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Students
agree that BoxerMath is helping them feel
more at ease with learning math. (For Real!)
Math
Made Meaningful
By
Robyn Tellefsen
June/July 2002
The
CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- Does your
math teacher sound like the 'mwa-mwa-mwa'
professor of Peanuts fame? If so,
and you're looking for a numerical leg up,
grab hold of what Page High School, Page,
AZ, students are saying about supplementing
classroom instruction with online learning.
It's called BoxerMath.
"During
class, I [used] to get confused," says
Justin Catron, a freshman Algebra I student
at Page. "Now, [BoxerMath] shows me
more steps." BoxerMath is a computer-based
curriculum for grades three through 12 that
uses technology and step-by-step instruction
to make math meaningful to students of all
levels. Accessible on CD-ROM or via the
Internet, the series provides self-paced,
graphically-engaging, fully-tracked tutorials.
Last
spring, Janell Hibbs, a math teacher at
Page, made use of a free trial period to
introduce the software to the school. Her
students were so pleased with the program,
they wrote letters to convince school administrators
to purchase BoxerMath.
Now,
Hibbs continues to watch students multiply
the benefits of additional help. "I've
seen kids who were not succeeding in the
classroom because of the way the material
was presented, and I've watched the light
go on," she says. Matthew Meyer, a
sophomore geometry student at Page, was
one such student. "The help I was getting
before... well, it was not so helpful. BoxerMath
helps me at my own speed," he says.
While
BoxerMath is not part of the main curriculum
at Page, it's used as an option for students
to help bring up their math grades. They
have the opportunity to take quizzes and
tests online for extra credit, with an in-class
final. Students like Tara Burris, a freshman
Algebra I student at Page, feel comfortable
with the hands-on, immediate style of learning
that BoxerMath affords.
"If
you do something wrong, they tell you what
you did right away," Tara says.
Since
struggling with scholastics rates about
a zero on the fun scale, Page students are
learning to reach out in these new directions
for help. "Students
felt helpless when they weren't understanding
[the work], but now they can do something
about it," affirms Hibbs.
Instead of doing
just
enough to get by in class, practice proactivity.
Get some
number help now from programs like BoxerMath,
as well as through tutorials offered by
Kaplan's Score Prep and Web help from sites
such as HomeworkSpot.com
and AOL @ School (www.school.aol.com). Help
exists... but you've got to ask for it first!
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