Mozwo Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 DS noticed and started using the mathcounts trainer today (http://artofproblemsolving.com/mathcounts_trainer/) and loves it. Not sure if this is new or not. Would like to know if anyone else has used it and how do they like it. Also are there are other similar trainers out there?? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 It's brand new as of today, so you won't find anyone with much experience yet. It looks wonderful; I wish that it had been available when I was a MC coach! Here's a new forum for discussing MC Trainer on the AoPS Community boards. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 There's also a new online class for MC coaches. Is anyone out there going to sign up with me? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozwo Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 There's also a new online class for MC coaches. Is anyone out there going to sign up with me? Looks interesting! Thanks for sharing. Might be tempted in signing up. Is this the first time that they are offering this? Has anyone done this or similar course before? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Looks interesting! Thanks for sharing. Might be tempted in signing up. Is this the first time that they are offering this? Has anyone done this or similar course before? I think it's new this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 There's also a new online class for MC coaches. Is anyone out there going to sign up with me? Me! Me! Me! lol However, I have a question to ask them first. Perhaps you or someone on this forum will know? How did people become coaches before this class? Was there a book? If so, then I think I'll go that route instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thanks for this link. DS loves it! We finally are making him an AOPS account. He's been using BA fro awhile, but nothing online. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Both my boys were bored within 10mins at their first try. Oldest said it is too much like Alcumus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Me! Me! Me! lol However, I have a question to ask them first. Perhaps you or someone on this forum will know? How did people become coaches before this class? Was there a book? If so, then I think I'll go that route instead. I have been coaching for 3 seasons. I started by finding as many old chapter tests as were available for purchase or on the internet. I started with chapter, then state and national level, making up my own lesson plans as I went along. If you or anyone else decides to take the class, PM me! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Both my boys were bored within 10mins at their first try. Oldest said it is too much like Alcumus. Well it is a subset of Alcumus with better gamification/special effects... right? That's not a problem... it is just another funnel to bring in students who are less interested in curriculum and more interested in contests. I think it is a great idea as long as Alcumus remains free... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Well it is a subset of Alcumus with better gamification/special effects... right? I think they rather have the change focus feature of Alcumus and couldn't care less about stuff like leaderboards. Different things appeal to different folks. At least it is a nice free choice for kids who like the leaderboard style of Mathletics :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozwo Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Well it is a subset of Alcumus with better gamification/special effects... right? That's not a problem... it is just another funnel to bring in students who are less interested in curriculum and more interested in contests. I think it is a great idea as long as Alcumus remains free... I agree with that. It is interesting that AOPS does not have a class yet for Mathcounts but has chosen to create a trainer for it and on the other hand they have AMC 8 and 10 classes but they do not have some sort of trainer for AMC 8/ 10 ( not even an Alcumus focus area). At the end of the day, Alcumus is a large database of questions and they can slice and dice it multiple ways to serve different segments of the market! I like how they have provided links to other free resources. One such resource that hey have listed is Oplet (http://www.mathcounts.org/resources/oplet). Has anyone subscribed to Oplet? Any feedback on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 It is interesting that AOPS does not have a class yet for Mathcounts but has chosen to create a trainer for it and on the other hand they have AMC 8 and 10 classes but they do not have some sort of trainer for AMC 8/ 10 I think this class is for both Mathcounts and AMC8 http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/school/course/mathcounts-basics Advanced class http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/school/course/mathcounts-advanced ETA: There are free Mathcounts math jams as well E.g. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/school/mathjams-transcripts?id=149 ETA: In case anyone reading the thread is interested in AIME, found this freebie which is not copyrighted http://mathfaculty.fullerton.edu/sannin/teaching/471-fall14/AIME%20book%20version2%20-%20Mar16,2014.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozwo Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 I think this class is for both Mathcounts and AMC8 http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/school/course/mathcounts-basics Advanced class http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/school/course/mathcounts-advanced ETA: There are free Mathcounts math jams as well E.g. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/school/mathjams-transcripts?id=149 Thanks!! Somehow missed that those two classes target both AMC and Mathcounts. DS12 has already taken AMC 8 advanced class. It was a great class. Begs the question - Would you prepare differently for AMC 8 vs. Mathcounts? I am assuming foundations/ knowledge wise, you have to have similar base? Are the tactics of preparing different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I have been coaching for 3 seasons. I started by finding as many old chapter tests as were available for purchase or on the internet. I started with chapter, then state and national level, making up my own lesson plans as I went along. If you or anyone else decides to take the class, PM me! I love this idea. I'm a little worried about it being a graduate course now that I really think about it. I was hoping it just be a class without a grade. lol This is really for me to teach my own kids or lead a math club amongst friends. I'll pm though if I will do it. Best of luck to you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I'd love the online course for coaches, but I'm not interested in paying $199. I mostly use the materials supplied by Mathcounts, old tests, AoPS Mathcount minis and the book Competition Math for Middle School Students. I've been coaching for 5 years now and have loved it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I'd love the online course for coaches, but I'm not interested in paying $199. I mostly use the materials supplied by Mathcounts, old tests, AoPS Mathcount minis and the book Competition Math for Middle School Students. I've been coaching for 5 years now and have loved it. Yeah, I think I'm going to go that route as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I'm considering it. I need X number of hours of continuing ed to renew my license anyway, and grad credits are a fast way of doing so. Unfortunately, I can't count herpetology conferences for renewing my certificate, but since I have K-8 math, mathcounts should without issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wordsworth Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Oh, man, I am glad y'all posted about this! I will have to check it out. Trying to decide what to do as far as Mathcounts next year. I've coached a team of kids in our homeschool group for two years now, but we are in an extremely competitive chapter and I don't have a lot of students who are really "in it to win it." Which is fine by me; I think it's a tremendous experience even if you are not advancing to the state level. But this year, my son (rising 8th grader) would really like to do well, and then I have a daughter who will be a sixth grader. I'm starting her in Algebra and my son is going to do Geometry on his own and prepare for Mathcounts through a combination of Alcumus, problem sets, etc. I don't know how committed he will remain to this goal, but we'll see. Anyway - so, what I have found is that for kids who haven't encountered Algebra at all, it's very difficult to make much headway with Mathcounts. And I have a wide variety of ability levels in my group. So I think I may focus on preparing my daughter and other just-starting-Algebra kids for the competition this year, and let my son do his own thing, then add him back into the mix closer to the competition. It's also going to be a potential disaster to have the two kids on the same team because they are pretty competitive.Probably not going to find $199 in the couch cushions for me to take the class but it sure does sound appealing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wordsworth Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Having looked at the OU course a bit, my first thought is: what if I myself cannot solve the problems each week? :crying: Not sure my self-esteem can handle that... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 When I was coaching, I used a combination of MathCounts handbook problems and old exams (freebies & also purchased sets). One of my students took the AoPS AMC/MC course online & enjoyed it & went on to win the Richmond Chapter. My strong self-study kids also benefited from working through The All Time Greatest MathCounts Problems book. It's not very big, but it's filled with tougher challenge problems and contains detailed solutions. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I have been coaching for 3 seasons. I started by finding as many old chapter tests as were available for purchase or on the internet. I started with chapter, then state and national level, making up my own lesson plans as I went along. If you or anyone else decides to take the class, PM me! Who am I kidding? I signed up for 16 WTM sessions and have only been to 1 so far. lol I'm thinking, I am most likely not going to get around to doing a class. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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