My short-term elementary algebra class is drawing to a close. For the midterm I tried a new exam strategy that I really liked. I teach a 2-hour block that meets 4 days a week. On a Tuesday students spent the first hour working on problems from Chapters 1 and 2, and we went over the solutions during the second hour. On the next day we repeated the pattern for Chapters 3 & 4. On the Thursday students were given instant…
With the implementation of AB705 coming in Fall 2019, I am currently teaching elementary algebra for the last time. I am using a flipped classroom approach, and I am really proud of how hard my students are working. (I’ll blog more about that in the near future.) This is a short-term class, and the plan was to teach new material for three weeks, then devote the fourth week to the midterm exam. I was going to review on Tuesday and…
Thanks to the Transformation Grant, our college has begun to provide embedded tutors for developmental math and English classes. I have a tutor in each of my Math 200 (Elementary Algebra) classes. My tutors walk around throughout the class session, helping students and answering questions. I have had great results, and I am happy to say that my students feel that having a tutor in the classroom is very beneficial. Many developmental math students are much more comfortable asking questions…
This semester I am teaching a short term intermediate algebra class. I taught this last year, and I taught a chapter each week followed by a week to review for the midterm. I repeated the same schedule for the final. This semester I have changed the schedule and have had great success. After I finish covering each chapter, I devote a day to reviewing that chapter immediately. I bring in an old copy of a chapter exam, and the review…
I have two sets of final exam review videos on YouTube. The first playlist, for Elementary Algebra, can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCE703DB5743508D7 The second playlist, for Intermediate Algebra, can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL15AA6E8E21593D3D Please feel free to share with students and instructors who can use these. George
I think it is important to review with developmental math students in preparation for the final exam. I try to shoot for one week to devote for this review, and this semester I managed to get one week plus a day. I find that if I only have a day or two I just work problems at the board in rapid fire fashion while students watch. This week I am bringing in a batch of 10 problems each day, asking…