g1234 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 My searches seem to come up with threads that quickly veer away from MWB, or a very few positive reviews from people I don't recognize who have made extremely few posts. I am seriously considering these DVDs for geometry and maybe beyond, but I'd love to hear some decisive opinions from others who have used it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 We are using it right now with my DS. He is using the Algebra 2 Foerster text. We like the DVD. It has been helpful because David Chandler shows some ways to do things that the book does not. In addition we use the problem sets that he works out on the DVD. It is nice to have the worked out solutions. We don't always watch the lesson nor do we always need the DVD solutions. However it's nice to have that option available and IMHO you can't beat the price.We like it enough that I already ordered the precalculus DVD and are looking forward to the availability of the DVD for calculus his senior year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I'm listening in as I'm planning to use the Alg 2 next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I'm really wishing we had gotten it for this last year (Algebra II, Foerster). I think it would have been well worth the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbucks1 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 We have used it for Algebra I this year and I think it was quite helpful for my dd :). He does show some ways to approach topics differently than the book. There is also a schedule available (I think it is on the MWB website). The schedule is nice because your child does not need to do all the problems for every lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 We have used it for Algebra I this year and I think it was quite helpful for my dd :). He does show some ways to approach topics differently than the book. There is also a schedule available (I think it is on the MWB website). The schedule is nice because your child does not need to do all the problems for every lesson. We used it for Algebra I as well. It worked very well for my son. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I bought it for alg 2 and didn't like it. We felt like all it did was replicate the textbook and we thought the explanations int the textbook itself were better and easier to understand. Sold it w/ no regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgrubbs Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 How does this DVD curriculum, along with the chosen text books, compare to say Saxon or Math-u-See? Saxon gets so many reviews about not really teaching the why behind the algebra concepts, forcing some kids to simply learn how to get the right answer. Math-U-See appears to teach the why behind algebra concepts but then many people call it "lite." I have a STEM focused son but he doesn't have time to do two curricula. I want him to get the why and be able to solve the higher level problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 How does this DVD curriculum, along with the chosen text books, compare to say Saxon or Math-u-See? Saxon gets so many reviews about not really teaching the why behind the algebra concepts, forcing some kids to simply learn how to get the right answer. Math-U-See appears to teach the why behind algebra concepts but then many people call it "lite." I have a STEM focused son but he doesn't have time to do two curricula. I want him to get the why and be able to solve the higher level problems! I have used both Saxon and MUS at the higher levels. Saxon's incremental approach and method did not work for any of my dc. MUS worked very well for my dd who is now an English major at our local state university. This year I started my ds out on MUS algebra 2. By November he came to me and said he felt it was too easy. So we pulled the Foerster text off the shelf and have never looked back. He is thriving with this curriculum. This is a great text for the why of math. There are plenty of real life application problems that are multi-stepped and my ds's problem solving skills have taken off this year. I can say there is no comparison between the Foerster text and MUS. The Foerster text delves into concepts in a way MUS does not. In addition the problems are so much more involved than MUS. MUS has its place and it works for many students such as my dd. However my ds has aspirations of being an actuary and will therefore be a math major. MUS was not enough for him but Foerster provides the challenge and foundation he needs. He likes the text and the MWB DVD's so much that he wants to continue with precalculus in the fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgrubbs Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Chris in PA - thank you for your comments! My son completed Teaching Textbooks Algebra I this year but I did not feel it was a truly a full algebra I curriculum. Most of the areas he did very well, but there weren't enough practice problems for him to really grasp some of the concepts. I want him to redo Algebra I using a different curriculum knowing he may be able to move through the first portion very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Chris in PA - thank you for your comments! My son completed Teaching Textbooks Algebra I this year but I did not feel it was a truly a full algebra I curriculum. Most of the areas he did very well, but there weren't enough practice problems for him to really grasp some of the concepts. I want him to redo Algebra I using a different curriculum knowing he may be able to move through the first portion very quickly. I wish we would have used the Foerster text for Algebra 1. We used the Lial text Introductory Algebra. It was ok and got the job done but I like Foerster so much more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Many thanks to everyone for their thoughts on MWB! I appreciate hearing different peoples' experiences. Thank you for chiming in too, 8. After I posted, I wished I had taken out the part about looking for people who liked it, because I wanted to hear both positive and negative experiences. Cjgrbbs: I agree completely with what Chris in PA says. We are finishing up Foerster Algebra now. It is a remarkable text, at least for some learners. I can only hope to find texts that are even half this successful for us for future levels of math. (I hear mixed reviews on the higher-level Foerster books.) Foerster's Algebra has been easily our biggest success story ever for any curriculum or text, hands-down, no competitors in sight. My kid has learned so much, with such pride, and worked so hard and yet so productively. Now if only we could find such perfect fits for all our other subjects, for every other level....that would make my job so much easier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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