Award-Winning Test Prep & Academic Tutoring in Forest Grove, OR

"The student had begun a new unit in his math class, so we spent our time working on a packet which covered some of the new topics. I began with a brief discussion of rational expression (the theme for the new unit), what they are, how their graphs look, and how we can manipulate them. We then began working through the packet together. The first set of questions dealt with filling out a table, developing a formula, and graphing the derived equation. After the first example, he was more or less able to construct the rest of the equations and graphs following a similar process. There were only a few points where we had to talk about determining the stretch factor (a) which we could do both based on the graph, and algebraically. "

"The student and I discussed studying for her upcoming exit exam next week. We discussed the types of questions that she had struggled with on the practice exam earlier this week. We then reviewed a homework worksheet on solving for variables in various types of equations. Finally, we worked on determining from the equation of a line whether a given coordinate point lies on that line."

"Today, we focused on reviewing probability for her Algebra 2 class, specifically sections 10.1 through 10.4 of her textbook. We started off with basic probability and discussed the meaning of the numbers themselves. We compared theoretical and experimental probabilities and how each of them are used. The student and I then reviewed complementary probabilities [1-P(A)] and how it can be used to make some problems easier. Next, we went over dependence and independence of variables. They each have their respective equations to prove or disprove independence and we practiced using both equations. I also gave her the hint as to how to usually find dependence. When the problem states that items are chosen "without replacement," that typically leads to a dependent problem. The verbose word problems can sometimes get confusing, so it is important to break down the word problem into key facts so she knows what each number within the word problem is referring to. She needs to remember that the second term in this type of probability means that she is restricted to finding the probability only if that variable is certain. It usually becomes the denominator of the fraction to find the probability itself. This becomes easier when there is a chart of variables instead of word problems. The individual numbers are known are the joint variables while the sums are the marginal variables. Finally, we worked on determining union, intersection, or disjoint variables and how to spot them. We worked on using charts and word problems for these types of problems. For union and intersection (where there is overlap between two groups), it is important to remember to subtract the overlap since it is being counted twice. Before we ended the session, we reviewed a few more word problems and chart problems to practice. We also went over a quiz on sections 10.1 to 10.3 to fix some mistakes and clarify misunderstandings she had. Her exam on probability is next Friday, so we plan to meet the Thursday beforehand to prepare for the test."

"The student and I worked through a critical reasoning and two math sections in our time together. Despite the lapse in time since he and I last met, he retained a good amount of the strategies we discussed - his skills showed minimal atrophy. His reading score was very high, and would have placed him in an elite level. Math was also strong, but not quite as stellar. I have asked him to review several concepts, particularly the properties of exponents, in order to ensure adequate familiarity on test day."

"We covered more problems that required us to find extreme values of a function using known properties of derivatives. Each question gave a function, and asked where the function was increasing, decreasing, concave up, concave down, at an extreme value, and at an inflection point."

"The student and I finished up reviewing for his College Algebra test tonight. He needed the most help with exponential and logarithmic functions, but he said he understood my explanations. We did several extra practice problems just to keep his skills sharp, especially with linear equations and slopes."

"Today, we went over the student's assignments. I talked to her mother and her teacher about the plan. She completed Oral Exam #1. She did very well. She understood the assignment and what was needed. "

"We worked on converting fractions, decimals, and percents, which was review for the student's upcoming unit test. This was also part of her homework. We then worked on filling in tables of equivalent fractions, decimals, and percents. Finally, we began using a calculator to convert fractions into decimals. "

"The student read an article about space and we worked on main idea and supporting details. She is doing really well in reading. We also worked on some activity book pages. We are working on finding main idea and also working on sight words. "

"Today the student worked on history homework. He had to read his textbook, which we reviewed, and then answer questions based on the reading on Italy. We reviewed his answers together. He is writing better and is learning to directly address the questions. "