Algebra Math Help

My experience of coaching Mathcounts Mathematics Contest Preparation

My experience of Coaching Math Contest Preparation Mathcounts

Frank Ho BC certified math teacher founder of Ho Math and Chess Learning Center Vancouver, BC, Canada This article is about the comparison of MATHCOUNTS results of students who ran in 1999 and 2000, with different methods in a private school education – Ho Math and Chess. I feel the reason main improvement was due to different training methods used in these two years. Students want to participate MATHCOUNTS BC as people may find this work and that the participation of individual resources in 2002/2003 is allowed in British Columbia, Canada.

In 1999, I had the opportunity to train some Students who came from a private school (mainly Vancouver School Crofton) and were interested in participating in MATHCOUNTS, but could not because they could not get sponsored by a teacher from her school. I got permission to organize as the city of Vancouver Ho Math and Chess Center team learning. I trained two hours a week from September until the week before the competition.

How I can start preparing for the competition? He had a quick look at the 1999 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook and realized that there was much work to do to help these students perform well. These grade 8 mathletes had very strong math background and some of them had advanced a level that was above their peers in school. This was an easy part of my training in the sense that he had no weakness in their school mathematics, but the biggest challenge was how to speed up the level of competition. I started training them giving out Heating and training issues contained in the MATHCOUNTS School Handbook. Based on my assessment of student outcomes, I try to teach the concepts behind the problems to be understood better. But I soon discovered that at the level of grade 8 math, there were a lot more material in MATHCOUNTS beyond their capacity. Being a first time coach, I realized I needed to have a good understanding of the scope of the problems addressed in the MATHCOUNTS competition. Manual MATHCOUNTS School is ideal for providing diversified problems for students to work, but it's hard for me to teach concepts needed to solve these problems at one time, as each heating or training covers a wide range of concepts.

I went through all the 1999 rate of problem in the back of a guide to know what kind of problems are included in MATHCOUNTS. My impression is that there are problems that have not been covered in grade 8 and need to be taught. If I only gave problems students in the Manual, I knew I would not do well in MATHCOUNTS for the reasons that there are some materials that have not learned in school. The first thing I did was to find out what they knew and what they need to learn. Using the index of problems, I decided what areas need to be taught. In 1999, is mainly used Manual to address problems of group with the same topics such as algebra, geometry, number theory etc. together. Most of the time and method used to cut pulp and questions presented to students. This method of teaching was frustrating and I wanted a reference book so I could concentrate my efforts on education instead of cutting and pasting. While teaching I also began to write my own teaching notes.

The second year (2000) I bought a database MATHCOUNTS Competition (1998 Edition, a collection of competition problems in the past 1983-1998, School of by chapter, state and level national) EducAide Software (The database includes past issues and problems powers Manual). I started getting in my coaching method as a research project – I wanted to see if teaching students a structured way with organized subjects gathered from previous MATHCOUNTS Competition database is no difference in scores. The response from students was that students liked the way my conference was presented.

Every week one or more subjects, and after the presentation of the students receive the opportunity to work in the problems I have generated from the database. student test will and I were marked by problems that could not achieve. The results between 1999 and 2000 are as follows:

Name

Ranking (1999, 2000)

Sprint (1999, 2000)

Meta (1999, 2000)

Andrea

23, 13

7, 17

8, 14

Meghan

16, 15

11, 17

8, 14

Matthew

13, 6

9, 21

12, 16

Olivia

27 21

8, 18

4, 10

Matthew

18, 9

10, 20

8, 14

This shows that students made tremendous progress in the second year, with two of my students placing in the top 10. MATHCOUNTS Competition database gives me the power to have an excellent historical overview about the depth and level of knowledge of problems. I had the opportunity to use the database along with my knowledge of what students have learned in math class school to create a book that I think would help students in a math competition. The objective of the second year was to analyze what a student of 8 graders need to know about the possibility of obtaining in the top 10 in MATHCOUNTS. I used mainly competitions database to do the job. I went through each chapter in the database and analyze each question to see how complex the problem and whether students should be taught the concept needed to solve the problems. This tedious eventually leads to my publication of a book – Math Contest Preparation.

My analysis of the database are:

Arithmetic

Students are expected to have acquired the mathematical concepts covered in this section as fractions, decimals,%, digits, place value, rounding, order of operations, etc. taught scientific notation and exponents radical students in grade 10 textbooks. There are lots of continued fractions and expressed as common fractions. I showed students how to use the Euclidean algorithm to create continued fractions for better understand students continued fractions. Competition There are many questions that are important to know, but I could not put them as a chapter. I gathered all the concepts important together and continued with the students, examples such as changing a repeating decimal to a fraction, etc. A basic conversion of the difficulties I have found MATHCOUNTS is training in vocabulary and formulas in section MATHCOUNTS School Handbook. The list is representative of the terminology used in the problems. The list is long and I had managed to teach all the terminology in the list.

Algebraic expressions and equations

Factorial

Since knowledge is necessary to factor in combination and permutation, factorial had introduced me, the combination and permutation of students and encouraged them to use these skills in solving probability problems.

Factoring Trinomial

Example: Find the perfect square trinomial.

Sum and product problem What is the difference between two positive integers whose sum is 30 and whose product is 221?

I used 9 degrees and the factor of 10 problems to train students so that they can factor trinomials using the cross-multiplication in an intuitive way. (I gave a minimum 200 questions to work.).

The absolute value equation

I created a table that gives a summary of the different models of value all.

Inequalities

One or two variables in the equations of inequality.

Graphic Systems

This area is difficult for me as a coach since most students do not have any knowledge in terms of graphics in the parable, absolute value equation, and the slope so I had to use the 10th grade book to teach the slope, and basic knowledge of the transformation, representation graph of the inequality. The best way to cover these concepts is to use the real competition have used MATHCOUNTS data in the database to produce questions for students work after my presentation.

Features

It uses the database questions after my presentation.

Exponents

Exponents used in Grade 10 to train students.

Miscellaneous resolution problems

Currency or number of natural problems, sum and difference problems, travel (with or without power), work etc problems with multiple methods offer for different types of problems.

Geometry

MATHCOUNTS geometry covered many areas and I found the best way to train is to produce these problems in our database. The concept of the slope (WU 12-4, WU 16-2) and distance (WU 4-2) between two points are covered usually in grade 10, so I decided to use the materials in the 10th grade to teach. Other important concepts such as the relationship of lines, space diagonal lengths sides and angles of triangles are taught in grade 10, but is useful in MATHCOUNTS, as taught to students.

Theory Numbers

MATHCOUNTS is very heavy in the counting of the ways or paths. If these problems do not appear in the competitions, which can occur in the countdown. Number theory forms the foundation of mathematical preparation have a good contest. Counting forms, divisibility, primes, trailing zeros, GCF, LCM, rests, counting paths, modular arithmetic is taught to everyone. I highlighted the POP (Product-emergency) method to solve problems of # factors. The relationship between pop and # of factors not mentioned in textbooks. For the operations defined, problems of counting systems, which also using the database.

Probability and statistics

I used the textbook to introduce the basic concepts the mean, median, mode, scope and frequency, which also uses the database questions on the interpretation of data.

Mathematics General

I decided to teach students to grade level math algebra 10/11. As a result, more or less cover the section of mathematics in general

Summary

After two years of training for students, who found that in teaching students the necessary concepts in MATHCOUNTS, students appreciated more and gained confidence in participating. My goal to teach the skills to do well MATHCOUNTS was achieved in offering the opportunity to learn these concepts in a well organized and structured.

PS

Note that This article was written in 2001 and perhaps as much information as MATHCOUNTS and format have changed a lot, but I feel that my teaching method is still applicable. I formed my own son Andrew being the youngest Canadian chess master when he was 12 years and later became a chess master of the FIDE. Subjects training in chess or mathematics are different but the principle of the methodology is more or less the same. By comparing training methods of education both chess and mathematics, I concluded that an effective factor than training methods when he was with it's own training needs to be altruistic.

There were many nights I could not sleep well because I was still "dreaming" about how to find a way to overcome the weakness of Andrew. There were many times I was frustrated because I could not find a way on how to raise the capacity of my math students. From my experience as personal trainer I can say that when a coach really puts in 100%, not 200% on helping children, then their performance will be a big surprise.

Students I coached before, including my own daughter were still in my mind and learning center has since evolved into the international scene. Many of my previous books have been tested in children, so I would like to thank all of you.

The book Math Contest processing are not sold publicly, but only through Ho Math and Chess franchise. My dedication to teaching math and chess research has allowed me to create the geometry Chess Language (copyright number 1069744 Canada), Frankh maze of chess, Ho Math and Chess Teaching Chess.

, 2008 More information in my book Mathematics Preparation February Contest can be found in www.elementarymathworksheets.org . November 2009 About the Author

Frank Ho, a Canadian certified math teacher, coined the learning centre term Math and Chess and he also founded the world’s first math and chess learning centre by creating the world’s first math and chess integrated workbooks for elementary students in Vancouver, Canada. He invented Frankho Symbolic Chess Language, intriguing Frankho Chess Maze, and also an unique new chess teaching set. He published math and chess teaching theoretic basis in a Canadian math journal. The USA Illinois research data has shown statistically significant that Ho Math and Chess teaching method increases children’s math marks and also improves children’s critical thinking skills. The Ho Math and Chess Teaching Set can improve children’s memory by playing half-blind chess. More details, please visit www.mathandchess.com.

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