Algebra for Future Scientists (Part 4)

Completed by 19 learners

Ages 9-14

Live Group Class

Complete all of Algebra I and Algebra II in one year with a more efficient ordering of the curriculum

Thatcher Collins

Average rating:

4.7

Number of reviews:

(337 reviews)

Live video meetings

2x per week, 10 weeks

3-9 learners per class

60 min

About Learning Overview Teacher Reviews

What's included

20 live meetings

20 in-class hours

Homework

2-4 hours per week. Lots of homework but tons of help.

Assessment

Year-end written assessment.

Class Experience

US Grade 4 - 7

Inspired by the freedom of Outschool to chart our own course, we will cover all of Algebra I and II in one year (there is a lot of overlap),  and include amazing subjects like solving cubic equations and stylistically solving problems like a computer. 

Originally, Algebra I was designed as a terminal course for people who may never take another math course. Algebra II was designed as a harder version of the same material for students who were college bound. But I agree with some independent educators that Algebra I and II can be combined into a single course. This means a more thorough foundation at the beginning than a typical Algebra I class. 

Specifically we will cover in this section over 10 weeks:
Week 1: Solving Quadratics: Completing the Square
Week 2: Direct Variation, Inverse Variation, Joint Variation
Week 3: The Quadratic Formula
Week 4: The Discriminant
Week 5: Graphing Quadratics and Parabolas
Week 6: Distance Formula and Midpoint Formula
Week 7: Complex Numbers
Week 8: Solving Exponential Equations
Week 9: Interest Rate Problems
Week 10: Final Test


Incidentally, one of the best math teachers I had in high school accelerated the schedule of the class material then reserved a portion of the class for substantial review, practice exams, and extra help. To give you an idea, we completed every single publicly released AP Calculus exam (e.g. as homework or in class) before we ever sat down for the actual AP exam. That's why the last section (F) will be exclusively review. This reinforcement section is crucial. For students with an atypical learning style, this massive review at the end can be a godsend. 

Schedule: by arrangement

Other Details

Supply List

Paper, graph paper (not 100% necessary but very helpful), pencils.

External Resources

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Sources

Highly reccommended: Algebra: Structure and Method Book 1, by Brown et al

Meet the teacher

Thatcher Collins

Joined August, 2020

4.7

337reviews

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

My goal is to help students make the transition from the arithmetic and memorization stage into the analytical problem solving stage, thereby setting a solid foundation for all further scientific work. Thus, my courses will focus exclusively on: Algebra, Geometry, Logic and the open source Computer Science Unplugged curriculum. Knowing the growing importance of programming in all technical disciplines, I plan to incorporate some advanced ideas that are within reach, e.g. floating point arithmetic and using Algebra to track units of measure.

I was very lucky to have an extraordinary elementary, middle and high school math education. I received a BS in Mathematics from Western Washington University, which included courses in the Moore Method, one of the original "flipped classroom" styles. Currently, I am a part-time MS student in Applied Mathematics at the University of Washington. I recently taught math games, CS Unplugged, Logic, and other activities to the 4th graders at my kids' school, so I've had a chance to practice with this age group.

 I will offer a year-long course covering all of Algebra I and Algebra II (these courses have a lot of overlap so this is not as hard as it sounds). Algebra will be initially offered week-to-week so that students can be sure that my style of teaching works for them.

And In my picture I'm playing a cowbell.