Yet more reason to use your own printable math worksheets!
I just read a very interesting article about a popular software package called Cognition Tutor. Over 1000 schools use this company's software to help tutor students in algebra, geometry,and integrated math.
I like the idea, especially the part where it give teachers more flexibility to interact with the poorer performing students.
Buying software like this for your own child would be next to impossible. I haven't checked the price for a single user license, but I bet it's pretty expensive.
If you're a teacher like me, you could try to get your school system to purchase the software for you.
Unfortunately, yet another year of students would come and go before you knew whether you were going to get it or not.
Sometimes as both a teacher and a parent you just have to roll up your sleeves and create what you need yourself.
In this case, copying what this software does would be fairly easy.
You could do this with printable math worksheets.
In the article, one of the key concepts in the software is what they call a "skillometer". The software keeps track of the level of problem the student is doing. The harder the level, the bigger the skillometer reading. (The skillometer looks like a bar that changes color and length according to the student's level of skill.)
With a series of worksheets graded for difficulty, this would not be too hard to do by hand.
Knowing children as well as I do, I can guarantee you they would eat this up! It would be a huge motivation. Parents as well as teachers could do this. You could put your own child's skillometer up on the refrigerator!
Now, all you need is the worksheets.
You can get free worksheets all over the internet. But what I recommend is a subscription service called Math Foundation. They have worksheets and also teaching software that is quite good. It's also low priced, $39.99 a year. For what you get, that's a deal!
Just Click here to be taken to Math Foundation's webpage.
