To all those who took high school or college Algebra courses...

[JBroll]

Help a JBroll out.

I've been working on preparation for the classes I'll be teaching, and since I'm doing a developmental math class I need a little help from people who aren't math nuts.

What topic(s) did you wish the course had covered, or what would you change about the way they were covered? I need to pick apart things that people aren't getting already, and that's MUCH harder to do to forty people at a time than it is to do in a one-on-one tutoring section. Basic algebra stuff that never stuck, or an approach you found later that would have been handy, little tricks that helped you catch something... anything.

I've been tutoring for as long as I can remember, but teaching is a whole different thing and I need all the help I can get with this. Also, if you're in the San Antonio area and want to see me get my first gray hair, PM me and drop by sometime.

Jeff

 

[Altitudes]

Are you teaching basic graph functions/trigonometry? How basic are you talking?

 

[JBroll]

Remedial algebra - covering high school algebra, basically...

Jeff

 

[Burti]

Saving John some trouble.

John


P.S. Parabolas and all shit relating to that. The entire class (myself included) was dumbstruck when it came to that shit.

 

[Altitudes]

Btw Jeff, I aspire to get a Bachelor's of Science and Mathematics like you

 

[Achtland]

I don't teach math but I did have to teach someone how to use a basic ruler. Hard to believe a full grown adult did not know how to use a ruler but I successfully taught them. They couldn't comprehend fractions of an inch, foot or a yard.

I drew out a pie (like an apple pie) then divided it into sections. Explained that half the pie is like a half an inch. Quarter of a pie is like a quarter inch....etc.

The point I'm making is that some people think in pictures and things that are familiar to them. The more you can make maths useful as everyday tools the easier it is for some people to comprehend.

 

[JBroll]

Btw Jeff, I aspire to get a Bachelor's of Science and Mathematics like you

Fucking cool... you owe it to yourself to check out Euler's 'Elements of Algebra' ( http://books.google.com/books/pdf/E...ut=pdf&sig=ACfU3U1oYNmwtXBDGZeFCBpqQ9ek2dJetQ ) and DO EVERYTHING. Period. Amazing text, you'll wonder why nobody told you about it when you were five.

Jeff

 

[Kvlt Wench]

During the first week of class (last week), my astronomy professor covered some math we need to know for the course, and he focused on WHY certain rules are applied to certain equations, instead of just "This is the rule; do it." The best example I can think that he used was for exponents -- actually going through and showing all the steps to demonstrate why you add exponents together when multiplying numbers. I don't know if that's useful to you at all, but it definitely makes sense to me and makes math a little more interesting.

 

[JBroll]

That helps, I'm avoiding "Just do it" as much as I can, and a big help comes when something like that (something a math student never has to think twice about) is brought up. The biggest problem I seem to have is that I teach in ways that make sense to me, ESPECIALLY in front of big crowds when I can't analyze everyone on the spot, so I'm going to be running what I do past colleagues, 'civilians', and hopefully a few professors to make sure I'm not missing anything or skipping an essential step.

Jeff

 

[azal]

thread thread makes me pretty stoked about they fact that I haven't done any math work in 9 years.

the one math class I took in college was "the history of math"

 

[derek]

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

During the first week of class (last week), my astronomy professor covered some math we need to know for the course, and he focused on WHY certain rules are applied to certain equations, instead of just "This is the rule; do it." The best example I can think that he used was for exponents -- actually going through and showing all the steps to demonstrate why you add exponents together when multiplying numbers. I don't know if that's useful to you at all, but it definitely makes sense to me and makes math a little more interesting.

Astronomy ftw! It's a lot of fun...the only probem I had was that my class was right after lunch, making it very easy to fall asleep in the planetarium once the lights went out.

 

[Dead Winter]

I teach English....there's a reason for that, .

I was pretty good at geometry, though. I became a radar weapons director, so I had to use geometry to vector the aircraft behind the refueling tankers using velocity vectors, winds, 3/9 lines, offset angles, as well as run nose cutoffs on hostile intercepts but I was pretty good at it and could eyeball it most of the time without using the formulas. The only thing I had problems with in school were the proofs...they kicked my ass.

But then again, geometry is the direct opposite of algebra because it makes sense, so I'll be of no help to you, .

Oh man, I was so bad at algebra. I'm a finite thinker.

 

[Kvlt Wench]

Geometry doesn't make any sense. Fuck all that memorizing postulates and theorems bullshit.

 

[Lord Foul]

I think the most confusing topics in algebra for most high school students are factorization and finding the roots of functions. As Isabel stated, it is also useful to understand exponentiation as iterative multiplication and negative exponents as iterative division.

I loved algebra and geometry. It gave me so much power to play with the system of numbers. Until I learned the many awesomely powerful shortcuts available within trig and calculus

 

[JBroll]

Thanks a lot, guys. I need to REALLY hammer roots and factorization down, and it's really helpful to see other things that trip people up. I've just been interrogating everyone I know who isn't math/sciences and trying to find their problems... so my list is at 'factoring, exponentiation, don't skip steps, leave room for questions, and plan every question on every assignment in advance' for right now.

Jeff

 

[Altitudes]

This might sound cliche but include problems with real life applications into your teaching lesson (i.e. word problems). It might be easy for me to suggest this, but in reality I find it myself asking what are the purpose of all these concepts and trying to understand why they work.

I'll look at that file later (really!), just skimmed over some derivatives which I recognize. As for doing each problem... we'll see

 

[JBroll]

I actually would rather err on the side of including too few real life applications, emphasizing that truly understanding the material and understanding real-world implications of the material are one and the same.

Regarding that file... that's how algebra SHOULD be taught. You don't have to rush through it - in fact, don't - but 5-10 problems every couple of days will really prepare you for mathematics studies, and put some hair on your chest if you really want the best answers possible.

Jeff

 

[Liverslapper]

Geometry doesn't make any sense. Fuck all that memorizing postulates and theorems bullshit.

How does it not make sense?


Geometry is just a question of size and shape. X, Y, Z, Perimeter Circumference, Volume.....surface area's?

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

You know, I did OK in my algebra classes (usually got high B's), but I never enjoyed those classes. It wasn't until I took physics and chemistry that I liked algebra, and kicked ass!