Question from Leela:
Is there a guide to know which portion of the Geometry DVD instruction corresponds to the chapter sections in the book? ie, for 6.2, when is Dr. Callahan finished with concept for that section and where does the instruction start addressing concepts in 6.3? My homeschool student needs little chunks of DVD instruction at a time; practices it, then takes the next little chunk. It’s hard to tell when the lesson is finished. Help?
Answer from Dr. Callahan:
I do not have a direct answer – but I hope this will help.
First – we cover things in groups where all the concepts are related. Not because we were lazy, but because math is concept based, and we have found people learn math better in getting the concept as a whole first and then diving into the details. So we cover related concepts at once.
Second – while this method might not seem to fit your short term goal, trust me, it is VERY helpful since the ACT and SAT exams test on conceptual thinking. Therefore, having your students get used to this kind of thinking will be preparing them to think for the exams.
But how do you deal with it? Here is what I would do….
Have them watch video on the multiple sections and then work on the individual areas or lessons. When they finish one lesson, go back and watch the video again and then do the next section of problems. This will help them see that all the concepts are the same, but the details are different.
As my wife tells me – if I were teaching someone to cook I would not lecture them on salt and have them play with salt for 3 lessons. I would explain what it does (concept) and then have them use in various ways one lesson at a time. Same idea for math. We learn better knowing the bigger why than doing the details.
I hope this helps!
dwc
