Award-Winning Test Prep & Academic Tutoring in Maxwell, IN

"1. We reviewed the topic based on his class handout, which was to prepare the students for a quiz today. More specifically, we reviewed solving, factoring, and graphing quadratics and simplifying terms when working with exponents. We covered graphing more in-depth. 2. He seems to enjoy solving the problems and trying on his own before admitting that he's stuck. He knows what he doesn't know, which is great, and he wants to learn what he doesn't know, which is also great. 3. For graphing, I taught him how to do it by finding the vertex and x- and y-intercepts. When graphing a system of equations, I told him to circle the points of intersection, which he can see on the graph and solve for the exact values by setting the equations equal to each other. He was hesitant about graphing a system of equations for two parabolas because he was only used to graphing a parabola with a line, so I reassured him - then showed him - that because he already knows how to graph a parabola, it doesn't matter how many he has to draw on the same graph because the same strategies apply. For solving for x, I taught him that the greatest exponent for x is the number of x-values when y=0. For factoring, he gets a little worried when seeing complicated terms with which he is unfamiliar, so I showed him how they're just applications of what he already knows. 4. He told me that he scored a 74 or 77 on his midterm. I congratulated him because I know that it is a huge improvement for him. 5. He remembered pretty much everything I've taught him, including the rule for factoring differences of perfect squares. In fact, he had completed about half of the assignment before I had even gotten there, and all of it was correct except for a couple problems, which were only due to simple mistakes, not a lack of understanding. "

"The student had an assignment to work on involving radicals and properties of exponents. He simplified radical expressions and other expressions involving exponents. We went over how to approach problems involving rational and negative exponents. He has a good grasp on a lot of these topics, and worked well with rational exponents by the end of the session. More practice with negative exponents will help him feel more comfortable with them!"