• WORK AT HOME: At home, students must use the textbook, and any other supplemental materials they would like, to learn the specific concepts and procedures to use those concepts.
  • The textbooks are very good at explaining concepts and then showing examples to illustrate those concepts.
  • Families also can provide support by helping a student learn and practice, checking work and helping find mistakes, and collaborating to set up an effective study schedule.
  • STUDY SCHEDULE: Students will learn best if they set up a schedule to complete parts of the chapters each week, and schedule their months so there is time to review before the test (4 days to a week for review and practice is a good recommendation).
    
    
• ANALYZE: Students need to study the textbook instruction carefully, reading it carefully using their ability in language comprehension, and then analyze the examples in detail, taking the examples apart to examine and understand exactly each and every step that the textbook shows.
  
  
• MAKE NOTES: Students will help themselves learn better if they take notes on the textbook instruction and examples. The notes should be set up such that the student is reviewing the concepts and procedures, even listing things to memorize--and then doing so.
  
  
• EXERCISES: No one really likes to do lots of math problems--but just like practice for a sport, students have to practice their new math skill, whatever a section teaches. So, practice, practice, practice on the problems at the end of each section--but do the problems strategically:
  • Do a group of problems.
  • Write out all your work--if you don't you won't easily find where you may have made a mistake. Also, you're less likely to make little computation or negative sign mistakes.
  • Check your answers.
  • If you're incorrect, figure out where you made a mistake.
  • If you can't figure it out, go to the solution manual/key, and figure out from the worked-out solution where you went wrong in your work.
  • If you make a certain type of mistake more than once, make a note to yourself about that, so you will be more aware of it as you do similar problems, and hopefully won't repeat that mistake anymore.
  • PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
    
    
• INTERNET: A supplement to the textbook can be websites which provide examples or further explanation about many math topics. Go back to The Math Page and go to the links at the bottom, by each course.
  
  
• TUTORING: If the student has done the above, but is struggling with a particular concept or problem, then the student should take advantage of the tutoring resources at Mt. Everest, following the times listed in the chart above. However, the student must bring the textbook, and the notes and work already done up to that point, and especially as done on the topic in question. Tutoring is only for students who are working at home and then coming in with specific problems; those students will show their work when they come in, to show that they have been preparing well and to make the tutoring more effective, since it will focus on specific needs.
  
  
• EXTRA TUTORING: If the family support and tutoring at Mt. Everest is unable to fully meet a child's needs, parents have the option of also using outside tutors. One list of available tutors has been provided by San Diego State; click here for that list.