MATH HELP NEEDED

My daughter Mary Jo needs help. 10 years ago she was Phi Theta Kappa in Community College. Dad sprung for initiation fee and bought her a ring. Came in handy now that she is back in school to become an elementary math teacher. She really struggled just to go to college 10 years ago. Suffered from anxiety attacks. Had to take 2 hours to complete 20 minute drive.

Drive 5 minutes, pull over, smoke cigarette until attack passed, back in car 5 minutes etc. Asked her how she got straight A's. Said she would write each chapter in long hand twice, then could see it when taking a test !

But now CALCULUS is killing her. She does extra work assignments but needs to average 54 on exams to pass. Got 56 on 1st, but 43 on this one. Instructor is German Professor and takes no prisoners.

Can anybody recommend a good book, especially that Amazon might have? Asked her what she is having problems with and she
Differential Equations and basic stuff.

HELP PLEASE ! ! !

Differential Equations

If "Differential Equations" is killing her, then her future looks dim at best. Integration is the killer part. Better have a tutor.A patient tutor. Good luck.

If she has access/time to look at online videos, Khan Academy is great. I haven't been there lately but when it was starting out the instructor had videos to every and all kinds of math. He spoke in a very down to earth style and was really easy to learn even difficult concepts. The goal before was to have top level math instruction available to anyone who had access to sites like YouTube. The best part is if your daughter has any trouble with a concept, she can repeat the video or look at the comments and hopefully get help there.

Calculus

If this doesn't help, maybe hire the Wizard or another Math expert for some private tutoring.

Thanks. Tutors are mostly kids at CMU. And last one told her wrong. I am in Grand junction, Wiz is in Vegas, and Crystal math is in Denver.

Hire a tutor, it's the only way with math. I have a
math professor in the family, that's what she tells
her students who need help.

I wonder why she is having to take calculus?

Quote: Buzzard

Asked her what she is having problems with and she Differential Equations and basic stuff.

Differential Equations is pretty advanced stuff. To me at least. I'm sure to teliot they are a walk in the park. You don't see differential equations until the second year of calculus. That is what you needed to solve my surface to air missile problem. To be honest, I still don't know why some of the steps I took in my solution work. I excelled at math up until I saw differential equations and then started to have difficulty but still managed to get through it. A lot of advanced topics I didn't truly get until I had to study for the actuarial exams.

Unfortunately, 100% of math books I've seen were very dry and written to the appeal to the teachers and students at the top of the class. My advice would be to find a tutor who is good at teaching to her level. You may have to go through a few before finding somebody who is a good fit. If she were in Vegas, I'd give it a try, but my calculus skills may be too rusty for her level. In looking for a tutor, she should ask for recommendations from the math department where she goes to school. Be warned that some may not have good command of English.

Calculus, uggh
I thought I had a good head for math till I got to college and took calculus.
It was the most confusing subject I have ever taken in my life.
I had a hard time understanding it and thrilled I will never have to deal with the subject again in my life.

I just Googled what a differential equation is, and I'm sorry I did. Good luck to her.

Quote: odiousgambit

I wonder why she is having to take calculus?

Well, the apple does not fall far from the tree. She can be devious at times. She was working at Star Tek 2 years ago. Then they lost a contract and she was given a termination notice. At the last moment they told her she could work week-to-week until they decided otherwise. NOT !!!

She had researched and qualified for a Fed program as her job went overseas. Then she found out she could collect those benefits and go to college if she was in a teaching degree program. She told them she had her termination letter and she was terminated. PERIOD.

Seems like math teachers in elementary schools are at a premium. Lots of vacancies in school districts. Why the hell she has to take 2 semesters of Calculus I have no idea, but she does.

She is leaning towards teaching on a reservation. Want to raise her 5 daughters on a farm. WEIRD kid.

Of course she is thinking about relocating in Nevada. Probably not far from Vegas.

Like I said earlier, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Just got this email from Mary Jo about Khan academy :

" I've tried it, but he says things like the definition NOT using the correct terms. He calls slope rise/run and that's what it does, not what it is, so he gets confusing. "

Quote: Buzzard

Just got this email from Mary Jo about Khan academy :

" I've tried it, but he says things like the definition NOT using the correct terms. He calls slope rise/run and that's what it does, not what it is, so he gets confusing. "

The slope of a line is the change in y-values (vertical distance) divided by the change in x-values (horizontal distance). Hence a tutor saying "rise over run" to simplify the idea, it's a phrase often used when referring to slope.

Buzz,

You don't say you've already got these, so I will point them out via Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=head%20first%20calculus&sprefix=head+first+calc%2Caps%2C335#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_6_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=calculus+for+dummies&sprefix=calculus%2Cstripbooks%2C169&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Acalculus+for+dummies

There are 10 or so "Calculus for Dummies" books here, sequential, and one specifically about differential equations, all with very positive reviews from people who were otherwise having difficulty. I would suggest she read the samples and purchase the one or two that are in the same level as her current work, along with whatever workbook is associated (if there is one). Repetition is the key to applying the knowledge, and these books take things in little chunks with lots of exercises to demonstrate the application of the concepts.

I found a similar series (which I checked first but no calculus) called "head first" to be very useful in learning beginner Java programming long after I was out of school. I do not know the authors' credentials on the "dummies" calc series, but the publishers tend to find the best, most user-friendly experts in each field to write them.

Considering what his daughter is trying to study...is it possible that Buzz is confusing "differentiation" with "differential equations"?

The first one...pretty easy.

The other...not so much. And no elementary teacher should be mandated to take "differential equations" unless she wants a degree in math to go with her teaching certification.

Quote: Perdition

If she has access/time to look at online videos, Khan Academy is great. I haven't been there lately but when it was starting out the instructor had videos to every and all kinds of math. He spoke in a very down to earth style and was really easy to learn even difficult concepts. The goal before was to have top level math instruction available to anyone who had access to sites like YouTube. The best part is if your daughter has any trouble with a concept, she can repeat the video or look at the comments and hopefully get help there.

Calculus

If this doesn't help, maybe hire the Wizard or another Math expert for some private tutoring.

I couldn't agree more with this recommendation! Khan Academy is great for any and all math concepts. As a special education teacher, I use it often because they way he explains things is very clear and it walks you through each step of the problem while showing you examples. The great thing about Khan Academy is it can reach a number of levels from my special education students I work with to the complicated math that I need to work on for my video poker games. Go to the website and give it a quick search to see what you think...I know you will find it very useful.

Quote: tringlomane

Considering what his daughter is trying to study...is it possible that Buzz is confusing "differentiation" with "differential equations"?

The first one...pretty easy.

The other...not so much. And no elementary teacher should be mandated to take "differential equations" unless she wants a degree in math to go with her teaching certification.

Actually this is a great point. Does she really need that level of math to be an elementary teacher? I understand that colleges want to produce well rounded teachers, but in reality there are so many things you will never, ever use as a teacher.

I talked to the family math prof today, and she
said what I said, and what the Wiz said, hire a
tutor. Learning math from books is almost impossible,
you need a setting where you can get hands on
help. With a good tutor you can make very fast
progress.

Will try and get exact qualification and what degree she needs for this teaching qualification. She has 2 kids in her class who text or play games all during class, then ace the tests. She has tired to hire eother one but I guess they are still out to lunch !