Empowering Mathy Minds: Preparing for Pre-Algebra with Mr. D Math
Is my child ready for Pre-Algebra?
As my child flies through their last year of elementary math, I wonder to myself what math level they should do next.
This kid is very mathy and has a strong number sense. We have joked for years they are destined to be an engineer. I find myself asking the question: how soon can I put them in Pre-Algebra?
A friend told me about Mr. D Math a while back and I discovered Mr. D Math has a Preparing for Pre-Algebra class, which is exactly what I was looking for!
This child is so different than their older siblings when it comes to math, one struggles and works hard to master the material, and the other is pretty average. So looking for a math acceleration option is a new idea for me as their teacher. Every kid is different and I love that our homeschool lets me personalize the learning to each of them.
The Mr. D Math Learning Philosophy
Mr. D Math has a unique approach to learning, which Dennis DiNoia, aka Mr D himself, writes about in his book TEACH: Creating Independently Responsible Learners. His goal is to build independently responsible learners. We do this by empowering them to be invested in their own education and discover why what they are learning matters to them in life. Students are motivated to learn when they know how it will benefit them.
In a Mr. D Math class, students are encouraged to grade their own work and make corrections as part of the learning process. The goal isn’t to just show what they got wrong and get a bad grade for it, but to use it as a learning tool and help the student see where they went wrong so they can learn the material better. They have the option to resubmit the homework after they make corrections. The process of discovering where they went wrong in their own work is part of the learning process.
While a parent might be suspicious that this lets students game the system, there are other quizzes and tests that they are not able to retake so you can see their progress both ways to monitor their progress.
I have taught my kids with this same independent responsibility philosophy for years. We have many conversations about why the work they are doing today matters for the future. One of our homeschool values is that learning the material well is more important than learning it quickly.
While we have tried a variety of math curriculums over the years our favorites have been ones with online components. Someone else is giving direct instruction to my kids and I can help when they get stuck or have a problem.
With 3 kids this lets them work more independently and on their own schedule instead of needing to wait until I’m available to teach them each day. It means I can be the hero when they are stuck and not the bad guy when they don’t understand it when I explain it the first time.
Online Math Classes Build Independence and Confidence!
In Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra, students engage with the material in a variety of ways to help them master the material. The students have worksheets for each lesson that they complete while watching the teaching video or live lesson. This helps my students to stay focused during the video lesson and writing down important terms and examples gives them something to refer to as they do the proactive problems. There are follow-up practice problems which they are encouraged to self-check and correct.
Within each chapter, there are lesson quizzes and spiral learning checks as well as an end-of-chapter test. The online tests and quizzes give me as the parent a chance to see how they do when they can’t correct their work after seeing the answers and know how well they are retaining the information to know if I need to change the pacing or utilize the extra practice included in each lesson.
Live Teacher Support For Self-Paced Classes At Mr. D Math
Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra is available as a live class with weekly meeting options on a traditional school year calendar or you can start any time as a self-paced class. We are using the self-paced class because my student finished their other math curriculum in January and we needed to keep going.
Students enrolled in both live and self-paced classes have access to extra help sessions during the week for live teacher support. 3 days a week the teacher has office hours for the students to bring their questions. I like that there is more than one office hour option to fit our busy homeschool schedule.
Mr. D Math Creates Independent Learners
Mr. D Math classes create many opportunities for students to take ownership of their education. They learn to assess their own work and make corrections. Students also have many opportunities outside of class time to ask for help during the multiple options for office hours. While my student takes Mr D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra they are learning what they need to know in math and also building study skills and confidence to own their education moving forward.
My mathy kid is well on their way to a possible engineering future with Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra, although yesterday they said they want to be a Marine Biologist, so who knows! Either way, they will be ready with a great math foundation and the broader life skills of confidence and independent responsibility they are learning from Mr D Math.