"Geometry: A Complete Course" - Modules A,B,C,D,E,F Package

"Geometry: A Complete Course" - Modules A,B,C,D,E,F Package

  • 19.08 lbs

Item #56-2--

This set includes:  # in My Cart
  Module A $99.95
  Module B $99.95
  Module C $99.95
  Module D $99.95
  Module E $99.95
  Module F [est. release not known] $99.95
This set includes: 6 items (set discount: 25.1%) -$150.70  
  • $449.00
Out of stock

(For school pricing, please contact us.)

This is designed as a 2-year course. Module F is not yet in production. If you order this set, you will receive all currently available modules. The remaining module will be back-ordered and shipped to you as soon as it is in production. If you are needing to finish the course before Module F is available, please contact us to learn about alternate completion options.

For more details, see:

 

VideoText Interactive Geometry Program Overview

The VideoText Interactive Geometry program addresses two of the most important aspects of mathematics instruction. First, the inquiry-based video format contributes to the engaging of students more personally in the concept development process. Through the frequent use of the pause button, you, as the instructor, can virtually require interaction and dialogue on the part of your student. As well, students who work on their own, can simulate having an instructor present by pausing the lesson every time a question is asked, and trying to answer it correctly before continuing. Of course, the student may answer incorrectly, but the narrator will be sure to give the right answer when the play button is pressed to resume the lesson. Right or wrong, however, the student is regularly engaging in analytical and critical thinking, and that is a healthy exercise, in and of itself.

Second, each incremental concept is explored in detail, using no shortcuts, tricks, rules, or formulas, and no step in the process is ignored. As such, the logic and the continuity of the development assure students that they understand completely. Subsequently, learning is more efficient, and all of the required concepts (topics) of the subject can be covered with mastery. Of course, the benefits of these efforts can be seen even more clearly in a description of a typical session, as follows:

After a brief 2 or 3 sentence introduction of the concept to be considered, usually by examining the description, and the objective given at the beginning of the video lesson, you and your student can begin. You should pause the lesson frequently, usually every 15-20 seconds (or more often if appropriate), to engage your student in discussion. This means that, for a 5-10 minute VideoText lesson, it may take 10-15 minutes to finish developing the concept. Dialogue is a cornerstone. In addition, during this time, your student should probably not be allowed to take notes. Students should not have their attention divided, or they risk missing important links. Neither should you be dividing your attention, by looking at notes, or writing on a pad, or an overhead projector. Everyone should be concentrating on concept development and understanding. Please understand that a student who is accustomed to working alone, or can be motivated to study independently, has, with the VideoText, a powerful resource to explore and master mathematical concepts by simulating the dialogue normally encountered with a live instructor. And, because of the extensive detail of the explanations, along with the computer generated graphics, and animation, students are never shortchanged when it comes to the insight necessary to fully comprehend.

Once the concept is developed, and the VideoText lesson is completed, you can then employ the Course Notes to review, reinforce, or to check on your students comprehension. These Course Notes are replications of the essential content that was viewed in the VideoText lesson, illustrating the same terms, diagrams, problems, numbers, and logical sequences. In fact, at this time, if your student needs a little more help, he or she can use the Course Notes while viewing the lesson again, using them as a guide, to re-examine the concept. The key here is that students concentrate on understanding first, and take care of documentation later.

Please understand that it is not the intent of the program to let the VideoText lesson completely take the place of personal instruction or interaction. Actually, the video should never tell your students anything that hasnt been considered or discussed (while the lesson is paused), and it should never answer questions that have not already been considered and resolved. As such, it becomes a new breed of chalkboard or overhead projector, whereby you, as the teacher, or your student working alone, can write, simply by pressing the play button. This is a critical point to be understood, and should serve to help you examine all of the materials and strategies from the proper perspective.

Next, your student can begin to do some work independently, either by your personal introduction of additional examples from the WorkText, or by the student immediately going to the WorkText on his or her own. The primary feature of the WorkText, beside providing problem banks with which students can work on mastery, is that objectives are restated, important terms are reviewed, and additional examples are considered, in noticeable detail, taking students, once again, through the logic of the concept development process. The premise here is simple. When students work with an instructor, whether doing exercises on their own, or working through them with other students, they are usually concentrating more on how to do the problems. Then, when they leave the instructor, they simply dont take the discussion of the concept with them. The goal of this program is to provide a resource which will help students re-live the concept development on their own, whether for review, or for additional help. That is the focus of the Student WorkText.

Having completed the exercises for the lesson being considered, your student is now ready to use the detail in the Solutions Manual to check work and engage in error analysis. Again, it is essential to a students understanding that he or she find mistakes, correct them, and be required to give some explanation, either verbal or in writing, to you as the instructor. In fact, at this stage, you might even consider grading your student only on the completion of the work, not on its accuracy. Remember, this is the first time the student has tried to demonstrate understanding of a concept, and he or she may still need some fine-tuning. So, because this is part of the initial learning process, the focus should be on a careful analysis of the logic behind the work, not just the answers.

Finally, it is time to assess your student's mastery of the concept behind the work. Just be sure you are not testing on the same day the exercises were completed. Short-term memory can trick you into thinking that you have it, when, in fact, you are just remembering what you did moments before. A more accurate evaluation can be made on the next day, before moving on to the next lesson. Further, the quizzes and tests in the program often utilize open-response questions which will require your student to state, in writing, his or her understanding of the concept. This often reveals much more about a students understanding than just checking to see if an answer on a test is correct. Remember too, that there are two versions of every quiz and test, allowing you to retest, if necessary, in order to make sure that your student has mastered the concept.

Of course, just as with the WorkText, there are detailed solutions for all of the quiz and test problems, in the Instructors Guide. Again, your student should be required to analyze problems that were missed, and explain why the problem should have been done differently. It is simply a fact that one of the most powerful and effective teaching tools you can employ, is to ask your students to articulate to you what their thinking was, as they worked toward a given answer.

As you can see, the highly interactive quality of this program, affords students a much greater opportunity than usual to grow mathematically, at a personal level, and develop confidence in their ability. That can have a tremendous impact on a students future pursuits, especially in an age where applications of mathematics are so important.

    • Weight
      19.08 lbs
    • SKU
      56-2--
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