choirfarm Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I'm leaving for church in 15 minutes, but here is one more question. I just showed my oldest the AOPS site, which he thought was the coolest thing in the world. We read this page in particular: http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/articles.php?page=discretemath So... what should this future computer science/math loving person do. As I said, he made a C on his chapter 5 Chalkdust Precalc test because he didn't understand how to prove verifying identities. He has understood chapter 6 except the proofs. ( He said, I don't understand. I loved proofs in Chalkdust Geometry, but I am so lost. I don't understand how to do these. He has looked at some of the KHAN videos. And we were now going to rewatch the sections of the Chalkdust videos) I am no help WHATSOEVER. He has passed me. So.. do we keep going with Chalkdust and I make him get a tutor. OR... do we drop Chalkdust and start some of these AOPS classes? He thinks they look really fun. Help. Off to church. I'll check this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 We love AoPS (we use the books only, not the classes). However, there are a few things you should be aware of before making your decision: AoPS covers more material in more depth than any other traditional math curriculum I have seen. It is a curriculum for students who are interested in going above and beyond and willing to put in more time for math. AoPS uses a discovery based approach. The problems are all different and the student has to think about each one; there are no sets of identical problems where you can just practice a drill. From all I have read on this forum, the classes are extremely fast paced. So, while I love AoPS and find it a great fit for my children, I do not know whether to recommend it for your student if he has trouble with his current Precalc curriculum. (It may depend on WHY he is having problems.) From a planning point of view: if you son is interested in computer science, he will be required to take calculus based physics in college (I teach a class for mainly comp sci majors). I have read the article about rushing to calc on the AoPS website, but for a student with this interest I would definitely aim to get through calculus in high school. I would not necessarily do AP calc, at least not with the goal of testing out of the course, because skipping a semester of a three-course calculus sequence at uni does not see a good idea to me. If my student was interested in discrete math as well, I would use this as a math elective in addition to calculus, not instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 There are many math talented students who don't get identities easily, so I wouldn't despair if that's his only issue. I'm not familiar with Chalkdust's Pre-Calc - just Lial and TT, so I can't look through it to see more, but I can say that a student who is going to need higher level math needs to be able to do Pre-Calc. I can also tell you that many top math students find themselves needing to WORK for the first time at the Pre-Calc level as it can get more abstract. Learning to learn is actually a good thing for these students... otherwise, they are the ones who tend to find themselves in hard college classes dropping back when they hit a wall rather than knowing how to study to learn new things. The discovery based learning approaches will only work for students who take the time to be certain they learn from it. Our ps math curricula (CPM Math) is a similar type - probably not as in depth - and the vast majority of students do not do well with it partially due to their not being willing to sit down and understand what they are doing. They will do the steps, but not understand why they are doing the steps. Then they get hopelessly lost and learn nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Ok, so maybe I just need to put my foot down and contact the college for a tutor. I honestly think that if he just sat down with someone who understood all of this, they could get past whatever his block is pretty quickly. But that person won't be me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Why don't you contact Dana Mosely, the Chalkdust teacher? He will be glad to help. If you call the office, they will give you his cell number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Why don't you contact Dana Mosely, the Chalkdust teacher? He will be glad to help. If you call the office, they will give you his cell number. I guess I need to figure out how to pay for the extra help if I'm going to do that. I found it at our local curriculum sale for 90 dollars!!! But I think you can pay extra. I guess I'm trying to decide if it would be worth it to pay that or to get a flesh and blood person that is here that he could sit with if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 I guess I need to figure out how to pay for the extra help if I'm going to do that. I found it at our local curriculum sale for 90 dollars!!! But I think you can pay extra. I guess I'm trying to decide if it would be worth it to pay that or to get a flesh and blood person that is here that he could sit with if that makes sense. Since you have to pay extra, I'd try flesh and blood in person first. If you can find a good tutor, that could make a world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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