty of Mathematics. The next two courses are a bit more "under the hood" - more philosophical and less "Wow! Hey, Dad... check this out. This is SO cool." Let's just say that The Joy of Thinking has been enjoyed by ALL around here... in fact... thanks for reminding me. We haven't finished these lectures yet. Gotta' do that! :001_smile: Have fun. LOVE getting a box from TTC. Oh my! Yummy, yummy brain food! There's nothing like it! AND they have a life-time, money-back guarantee so there really is no risk on your part. (I have only used it once, but they were terrific. No problem. No issues. Just a full refund! Great company!) Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote
Anne/Ankara Posted May 5, 2008 Posted May 5, 2008 I agree with Janice that the Joy of Thinking was absolutely terrific, and we all enjoyed it very much. I believe it is Edward Burger (the same prof who does the Thinkwell videos) and Michael Starbird-- both excellent teachers. We jus bought the Number Theory one, which also looks great-- my ds is doing a Number Theory course online from Art of Problem Solving, and is needing a bit more background to really comprehend some of these topics, so this Teaching Company series should be just perfect. In fact we may watch the Modular Arithmetic lecture tomorrow, just to help him with Thursday's class on that topic. We haven't seen the Zero to Infinity series, but some day I would like to order it! Quote
vmsurbat Posted May 5, 2008 Author Posted May 5, 2008 Thanks, Ladies! Joy of Thinking, it will be! Quote
Nissi Posted May 5, 2008 Posted May 5, 2008 Hey Anne, my son is doing the Number Theory class too. Small world! Let me know how you like the TC Number Theory course. Nissi Quote
Anne/Ankara Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Hey Anne, my son is doing the Number Theory class too. Small world! Let me know how you like the TC Number Theory course.Nissi Really! He likes this class, and gets excited when his answer is posted (he calls it "admitted into the sacred circle") because the class is definitely a mental stretch for him. But he's learned quite a bit. Also, we haven't had time to do all the problem sets and really study the book before each class, so that has diminished the learning for him somewhat. It's just that he's in the middle of the soccer season, and is studying for his first AP exam, and had an important violin graduation recital-- yada yada yada-- all the typical excuses! But I'm glad that he's persevered in the class, and also that he wants to do another class with them next fall. We're thinking about the AMC 10 class perhaps.... What are you guys doing with it? Quote
Nissi Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Ds. feels the same way when he gets his answers posted :-). He reads the text, does all the problem sets in the text, but not the ones they put out weekly on the forum. He wants to do the Counting and Probability class in the fall. I would have preferred a smaller class size. Overall, he has enjoyed the challenge. This class has replaced his regular daily math assignment. I am amazed at how much school kids work after school. Anne, I am amazed at how much work your ds. is doing too. An AP exam? Wow! How old is ds. and what grade? Feel free to email me privately. Nissi Quote
Anne/Ankara Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Ds. feels the same way when he gets his answers posted :-). He reads the text, does all the problem sets in the text, but not the ones they put out weekly on the forum. He wants to do the Counting and Probability class in the fall. I would have preferred a smaller class size. Overall, he has enjoyed the challenge. This class has replaced his regular daily math assignment. I am amazed at how much school kids work after school. Anne, I am amazed at how much work your ds. is doing too. An AP exam? Wow! How old is ds. and what grade? Feel free to email me privately. Nissi Very interesting, Nissi. I was also looking at that Counting & Probability class as a possibility for the fall. We're using the class as an enrichment, and unfortunately his homeschool math club is breaking apart for next year, so I was thinking that it would be good to really concentrate on the AMC 10 in the fall. Has you ds done those tests? I believe it leads nicely into AIME if you score high enough, so that would be good. Quote
Nissi Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Anne, ds. will be attempting AMC 8 this fall. I became aware of these contests only recently. He has joined a Math club which meets once a month recently. He attempted Math Counts this year. He learned a lot. He needs to improve his speed in computations. I shook my heard in wonder at the kids who are able to answer questions before I get to barely read the questions as they appear on the board. All the best to your ds.! Nissi Quote
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