| To succeed in mathematics, one must be able to solve the problems. MathXpert can
help your teenager to learn to solve the problems in their mathematics course. Let's look
at this claim in more detail.
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What are the reasons why a teenager may not be succeeding in their mathematics course? There
are several common reasons:
- They don't put time on task and so keep falling even farther behind.
- Even if they put time on task, they can't do the problems because they didn't understand the teacher's examples or the textbook's examples.
- They are missing a prerequisite skill (or skills) and so cannot solve this week's problems.
- They are paralyzed by fear of failure, even if they are forced to put time on task.
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Some reasons for not putting time on task can also be listed:
- Discouragement caused by past failures, resulting in lack of confidence.
- Peer attitudes towards mathematics and studying.
- Frustration arising from lack of success when they do try to do their homework.
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These are big problems, and not primarily of a mathematical nature, so it's a lot to ask of
MathXpert to solve these problems. But it does have an important role to play.
The general plan here is that you've got to help such a student get at least some actual success.
Once the student solves some problems, they will start to think I can do this after all! This is
the key to a positive motivation, which is the key to more time on task. More time on task, when equipped
with the right tools, should lead to more success, and then we have an upwards motivational spiral instead
of a downwards one.
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MathXpert could be the tool that you need to help your son or daughter turn around their experience of
mathematics. However, I emphasize that it probably won't be enough to just buy MathXpert for your son
or daughter as if it were another video game. You must use it as a focus to spend time with your child
helping them learn mathematics. MathXpert can eliminate a lot of the frustration and can supply
subject-matter expertise, but it was not designed to replace teachers or parents.
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Of course, many parents lack confidence in their own mathematical abilities, or at least with their
abilities to cope with the modern mathematical curriculum. If that applies to you, you might consider
not going completely unprepared into those sessions with your teenager and MathXpert. There is no reason
why you can't have a look at your teenager's math book and at MathXpert in privacy first. Then, when you're
sure you know what you're doing, you can help your son or daughter.
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| Once you and your teenager are able to work together in a calm emotional atmosphere, using MathXpert,
you will find that MathXpert can definitely help you to solve the specific problems listed above. For
example, if your student lacks a certain mathematical prerequisite skill, that will become apparent, and
MathXpert can help him or her acquire the missing skill. Every success with a homework assignment will
make the atmosphere smoother and the student more willing to work. |
| You may wonder whether the student who learns with MathXpert will be able to
solve problems with pencil and paper, as they will have to do on examinations. The answer is
an unqualified yes. For example, just seeing the well-organized step-by-step solutions produced by
MathXpert vastly improved the pencil-and-paper work of the trigonometry class that I taught while
developing MathXpert Precalculus Assistant. |
