AOPS classes

[Carolyn in Ohio]

My 9th grade ds is taking AOPS Intro to Number Theory. He was taking geometry this (not AOPS) and finished it, so we added the Number Theory to fill out the year. He finished Algebra fairly early last year and we did AOPS Counting and Probablity at home then. I didn't think I could keep up with the number theory with him, and I wanted him to have the experience of a "real" math teacher. He is very good at math, enjoys Teaching Company math courses (Mental Math, the Art of Problem Solving, and others), etc. and is doing quite well with algebra-based physics. He has a mild bit of Aspergers. He also takes Latin with Scholars Online, and that is going well.

 

SO - the class has met 3 times and he says it is boring, they are just repeating everything that is in the book. I am not complaining about the class. I don't know if he is just being grumpy teenager, and the 7:30 PM time is not ideal for us. He enjoys the book and the topics. I remember reading someone's post about how AOPS classes really sparked their child's interest and motivated them, and I was really hoping that would happen here.

 

Any ideas or thoughts? Just a grumpy teenager?

[Julie of KY]

i don't have any experience with the classes that follow a text, but my son (and me) have taken some of their online contest prep classes. My son finds the classes somewhat "boring" - they seem somewhat dry to me, but they've been good classes. We really like the problem sets that go along with the classes. That said, we've not done any of the classes with a textbook.

 

Both my son and I think the first third of the number theory book is boring. We had a hard time (years) getting through the first part of that book because it was either too easy, too boring, repetitious, etc. I would think the class might mirror that. I would have hope that it becomes more interesting as I definately think the book becomes more interesting and challeging as it goes along. Some kids love number theory while others are more inclined toward other areas of math.

 

Hope the class picks up for him. Try to glean what exactly is the problem. Is the format of the class hard to follow? Are the times given for problem solving too long (and therefore his mind wanders). Does he already know the answer and therefore the explanation of how to get to the answer is boring? Is the class too hard? Do they try to cover more material on one day than his brain is ready for? Is he lost and doesn't know how to ask for help?

 

I love the books but I have no intention of signing my son up for the classes that go along with the books as I am capable of teaching them and it gives us the flexibility to move at our own pace. We go fast sometimes, other times slow. Sometimes a new idea just needs time to "gel" in his mind. We are always working through more than one book at a time, so if one topic needs more time we can go through it super slowly and still feel like we are progressing in math by doing a different book.

[Carolyn in Ohio]

Those are great questions to ask, thank you. It's like pulling teeth sometimes to get answers out of him, but I am beginning to suspect that it is a combination of ornery teenager and the repetitious nature of the first few chapters.

 

thank you again

Carolyn

[mommamagistra]

Does your son participate in the class? I think part of the thrill of the AOPS classes is the race to get posted.The competitive format is what drives DS to learn the material. In fact, learning math has been an incidental bonus in his race to get posted and keep up with his online peers. For middle-schoolers there's For the Win, where you can pick up a game 24/7. It's the next best thing to Call of Duty! Maybe more exposure to the online AOPS community would inspire more enthusiasm. Older DD used to do the Number Theory problem sets over Skype with a boy from Taiwan, whom she met in person years later at math camp. There's more to AOPS than just the math material. It's a unique community, with a built in peer set for homeschoolers. It's kids motivating and learning from each other. Just an idea!

[Belacqua]

Does your son participate in the class? I think part of the thrill of the AOPS classes is the race to get posted.The competitive format is what drives DS to learn the material. In fact, learning math has been an incidental bonus in his race to get posted and keep up with his online peers. For middle-schoolers there's For the Win, where you can pick up a game 24/7. It's the next best thing to Call of Duty! Maybe more exposure to the online AOPS community would inspire more enthusiasm. Older DD used to do the Number Theory problem sets over Skype with a boy from Taiwan, whom she met in person years later at math camp. There's more to AOPS than just the math material. It's a unique community, with a built in peer set for homeschoolers. It's kids motivating and learning from each other. Just an idea!

 

I agree. It wasn't long ago that the FTW leaderboard was of tremendous importance in our lives., :) And "the race to get posted" is definitely part of the allure of the AoPS class; cracks me up to hear my WOOT student grumble, "Grr...PinkMathWeasel beat me again!"

 

Here's hoping it gets better for your son, OP. He sounds like a fabulous kid.

[mommamagistra]

cracks me up to hear my WOOT student grumble, "Grr...PinkMathWeasel beat me again!

 

LOL Belacqua!!! That's what our dinner table sounds like, relentless venting about people with the strangest monikers! PinkMathWeasel (love this name btw) might as well be having dinner with us since we've gotten to know him/her so well over the years. We've got a WOOTer too -- self-taught and trained by AOPS. We are NOT a mathy family and could no more have taught our kids how to write a proof than we could teleport to the Starship Enterprise. AOPS works. Good luck with AIME tomorrow!

[melmichigan]

Does your son participate in the class? I think part of the thrill of the AOPS classes is the race to get posted.The competitive format is what drives DS to learn the material. In fact, learning math has been an incidental bonus in his race to get posted and keep up with his online peers.

 

The above has certainly been our experience. DD loves to race to get posted. She loves the competitive interaction with other students. They often stay after or log on early to chat. I'm not sure she would love AoPS as much without that added challenge.

[Shelly in VA]

My ds is in the Number Theory class right now, and he felt that while the first two classes were slow the pace is picking up a bit now. He has been told that many of the classes start off slowly but become much more challenging and faster paced as they go on (this from both an AoPS instructor and a friend who has taken other AoPS classes). I don't have any other experience with their classes to offer; sorry! Hope your ds begins to enjoy the class more!

[Kathy in Richmond]

And "the race to get posted" is definitely part of the allure of the AoPS class; cracks me up to hear my WOOT student grumble, "Grr...PinkMathWeasel beat me again!

 

LOL Belacqua!!! That's what our dinner table sounds like, relentless venting about people with the strangest monikers! PinkMathWeasel (love this name btw) might as well be having dinner with us since we've gotten to know him/her so well over the years. We've got a WOOTer too -- self-taught and trained by AOPS. We are NOT a mathy family and could no more have taught our kids how to write a proof than we could teleport to the Starship Enterprise. AOPS works. Good luck with AIME tomorrow!

 

And some independent-minded kids whose parents *could* help them still prefer AoPS classes!...the social aspect of AoPS was huge here, too.

 

This talk is bringing back memories of family dinners peppered with talk about the latest antics of TreeThing or MysticTerminator or Solafide Farms. :001_smile: Dd still meets the occasional person who knew her first via AoPS, & a couple of them will call her by her AoPS name to this day. Nothing like that to bring back memories of being a goofy 12-year old!

 

To the OP: Just give it a little time. Number theory does start off a little slowly while they're getting everybody up to speed, but it gets more & more fascinating toward the end.

 

Good luck to all taking the AIME this week!

[Carolyn in Ohio]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to read the transcripts of the classes. I asked him a bunch of questions about the class yesterday and so I am going to back off on it until tomorrow. :) It takes him awhile to get into the social aspect of things, but I think it will come.

 

thank you everyone

Carolyn

[Trilliums]

Please keep us posted on how the class goes for your DS.

 

My younger son is considering this class over the summer and is having a hard time deciding. He hasn't had an AoPS class before. He did use parts of AoPS Alg last year and is now in ps geometry.

 

He loves mathematical concepts and thinking, but he is not particularly fast with computation. I am not sure racing to post first would be a big motivation for him. He might find it frustrating. He also is a bit on the Aspie side. I don't think the social aspect would be much of a draw for him actually. He is looking to expand beyond the typical math curriculum though. Hmmmm...so hard to decide.

 

I hope it goes well for your son!

[Belacqua]

 

He loves mathematical concepts and thinking, but he is not particularly fast with computation. I am not sure racing to post first would be a big motivation for him. He might find it frustrating. He also is a bit on the Aspie side. I don't think the social aspect would be much of a draw for him actually. He is looking to expand beyond the typical math curriculum though. Hmmmm...so hard to decide.

 

 

For what it's worth, the postings in class aren't always about fastest to compute the solution. A lot of the questions from the instructor are things like, "What should we consider next?" or, "What can we do with this equation?" Sometimes the student answers are just a long list of "No" or "Expand."

[lauracolumbus]

My dd is in the same class, and she alternates between saying it is too easy/boring to saying that they are going too fast and she doesn't understand some things. I do like that she can go back over the transcript b/c frankly I'm no help. And I agree that the time of the class doesn't make things easier.

 

Just wanted to let you know we're facing similar issues.

Laura

[daijobu]

It's too bad he's already attended the 3rd class because you can drop the class for a refund after the 2nd.

 

If he's fine learning from the book, and feels the class is boring, then let him self-study from the book. I found there was a lot of downtime during the online classes as the instructor waited for more people to respond to questions. Sometime I was left wondering whether my browser was frozen because nothing would happen for several minutes. It is an inefficient way to learn, compared with just reading the text and doing the problems. Try watching him over his shoulder because you won't get a sense of this downtime just by reading the transcripts.

[lisabees]

I found there was a lot of downtime during the online classes as the instructor waited for more people to respond to questions. Sometime I was left wondering whether my browser was frozen because nothing would happen for several minutes. It is an inefficient way to learn, compared with just reading the text and doing the problems.

 

 

:iagree: During the last two weeks, DS tried his first AoPS class (Algebra 2). The downtime drove him absolutely batty (he also wasn't prepared for the speed of the course). We dropped the class and he is very happily going through the text himself.