advice for DS and AOPS Calculus next year

[Momto6inIN]

This is long, sorry. But I need some help from people who are familiar with AOPS in general and the online AOPS courses specifically.

 

DS started on the AOPS road late. I so wish we had found it earlier in our hs'ing journey ... but we didn't. Oh well. Anyway, he flew through Videotext Algebra and Geometry and then when we found AOPS he did most of Intro to C & P and Intro to NT. I wasn't sure how what AOPS course to put him in because he hadn't done any AOPS books before, but he is now happily doing AOPS Precalculus and loving it. He's been using the books to self-teach, not using the online class, which has been working out fine for him because he tends to take it slowly and savor the discoveries and think about the theoretical implications of what he's learning and whatnot.

 

My question is:

Would he be a good fit for taking the AOPS Calculus online next year during his senior year?

 

I didn't even think about the AOPS online courses at first, since he's always done the books on his own before, but now that I think about it I wonder if that would be a good option. It would give him an instructor that's not me (a good way to ease into the college experience) as well as a rigorous, challenging calculus course. But since he's been taking his time with the texts and this would be his first online/outside class experience, is that setting him up to fail? Also, he's doing well with the Precalculus and so far hasn't found any holes, but since he did a "standard" Algebra/Geometry sequence instead of AOPS, is there something he would have missed that would make him not a good candidate for the AOPS Calculus?

 

Any thoughts??? Thanks!

[Julie of KY]

If he's doing well with AoPS Precalculus, then I see no reason why he shouldn't do AoPS Calculus.

 

I do like the online AoPS courses, but I don't think they are representative of a course that is similar to a college course. My kids AP courses through PA homeschoolers have done great at teaching my kids to work with an outside teacher and deadlines and are good prep for college. I don't think AoPS courses fit into this mold of an online course.

 

Somehing to note about AoPS - the online classes tend to move quickly (I'm not as sure on the calculus class, but the others do). My son much preferred to do the textbook at his own pace rather than online AoPS classes - though he did take multiple competition math and Intermediate level classes - mostly ones without a text he could do at home. Some kids thrive in the AoPS classroom and interaction, others don't.

 

 

[Mike in SA]

So, while AoPS Precal is great, it does skim through a good bit of traditional precal (much is covered in their intermediate algebra course).

 

I would add a little extra trig, to be honest.  We actually use both a traditional text and AoPS with our kids, and it has worked well.  Depending on the kid, we may have done AoPS first or second (older DS loves it for review; not so much the first time through).

 

Other than that, I don't see a reason to avoid AoPS calculus.

[Momto6inIN]

 

I do like the online AoPS courses, but I don't think they are representative of a course that is similar to a college course. My kids AP courses through PA homeschoolers have done great at teaching my kids to work with an outside teacher and deadlines and are good prep for college. I don't think AoPS courses fit into this mold of an online course.

 

Thank you, this is good to know!

One of the main pros to an online class for this particular DS would be as an intro to the college experience, so this is helpful info.

 

[regentrude]

I would add a little extra trig, to be honest.  

 

Could you elaborate what specifically??? I found the AoPS Precalculus book to have a very thorough and rigorous treatment of trigonometry. It's more than I have seen in other precalc texts. What more would you want?

[Arcadia]

For the AoPS online Calculus class,

- the students are going by their deadlines even though they can ask for extensions

- the online homework is not from the book. So basically the students do the book problems as well as the online homework, The writing problems online are manually graded so feedback is given, The submit only the answers problems aren't graded for working so the students check their working against the given solution.

- the class ends in April while the AP exam is in May. So if there is intention to take the AP exam, the student have to factor in time for their own test prep since it is not part of the course.

 

My oldest is doing the class. He has a study group which was formed from his intermediate algebra class that went on to precalculus class together and now together in calculus class.

My kids have enough trigonometry practice with their physics so we haven't had any problems with insufficient trigonometry yet.

[Lilaclady]

Like Regentrude said, I think trig is well covered with AOPs precalc but maybe because my dd did intermediate algebra as well. She is quite solid with trig and I am not sure what else is covered by other precalc texts.

 

The class is well laid out and I don't think it moves as fast as some of the other classes. It is for 2 hrs not 1.5 like precalc. It is also for a longer time period, from September to April. It is about the longest course they have.

For most of the courses, the in class homework is different from the one in the textbook. Students need to go over the chapter before coming to class and he homework is due 8 days from the class date.

We have found the classes very helpful as they have helped my dd to write better proofs and it has been a good experience

[Julie of KY]

I think the AoPS Precalc book has a thorough coverage of trig and I can't think of anything I'd add.

 

Make sure your student has a good grasp of log/ln - I don't remember if this is in the precalc book or the int. algebra book.

 

 

[Mike in SA]

For trig, the topic is introduced well, and some of the problems are challenging.  BUT - it flies through the material (very compact) without much time spent on the fundamentals.  It's set up as a 16-week course, not a full year, so we've found an extra layer of work in the fundamentals to be highly beneficial in preparation for calculus.

 

Don't get me wrong - we absolutely love the precalc book.  It's maybe the second best - behind prealgebra - but has an equivalent level of challenge.  It's WAY out ahead of other precal books, and has far better reach if you've also done intermediate algebra.

 

 

[Momto6inIN]

Wow, doing the problems from the book AND extra homework from the class... That is not going to fly well with my turtle DS who likes to savor the math! Lol

 

I might have him look over the Intermediate Algebra book over the summer to see if there are any topics he feels he is weak in and needs to review. I already have it because when we started with AOPS I wasn't sure which book to put him in.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

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[Lilaclady]

You don't have to do the problems from the book. They are extra but your student needs to do the assigned homework.