Kathie in VA Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I know this will not be out till Aug 2012. I'm just looking at the new features and TOC: http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/Algebra2.htm Anyone care to compare? I have read so many say that it is not complete enough, for a math/science college bound student, in comparison to the scope of other Algebra 2 courses, but I only have Algebra 1 books here.. I do see that my son will probably test right out of the first 7 chapters or so... He just finished a class using Jacobs Algebra 1. TIA! :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 It really depends on what those 20 new lessons contain...are they adding meatier word problems--and other concepts they left out of their first edition that were standard for other Algebra 2 texts??? You can't judge Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 on TOC alone-- Often the Algebra 2 text will have nearly identical TOC to its partner Algebra 1 text--but the problems are harder/messier in Algebra 2. One danger with this program in the 'new and improved' series is that students may opt to not work the whole problem out... This will really HURT the student when it comes to college math as you MUST show the steps used to solve the problems in order to get credit! If you do use this program make sure your student writes and solves ALL problems in a math notebook BEFORE entering the answer into the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 It really depends on what those 20 new lessons contain...are they adding meatier word problems--and other concepts they left out of their first edition that were standard for other Algebra 2 texts??? Your right. Think I'll send that question to them... It does make a difference. You can't judge Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 on TOC alone-- Often the Algebra 2 text will have nearly identical TOC to its partner Algebra 1 text--but the problems are harder/messier in Algebra 2. One danger with this program in the 'new and improved' series is that students may opt to not work the whole problem out... This will really HURT the student when it comes to college math as you MUST show the steps used to solve the problems in order to get credit! If you do use this program make sure your student writes and solves ALL problems in a math notebook BEFORE entering the answer into the computer. Agreed. I'm big on having them write out all the steps. ;-) Thanks for your input! comments added above in purple... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Kathie, If you email them and get a response can you please post here. I am interested to hear what they have to say. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datgh Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I had on hand both editions of Algebra 1 this year. The second edition was pretty much the exact same thing as the old edition they just changed the names of several of the chapters but not the work within. It didn't veer into any new territory until the end when the new sections where added and in comparing the table of contents in both editions of Algebra 2 it looks like that is all they did again. I also don't like the new edition because in order for the student to do the work on the computer and have it grade it most of the questions are multiple choice. It took me a while to realized my son was just making educated guesses. That being said TT still works for us we have just had to adjust to the new changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance Mom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Just want to chime in here on the automated grading with version 2. My elsest dd did Algegra 1 (v2) this year. She always did her work in a spiral notebook. When her answer didn't match one of the multiple choice options given, she re-worked it. If it still didn't line up, she came to see me. All I usually did was ask her to explain to me what she did at each step. Often, she would then spot her own error. Or I'd ask her to start from the beginning on a clean piece of paper to redo it. That's the beauty of the spiral notebook -- I could always see how (or if) she was working the problems out fully. Yes, it's a great stategy to do a best guess or best estimate when given multiple choice options for some standardized tests. But, this is different. Not every student will take the path of least resistance. Don't discard using this program due to this issue alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Don't discard using this program due to this issue alone. :iagree: Dd9 uses TT Alg 1. She writes out the problems on graph paper when needed. I let her do some in her head. That's half the fun. :) For the most part she works them out. We use other math so I'm not concerned about the s & s of TT. I have preordered the new TT Alg 2 v. 2.0. ETA: For a science lover, beef it up with a tough program like aops. My older dc didn't use TT for higher level math. It would not have been enough. Edited June 11, 2012 by Beth in SW WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The only place I have ever read anything of that sort has been here. On the testing out...I would have him go ahead and do those chapters. They are the same subject name, but at a higher level. There are plenty of math/science college students who are doing just fine with their TT background.:001_smile: I know this will not be out till Aug 2012. I'm just looking at the new features and TOC: http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/Algebra2.htm Anyone care to compare? I have read so many say that it is not complete enough, for a math/science college bound student, in comparison to the scope of other Algebra 2 courses, but I only have Algebra 1 books here.. I do see that my son will probably test right out of the first 7 chapters or so... He just finished a class using Jacobs Algebra 1. TIA! :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Kathie,If you email them and get a response can you please post here. I am interested to hear what they have to say. Thanks! Sure, here ya go: The TT*series covers all of the same topics as the other publishers. If you go through Pre-Calculus, your student will have covered everything and will be ready for Calculus 1. I think some of the talk about TT and rigor comes from when certain topics are covered, not whether they are covered. For instance, some people have asked why TT doesn't cover logs in Algebra 2 (we cover it in Pre-Calculus). We sequenced the topics in a way that we felt would maximize student learning. Traditionally, logs was always covered in Pre-calculus. That's where it fits conceptually. We felt that it would be difficult to cover the topic in sufficient depth if we crammed it into Algebra 2. * There's been a big push in recent years among school publishers (because of the standards movement) to push topics lower and lower down the curriculum. They still cover the topics in the higher grades but they cover them in the lower grades too. That's why logs are now in Algebra 2 (and some books are even putting*some logs material*in Algebra 1). We think this is a*mistake. If you're not ready*to understand a topic conceptually then*exercise degenerates into rote learning. Also, putting too many topics into a book doesn't give us*enough room to adequately explain the topics that should be covered at that level. That's a huge problem for us because our books are designed for independent learners. We have more explanation than anybody.* * The TT series is very much oriented to the college bound student. If your daughter finishes with us and works hard, she will definitely be ready for college level math. Keep in mind that over 50% of public school students who go on to college are now required to take remedial math courses before they can enroll in true college math. Many of them are having to go back before algebra and do basic math coursework. Yet those students used the topic heavy public school textbooks and many of them went through*Pre-Calculus and even Calculus while still in high school.*In our view, the key to math education is learning the important concepts extremely well, not rushing through a laundry list of topics*too quickly.* * As far as the difficulty level goes, the TT high school courses are about as difficult as the SAT and ACT exams. Pre-calculus is on par with the SAT II math test. This is appropriate for college bound high schoolers. If a book is too difficult it can break the student's confidence and even cause him/her to give up on the subject.* * * Regards, Brian * Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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