Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Math Tutoring Advice Needed

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 03-07-2004, 08:57 PM:

Well with the economy down, gas prices on the rise, and my 30th birthday looming this summer, I thought it might be a good time to go back to school for a masters degree. The only hitch is my math skills are not where they should be in order to pass the GRE exams required for admission. I'll be going back for an MS in History and would ultimately prefer to earn this at the University of Pittsburgh; so all I'm really interested in is getting through the tests. Pitt requires a fairly high score that I can't remember off the top of my head right now, but the last time I tried I came nowhere near. Can anybody point me in the direction of something I can do, or how I might be able to contract with a tutor who helps non-traditional students going back to school. Thanks

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-07-2004, 08:59 PM:

I'd check out some local college's continuing education programs. Most have some sort of math programs for adults.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 03-07-2004, 09:12 PM:

Always remember that "X"=10. That's what my grandmother Bertha Lohse (Thompson) told me back in 1856....just look at the Roman Numeral clock. "X" always = 10. [Big Grin]

OK, so I am 100 years off, but who cares? I don't [thumbsup]

.... When you get old, age is nothing more than a number. [Frown]

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-07-2004, 09:52 PM:

Don't know if you'd care to go the self-study route, but there are any number of GRE prep books out there. They each have several practice tests to help you get up to speed. I went that way for an English CLEP test when I was finishing my undergrad at Embry-Riddle.

Looking forward (yeah, right [Big Grin]

) to the GRE myself in a few years, on my way to an MA or MS in Japanese Linguistics.

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 03-08-2004, 12:35 AM:

When I took the GRE a few years ago, i found number2.com to be the best resource. They offer free online tests and help. Also, not sure if this has changed, but there was a heavy emphasis on logic puzzle type problems, along the lines of "if mary is smarter than sam, and jason isn't as smart as mary..." You can pick up books at the grocery store with those types of puzzles that may be helpful to go through the process. Good Luck.

Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 03-08-2004, 05:10 AM:

Aaron

My recommendation to you:

Go to either the university you plan on attending, or your local community college. Either one should be able to provide you with assessment testing, which will reveal your current skill level.

The assessment testing is really an average starting point: you may feel more comfortable at a lower...or higher "grade level" than what the assessment testing suggests.

I would also schedule an appointment with the Math Department Chairs at either institution.

Either institution you plan on attending should have learning/tutoring centers, staffed by both faculty and higher level math students. It has been my experience that many of these tutors are excellent teachers!

Depending on the level of math you need to attain, a TI-83 graphing calculator is about the normal academic requirement today. They are not cheap; avoid the college bookstore! The best bargain is at Costco/Price Club, Sam's Club or the like. But if you are hard up for $$, go see the Dean of Students. They may be able to supply you with major discount coupons, depending on your financial situation and the instution's relationship with the bookstore. Also, if you are getting financial assistance (loans/grants), then you can purchase a calculator with these funds.

If your calculator skills are lacking, then the tutoring centers at either instution should have calculator workshops. Also, depending on the package you purchase, TI has some nice books on using calculators (and their products).

As for textbooks: Bittinger is quite good. Avoid Larson like the plague!

One of the keys to math is doing it every day. If ya dont, then you'll forget! So once you begin your college math cirriculum, then continue on through the end! DONT skip semesters! And PRACTICE/REVIEW your skills over summer vacation!

If the textbook for your class is quite good, then I recommend keeping it, rather than selling it back to the bookstore. I have kept my textbooks, along with all my homework assignments. They have proved to be quite an excellent resource library, especially if ya made a decent effort at your homework and took good class notes! Also, most textbooks today also come with a student solutions manual. Some are quite good...others, well....

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-08-2004, 05:14 AM:

What course(s) let(s) you use graphing calculators? Those things are fun to program games into. [Smile]

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-08-2004, 09:41 AM:

Here at CCSN and UNLV, several of our Engineering Physics courses require an HP graphing calculator. The instructor supplies the memory cards with all of the required formulas pre-stored.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-08-2004, 09:44 AM:

Wow. We don't use anything more than a Casio fx-991 here. Actually, that's all we're allowed to use, if we're allowed to use anything at all.