Rachel and I reviewed together the midterm review that was put together by her teacher.
I asked her to determine the order in which we proceeded so as to give priority to the items she deemed most appropriate.
One theme of this session was to review the algebra required to perform the given mathematical task, but to also provide simple effective ways to check her work. This time I showed her how to check graphically using her calculator. Another theme was pausing to understand what the question was actually asking us. A third theme was going back to basics specifically, multiplying two sets of parentheses (aka foiling or the box method). We also reviewed factoring. I highly recommend that she visit these core skills with frequency in the new year.
We were able to cover every topic that she wanted to review except for imaginary numbers. We ran out of time for this topic. She is to go and speak with her teacher about this prior to the exam for this review.
Rachel, Samantha, and I discussed their Midterm review sheet.
I reviewed the answers on Rachel's sheet for each problem. They asked me about the questions with which they had struggled in class. I pointed out typical problematic areas for students. One point of note here is that Rachel had a few incorrect answers on her study sheet even though they had gone over the problems in class. When asked about it she mentioned that it can at times be difficult to understand the teacher saying B or D when giving out answers to multiple choice problems. We discussed one strategy for this but we may benefit from further trouble shooting in the new year.
We also discussed the test prep that they will do between now and the test.
They are to prep the information that they will pour on to the page when they get their exam.
Today, JPaul worked to finished the quiz he started yesterday. He worked diligently the entire period. After the quiz, we graded it. He got a 95%! The only error he made was not simplifying completely. Way to end the quarter!
Today Ben and I explored problem types where the approach to solving is unknown. It was up to Ben to determine which approach he would try. I gave Ben a problem and he decided he would solve by graphing. As he worked to graph the lines, I simultaneously worked it out using substitution. Then we compared our solutions were the same! Ben prefers graphing over the other 2 methods, but I think it’s because he has the most practice with it. I am trying to get Ben to see the usefulness in the other approaches.
Matthew and I finished the content for the quarter. So we used the class time to discuss future college options and career choices. Matthew told me he’d like to work for a company like BlackWater. He’d like to go to a big college out of state.
