Chez J Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 My daughter is in algebra I this year at a uni-model school. Math is taking up an extraordinary amount of our day! It is all assigned homework. We lose two days a week on actual "book work" because the school time is used for instruction. So, then the students have to do all the lessons on the other three days a week. Math is killing us on time. How much time is reasonable for algebra I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 My daughter is in algebra I this year at a uni-model school. Math is taking up an extraordinary amount of our day! It is all assigned homework. We lose two days a week on actual "book work" because the school time is used for instruction. So, then the students have to do all the lessons on the other three days a week. Math is killing us on time. How much time is reasonable for algebra I? I think the answer really depends on the curriculum being used. For example, my kids could finish a MUS alg lesson in 20-45 mins (depended on the day.) W/Foersters, on most days around 45 mins, but on days where they were working through multiple word problems it might have taken an hour or slightly longer. I can't compare our AoPS alg exp w/a typical alg student's experience since dd already had a very solid alg foundation when she took it and it was minimal work for her, but her older brother's experience w/their higher level courses was that 2hrs or so per day was not at all unusual. If you don't believe that the curriculum itself should be requiring that much time to accomplish, I would suspect that some of the foundational concepts are not firmly cemented (percentages, fractions, exponents, ratios, etc.) and that time is being consumed by having to concentrate on basic math on top of the algebraic concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 One to two hours a day is the range I usually hear. Usually closer to one hour per day for algebra I, but slower students may take longer. Texts may change the estimate too - when I went through Saxon's 4th edition algebra I last year, it took almost two hours many days in the second half of the book, even tho it was the 4th time I had been through algebra I material and I was thoroughly familiar with the ideas by that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 As much time as necessary? When my son took Algebra I in 8th grade, he was in a high growth phase. To be blunt, he was just dopey some days! A week later, he could fly through material. This is often the case in Math. A concept that is difficult (impossible?) on the first go around becomes clearer over time with exposure and practice. I found it best to have my son do 45 - 60 minutes of Math in the morning with the remainder later in the day. This allowed some time for "digestion" of harder concepts. I agree with previous comments made on curricular materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 We do an hour per day on average, BUT my kids typically take 12-14 months to finish a math curriculum. If we had to finish it in the standard 36 weeks, we'd be at close to two hours per day or even more. (Yes, my kids end up doubling up on math in the early fall so they can start the new math while finishing up the old.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I think it's very dependent on the dc's grasp of concepts, ability to focus, and skill with time management. It also depends on the program. TT is going to take a lot less time than Lial, simply because of the difficulty level of the problems and the quantity of information presented in each lesson. For TT, I would expect about 30 min-1.5 hours as a daily range, depending on the student. For Lial, 1-3 hours daily range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 I consider an hour a day reasonable, including instruction, for a well prepared student, however if it is truly an honors course I'd expect another 30-50 min daily for the challenging problems. I'd suggest that hw also be done on the days there is class and that the student reads the lesson before going to class. She is not slow at all. I check every problem as she completes them and is getting them right nearly all the time. The time complaint also includes reading the text before class, watching the assigned videos and working the practice problems before going to class. Just preparing for the class lesson alone with all that takes a hour. That's AFTER she's completed two sections of the book for homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 We looked over old problems and read the lesson together, with me writing the sample problems out, talking my way through them (this was crucial - not at all the same as having the child read the example problems). If it was a difficult lesson, I had them solve a few problems while I watched. That took half an hour on a good day, usually more like an hour. Then they did the problem set later in the day. That took an hour, usually, sometimes more. Total - about two hours a day, usually. This was true of both my math bright and my math unbright child. They did the same program (NEM). I worried about both the time it was taking and the fact that I had to read the lesson to them until I thought about my own math education. It was an excellent education (Dolciani lol), I was math bright, and all through my math education, someone explained the math to me, demonstrated the example problems and (after we had tried them) solved the difficult problems for me. Obviously, the ability to teach oneself math out of a book when one is 13 or 14 without forming misconceptions is not something that is crucial for success in math. Now, as an adult, I can read a textbook and figure something out (provided it is a good textbook). My math bright son can also, although he prefers to have a live person so he can ask about what happens at all the edges (his particular way of thoroughily understanding something). My math unbright son still finds patterns that aren't there and needs someone to help him see what assumptions he is making and tell him "yes this is true" and "no that isn't true" and why. Anyway, time has shown me that the way I taught math was a good way, even for two very different students, despite how much I worried about it. Both of mine are going into technical fields. Both are taking college math classes now. You can also think about the time question this way: Your child will eventually be in math classes with public school students. How much time do they spend on math in high school? Most of them have a 45 minute class every day plus another 3/4 hr to 1 1/2 hr of homework. In other words, they are spending about two hours a day learning math. If it takes you two hours a day to get through math, this is not unreasonable. You can also think of it a third way: This is the crucial foundation for any STEM job. It is not unreasonable to practise it and use it for a good part of the school day. HTH Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zee Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 We spent about 90 min. a day. Occasionally more for some topics, also, additional time to study for tests. Lessons with teacher 45 min. + 45 min. time to work homework on average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 My daughter is in algebra I this year at a uni-model school. Math is taking up an extraordinary amount of our day! It is all assigned homework. We lose two days a week on actual "book work" because the school time is used for instruction. So, then the students have to do all the lessons on the other three days a week. Math is killing us on time. How much time is reasonable for algebra I? Consider the average math book is written for the classroom market, not specifically for homeschoolers or self-educators. There would be a general expectation of 30-45 min of classroom time used to work problems from the previous assignment, introduce a new concept and then work some sample problems. There might be in class time for students to start the assignment and ask questions if they get stuck. The rest of the assignment would be done at home. That would be repeated 5 times in a week, with an occasional quiz/test. I think if my kids were taking math with a coop, I would consider the group time on top of the time spent on lessons. So days with a class would still have homework time. FWIW, my kids spend 60-90 min on a math lesson. That is for reading the new lesson, working sample problems and then doing the assigned problems. (There are some days when it takes longer because the concepts are new and are stretching their brains.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 She is not slow at all. I check every problem as she completes them and is getting them right nearly all the time. The time complaint also includes reading the text before class, watching the assigned videos and working the practice problems before going to class. Just preparing for the class lesson alone with all that takes a hour. That's AFTER she's completed two sections of the book for homework. The right amount of time for math is the amount of time it takes your student to learn. If she needs the reading, the video, and the practice problems to be prepared for class, then do all that. You can experiment with other strategies if it is too much repetition. For example, maybe skimming the book and doing the problems does the trick. Or, watching the videos first, and pause and open the book where it gets tricky. Or... When my DD was in public school 4th grade, we just did the "new material" problems in the homework, and skipped the whole second page of review problems each night. DD aced all the tests, and the teacher went along with this. If the homework is too redundant or time-consuming, work with your teacher to figure out what's important to him/her. --Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I should have been more specific in stating that the times I posted are for students actually doing their daily math problems and not counting class time, instruction/reading. (I responded that way since the OP stated that instruction was taking place elsewhere.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoot Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 It varies. Some days he can be done in 30 min. Other days, he's still sitting there 2 hrs. later. On average though, I think it's probably more like 45 min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 The right amount of time for math is the amount of time it takes your student to learn. If she needs the reading, the video, and the practice problems to be prepared for class, then do all that. You can experiment with other strategies if it is too much repetition. Doing the prep work is not optional, whether she needs it or not. There are worksheet pages to complete that specifically refer to the video that require answers only the online sessions provide, such as "what page did the video find blah?" I talked to my hubby about all this. I said that there was a consensus here that an hour of class time plus an hour of homework was valid per day. His reaction - Teachers cannot expect that their class gets an hour of homework every day. With six or seven classes, students cannot be expected to put in a complete second day of school every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 He's right. However, every class doesn't require a full extra hour every day. Math often does. At the high school level, it is not uncommon for students to have a total of 4 hours of daily homework several times a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Doing the prep work is not optional, whether she needs it or not. There are worksheet pages to complete that specifically refer to the video that require answers only the online sessions provide, such as "what page did the video find blah?" I talked to my hubby about all this. I said that there was a consensus here that an hour of class time plus an hour of homework was valid per day. His reaction - Teachers cannot expect that their class gets an hour of homework every day. With six or seven classes, students cannot be expected to put in a complete second day of school every day. Not every class needs an hour daily. Some classes are better suited to several hours on the weekend. Or two hours one day and nothing the next. One thing I've been working on with my freshman is helping him see where he loses time that could have been used for micro studying. For example, he is in the car an hour a day for commuting to and from swimming. Even discounting 4 am as a bad time to study, that still gives him 3-4 hours a week that he could use on language flashcards, Teaching Company lectures or novel reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Doing the prep work is not optional, whether she needs it or not. There are worksheet pages to complete that specifically refer to the video that require answers only the online sessions provide, such as "what page did the video find blah?" If the class is not at all flexible, I think you have to ask yourself: Is this a good use of your daughter's time or should we switch? Have you talked to the teacher or to fellow students about how much time this is taking? Doing work "whether she needs it or not" is silly--when you're a homeschooler you have options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.