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Improving Success in Developmental Mathematics. Tom Carson Franklin Classical School tcarson@franklinclassical.com. Overcoming the issues. Premise: We are usually capable of much more than we realize or believe. 1. Address student baggage. 2. Equip for success.
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Improving Successin Developmental Mathematics Tom Carson Franklin Classical School tcarson@franklinclassical.com
Overcoming the issues Premise: We are usually capable of much more than we realize or believe. 1. Address student baggage. 2. Equip for success. 3. Make connections.
Addressing the Baggage Discuss the “challenge” questions. Whydo I have to take math? Whenam I ever going to use math? • Why pick on math only? These questions apply to every subject…all learning. • Consider the difference between job training and education. • Fitness/Athletics offers an analogy.
Failure and Success FinalAttemptInLife What is failure?
Failure and Success What is success? The eventual achievement of a goal. “I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It was just a 2000 step process.” -Thomas Edison
Failure and Success • Adequate time – calculate your work and school commitment. • Positive Attitude – we can’t always choose our circumstances, but we can choose our behavior. • Commitment– binding yourself to a course of action. • Self-discipline – choosing to do what needs to be done - even when you don’t feel like it. What do you need to succeed? “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.” -Thomas Edison
1. Learning styles 2. Study system Equipping for Success “Give a person a fish and they eat for a day, teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime.”
Equipping for Success Learning Styles Visual: pictures, charts, diagrams, arrows, connecting lines, color codes Auditory: speech, music, jingles, poems, songs Tactile: performance, movement, manipulatives, worksheets, seat work, board work
Equipping for Success Notebook 1. Notes 2. Homework 3. Study Materials 4. Graded Work Organize the notebook into four sections. “Excellence is a habit not an event.” -Aristotle
Notes • Begin notes for each class on a new page (front and back for that day is okay). • Use three colors: red for definitions, blue for rules or procedures, and pencil for all examples and other notes.
Homework • Use pencil so that you can erase. • Label with name, date, section title, and assignment. • For each exercise, write the problem number, initial information, and show all solution steps neatly. • Why do I need to show work? Isn’t the correct answer enough? • You really learn mathematics when you organize your thoughts and present those thoughts clearly using mathematical language. • Showing your work allows the instructor to verify that you are using correct procedures to arrive at your answers. • What if we use a computer program like MathXL or MyMathlab? • Getting your exercises from a program is no different than out of a book, so write your solutions just as you would if working from the book. • If you have difficulties that are unresolved by the program, you can show your instructor your work. • If you have a correct answer, but were unable to enter it correctly, your instructor can verify your answer and then override the score.
Homework Simplifying Expressions or Solving Equations Suppose you are given the following exercise. For Exercises 1 – 15, simplify. 1. 52 + 3 4 – 7
Homework Application Exercises Suppose you are given the following exercise. For Exercises 1 and 2, solve. 1. Find the area of a circle with a diameter of 10 feet. 2. Two cars are traveling toward each other on the same highway. One car is traveling 65 mph and the other is traveling 60 mph. If the two cars are 20 miles apart, how long will it be until they meet?
Homework Graphing Exercises Suppose you are given the following exercise. For Exercises 1 and 2, graph the equation. 1. y = 2x – 3 2. y = –2x + 1
Grading Homework Find the shaded area in the figure shown. 8 ft. 6 ft. 3 ft. 4 ft. 12 ft.
Grading Homework • Two scores are given: • Accuracy • Quality (Rhetoric)
Grading Homework • Two scores are given: • Accuracy • Quality (Rhetoric) A: 2/2 R: 2/2 4/4 Excellent!
Grading Homework Although accurate, the quality of the presentation is lacking.
Grading Homework Label with full name, course, date, and assignment title Although accurate, the quality of the presentation is lacking. A: 2/2 R: 0/2 2/4 units? Joe, these appear to be random calculations. Give detail so that the reader could reconstruct the original problem (draw picture, include formulas, etc.): A = ½ h (a + b) - bh A = ½(6)(12 + 8) – (4)(3) :
Study Materials Study Sheet List every rule or procedure in the current chapter. (Rules and procedures are in blue in your notes.)
Study Materials Practice Test If you are not provided a practice test, create one by listing each example from your notes.
Study Materials Game Plan Write the definition, rule, or procedure used to solve each problem or group of similar problems on the practice test.
Graded Work • Archive all graded tests and quizzes. • Final exam questions are often taken from quizzes and tests. • If you feel a grade is in error, you have a portfolio of all graded work.
Grading the Notebook Currently, the notebook average is part of the homework average, which is 30% of the grade.
