Math Tutor DVD.com

Math Tutor DVD.com Review

     If you have struggled with math concepts in the past, or you are trying to assist or teach someone else math concepts, you may find that occasionally, you need an outside “tutor.”

     (Personally, I think a few of my math teachers I had in school “needed” tutors, too, on how to teach mathematics!)

     So far, my two children are understanding mathematical concepts fairly easily because of our choice of math curriculum for them…but keep in mind that only one is in junior high school yet. I keep telling my dad that he needs to hang onto life long enough to help me guide them through their high school math courses. (He’s a mechanical engineer and a mathematician at heart…and used to teach math and physics classes – that I can’t even pronounce – at universities, as well as voluntarily tutor some of his struggling math students.) But sorry, Dad, even if your time to pass comes sooner than I want, I could always use Math Tutor to help me out!

     (Okay, Dad, I know you’ll get back at me later…)

      If you aren’t familiar with http://www.mathtutordvd.com/ and you need to help yourself or someone else with math concepts, here may be something that will work for you.

      Jason Gibson, the developer of Math Tutor DVDs, tells us a bit on his website about his levels of education and his career path over the last several years. However, after a summary of his educational/career accomplishments, he makes the following statements:

“Now, I am the first to admit that none of this amounts to a hill of beans when teaching a lesson. What really matters is if the instructor takes a complex topic and assumes the student knows absolutely nothing about the task at hand and takes him/her from 'zero knowledge' to 'expert' in step-by-step chunks.

I personally get a thrill out of making seemingly complex topics suddenly easy to students. I have found over the years that the easy way to do this is to learn by working example problems, beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder ones. Finally, many folks begin their email correspondences with me with things like "I am not a math person…", or "I don’t have the aptitude for math…", or "you must be some sort of genius…".

Truthfully, I wish I were a genius, but I am most certainly not. My opinion on that matter is that there are very, very few people who have ever lived whom I would consider a real genius. Folks like Beethoven who could compose music while deaf, or Einstein who made incredible leaps of insight in physics – are the true geniuses. Everyone else, like you and me, just need to be introduced to the right instructor early on to break the process down and make the topics understandable. With understanding comes confidence, and confidence is 100% the name of the game in math and science.

Sincerely,

Jason Gibson”

My children and I were able to view two DVD sets: “Word Problems” and “Algebra II.” While I realized right away that Math Tutor DVDs are not flashy and catchy, Mr. Gibson has wisely chosen to not include anything that would be distracting to the viewer. His clothes are natural, muted colors; his voice is fairly even and not overly emotional. His props are merely a white board and a marker.

WORD PROBLEMS DVD: My children haven’t had struggles with word problems yet, but I know that many children do, from my experiences in teaching in the public school system. The repetitive nature of the Word Problems DVD would truly help those who are having difficulty understanding how to accurately go about solving word problems.

     There were a few times we caught a brief error with what Mr. Gibson said vs. what he wrote on the white board, but fortunately it was always correctly written on the white board, or he corrected himself. I was a little bit concerned at first about the way he counted on his fingers occasionally to reach a conclusion, but after watching additional DVDs of his, I can now see that Mr. Gibson was merely trying to use a non-distracting counter as he was teaching word problem strategies.

     For those who begin to understand each example on the Word Problems DVD, it is easy to fast-forward or skip ahead to another section of the DVD for further instruction.

ALGEBRA II DVD: Even though my children haven’t learned any structured Algebra yet, they are familiar with simple x and y being used in math equations. They are already used to solving for “x”. They both thought that the Algebra II DVD would be “really hard!” and were a bit nervous about watching portions of it. However, they learned how to graph x and y coordinates just from watching the first lesson, and they thought it was a lot of fun!

Even though Mr. Gibson doesn’t perform a “song and dance” routine on his tutoring DVDs, I think he has produced a helpful product for the educational community and for those adults who just want to improve their skills and confidence in mathematics.

All DVDs are taught entirely through fully worked example problems in a step-by-step fashion.

Here is some helpful information from the MathTutorDVD website:

How are the MathTutorDVD.com line of DVDs different from others?

     The answer is simple. Most math instruction involves a lengthy discussion of the abstract theory behind the math before instructing the student in how to solve problems. While there are some merits to this style, in the vast majority of the cases the student quickly gets bored and frustrated by the time he or she starts to solve the problems. This DVD, in contrast, teaches all of the concepts by working fully narrated problems step-by-step, which is a much more engaging way to learn.

What is our teaching style like?

     All topics on this DVD are taught by working example problems. There are no traditional lectures of background material that won’t help you solve problems and improve your skills. We believe in teaching-by-doing, and that is what you will receive by watching this DVD. Solving systems of equations is explained, for example, by working many problems in step-by-step detail. We begin with the easier problems and work our way up to the harder problems. The student immediately gains confidence, does not get bored, and quickly feels like he or she can conquer the material. This method is extremely powerful and has proven itself time and again. Perhaps most importantly, problem solving skills are honed early on that will help with homework and taking exams even after watching the very first lesson.

Math Tutor DVDs cover:

Basic Math
Word Problems
Algebra I, Algebra II
Algebra Word Problems
Advanced Algebra
Matrix Algebra
Geometry
Trigonometry
Pre-Calculus
Calculus
Advanced Calculus II
Calculus III
Probability
Physics
Physics II
Unit Conversion

     There are also companion CDs or DVDs designed to accompany some of the math DVD. These are CD-ROMs that contain a set of worksheets for every section of the DVD that allow you to gain practice and test your mastery of the material by working problems not found on the DVD. Every problem has a step-by-step written solution. CDs typically contain 320+ pages of problems and solutions in the worksheets, although this amount depends on the specific CD-ROM.

     The prices for DVDs on www.MathTutorDVD.com vary, but here’s an example:

Algebra 2 DVD set: List Price $34.99 – Our Price $26.99

     If one of my children needed a math tutor, $26.99 would probably only pay for 1-2 tutoring sessions, so to have a DVD containing so many lessons on it, and be able to play them back again and again if needed, is a wonderful bargain, in my mind.

You only pay S&H on the 1st DVD. All additional DVDs in the same order ship for FREE.

Math Tutor’s promise: “Every DVD on MathTutorDVD.com comes with a Money Back Guarantee. Our DVDs are guaranteed to raise grades immediately. If you are not fully satisfied, simply send the DVD back for a full refund.”

DISCLOSURE: While I will never be paid to write a product review (gasp!), I did accept 2 free copies of Math Tutor DVDs for me to use in our home and then write an unbiased review.