Understanding Exponents Pt 1: Integer Exponents

This self-paced class is part 4 of a series that helps high school students feel whole in their math studies again - by revisiting commonly misunderstood math concepts that often continue to “haunt” those who are still confused by them 😵‍💫

👋 Hi there!  I’m Ms. Ava, and if you haven’t watched the introduction video for this class yet, please do so 👆first, and then continue reading…

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🧮 ABOUT THIS CLASS: 🧮

This class helps students feel more comfortable with exponents and their rules - a topic that even skilled students frequently get wrong.

It consists of 2 video lessons that are a total of 55 mins, and 2 accompanying practice problem sets, which should take approximately 15-30 mins each to complete.  In all, the class will take 1.5-2 hours to complete. 

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 🧮 CLASS STRUCTURE: 🧮

The structure of the class is fairly standard:  For each of the 2 video lessons, students watch the video tutorial, and then do the set of practice problems for that lesson.  They can then check their answers using the answer key.  

Although there are no live meetings for this class, I do respond to student comments and questions in the classroom.

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🧮 WHAT IS “SECOND-HAND” LEARNING? 🧮

The video lessons in this course are all in a format that I describe as “second-hand learning,” in which students learn by watching somebody else learn the concepts that they themselves need to learn.   

Each lesson resembles a tutoring session between me and a “thoroughly researched” character I made up, named Calculina, who plays the role of my student.

This format is ideal for students who feel uncomfortable or anxious when learning Math, as it takes the pressure off them, and they get to learn simply by observing somebody else making the types of mistakes that they would have made, or asking the questions that they may have been too afraid to ask. 

It also works very well for students with neurodivergent needs.

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👩‍🏫 TEACHING STYLE AND QUALIFICATIONS: 👩‍🏫

My teaching style is something I’d describe as empathic, knowledgeable and flexible.  This means that when I work with students, I try to prioritize understanding their POV and guiding them to the right answers, rather than expecting them to keep up with me. 

I have a Bachelor's in Math, and 14 years of experience tutoring in practically all topics covered in traditional high school Math classes, including Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-calculus, and Calculus.