Please recommend your best resources for learning algebra.
September 1, 2015 5:46 AM Subscribe
My son is in grade 9 and is struggling with maths (this is an ongoing thing). Algebra is everywhere and he has no idea. What are the best online resources for stepping through algebra from the very beginning?
My kid was homeschooled and worked some with the short video lessons on Algebra from Khan Academy. (free)
posted by puddledork at 6:50 AM on September 1, 2015
posted by puddledork at 6:50 AM on September 1, 2015
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra.
Good tutorials and free.
posted by lungtaworld at 6:51 AM on September 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Good tutorials and free.
posted by lungtaworld at 6:51 AM on September 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
I suggest getting him evaluated for dyscalculia. Algebra and trigonometry are where it will really take its toll.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:16 AM on September 1, 2015
posted by fiercekitten at 7:16 AM on September 1, 2015
Khan Academy is great. I've done a lot of professional tutoring and I like to use Khan Academy as a supplement.
I would also recommend finding a tutor if it's within your budget. Even a bright high-school student can be helpful if they're good at explaining things in a way your son can understand. Often in a class setting students who are struggling are reluctant to ask questions for fear of being seen as dumb by their peers, so getting a tutor can be good for asking questions without fear of judgement.
posted by number9dream at 9:20 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I would also recommend finding a tutor if it's within your budget. Even a bright high-school student can be helpful if they're good at explaining things in a way your son can understand. Often in a class setting students who are struggling are reluctant to ask questions for fear of being seen as dumb by their peers, so getting a tutor can be good for asking questions without fear of judgement.
posted by number9dream at 9:20 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
A tutor is really great for watching your son and seeing where the mistakes are made. There are a few big mistakes that I see over and over again, and would be the first things I would attack:
- bad handwriting-- leads to minus signs getting dropped, exponents becoming factors, 1's becoming 7's, and so on. Often, handwriting does not need to be improved so much as just the trouble spots being made more distinctive.
- not knowing the prerequisites-- forgetting the "facts" of how to do things
- "fuzziness" or accepting some manipulations as being "magical" as opposed to them being grounded in simpler rules
- "false equivalences" -- if you see (7*2)/(3*2) you can simplify to 7/2, but (7+2)/(2+2) does not simplify in the same way to 7/2. Things like that- why can you "do" one thing, and not do something that looks essentially the same?
The hard part about math is even with Khan academy, if your weakness is, say in how to simplify expressions, watching a problem done can be "followable" but not reproducible. That's why it is so important to get a tutor-- you need to try to do it and have your mistakes caught. You may only need a tutor for a couple of sessions.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 9:56 AM on September 1, 2015
- bad handwriting-- leads to minus signs getting dropped, exponents becoming factors, 1's becoming 7's, and so on. Often, handwriting does not need to be improved so much as just the trouble spots being made more distinctive.
- not knowing the prerequisites-- forgetting the "facts" of how to do things
- "fuzziness" or accepting some manipulations as being "magical" as opposed to them being grounded in simpler rules
- "false equivalences" -- if you see (7*2)/(3*2) you can simplify to 7/2, but (7+2)/(2+2) does not simplify in the same way to 7/2. Things like that- why can you "do" one thing, and not do something that looks essentially the same?
The hard part about math is even with Khan academy, if your weakness is, say in how to simplify expressions, watching a problem done can be "followable" but not reproducible. That's why it is so important to get a tutor-- you need to try to do it and have your mistakes caught. You may only need a tutor for a couple of sessions.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 9:56 AM on September 1, 2015
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posted by oh pollo! at 6:06 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]