Ancestors

Toot

Written by kellan on 2024-11-12 at 23:27

Taking on teaching the kiddo math as she's not getting the challenge she wants from school, and the various programs we've tried haven't worked out. I've got a text book we're working through, but I need the fun facts and weird discursions that characterize the best math teachers -- any help would be appreciated.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kellan@fiasco.social

Descendants

Written by Jens Hannemann on 2024-11-13 at 00:33

@kellan @badlogic

I can wholeheartedly recommend the carton guides by Larry Gonick.

https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/larry-gonick-880000017724

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from JensHannemann@mastodon.online

Written by Adam Marcus on 2024-11-13 at 00:34

@kellan I think @dave_andersen has tooted about some techniques he’s used for math lessons at home (I took note, but only have a toddler so didn’t retain too much for our near future:))

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from marcua@hachyderm.io

Written by David Andersen on 2024-11-13 at 03:26

@marcua @kellan the two second version: art of problem solving ( and beast academy if younger). What age and what math things are you teaching?

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dave_andersen@hachyderm.io

Written by kellan on 2024-11-13 at 12:32

@dave_andersen @marcua we loved the Beast Academy books but she finished up the 5th one last year. It’s a good suggestion to try their higher level books. (Age 10, we’re working on algebraic thinking, functions and graphing right now. Trying to use graphing as a way to make it visual and fun, but aware that I’m only half succeeding)

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kellan@fiasco.social

Written by David Andersen on 2024-11-13 at 13:10

@kellan @marcua I've been working through their algebra book with my daughter and it's fantastic. It does assume a motivated student, but what I really love about their approach is that they have the student derive most things on their own - they'll give an easy example this to work through, a harder one, and then ask about a generalization of it.

We did end up multitasking on a few chapters at a time to increase variety and add a little time to revisit concepts since we were doing it fast.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dave_andersen@hachyderm.io

Written by David Andersen on 2024-11-13 at 13:12

@kellan @marcua and we did chunks of the pre-algebra book before that. Also very good. And infinitely better than the textbooks her school uses. She had to take the algebra class at school anyway, and her mastery of the material is heads and shoulders above anyone else in her class.

Their auxiliary books are also fantastic. We are doing the intro to counting and probability one a bit, and it's challenging for her but very good stuff.

Mine is interested in taking the AMC, which also motivates..

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dave_andersen@hachyderm.io

Written by kellan on 2024-11-13 at 13:17

@dave_andersen @marcua thank you! We’ll start there. Out of curiosity, what gets her motivated by the AMC? I’m just barely aware of it

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kellan@fiasco.social

Written by David Andersen on 2024-11-13 at 13:26

@kellan @marcua I think it's a combination of having been exposed to it because of AoPS + her algebra teacher makes everyone take the AMC 8 + competitiveness + seeing it as a way to differentiate her resume in a way she enjoys.

(You start to notice in the AoPS the books that many of the star problems come from math counts or AMC.)

Competition math definitely isn't for everybody, and it's its own little sub-skill, but it's kinda fun too.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dave_andersen@hachyderm.io

Written by David Andersen on 2024-11-13 at 13:18

@kellan @marcua The only caution about aops is that they're hard. Depending on the child's temperament, there may be none or there may be a lot of time spent reassuring them that they are not supposed to be able to get everything right the first time. But we would work on a lot of the problems together in parallel and it probably was good for her to see that I messed a few of them up too.

I do stop and talk to her about some future concepts that build on what she's learning ...

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dave_andersen@hachyderm.io

Written by David Andersen on 2024-11-13 at 13:20

@kellan @marcua mostly for those cases where you look at a concept and wonder "why the hell am I learning this?"

Notably, I've had to do that more with her school text than with AoPS -- they seem to gratuitously throw in stuff that is great if you know that it relates to set theory or something but seems trivial and useless in 7th grade. So that's one thing I would keep an eye out for with the current stuff you're doing -- the why am I learning this isn't always obvious.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dave_andersen@hachyderm.io