Maths GCSE is a very important qualification to hold, in most parts of the United Kingdom. Many adults both young and old for whatever reason may not have passed their GCSE maths first time, or may not have even had the chance to take it. Starting a course from scratch can be daunting however, it can help towards moving on to further educational courses which could eventually lead to higher education at degree level or an alternative to degree level study.

Distance learning is an option that has become very popular in recent years, giving those who may not have the time to study a full time classroom based course the option to gain the qualifications they need from the comfort of their own home.  Distance learning maths courses can also be used for gaining entry to teacher training courses such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education better known as the PGCE.

The majority of maths home learning courses are approved by and suitable for the main examining boards such as Edexcel and AQA.

Home learning is suited to individuals such as single mothers who cannot find the time to go into college to study. Even people who are working and want to gain extra qualifications to improve their career prospects. There are more and more options for individuals who want to change their lives for the better without sacrificing work or family life.

The majority of home learning maths courses can be completed in the students own time and are usually entirely flexible. The only time the student would have to go into college or an educational institution would be to take the formal exams. These usually take place at a local college or educational centre. It is up to the student to contact the establishment and make arrangements to sit the exams. All students studying a home learning course will have to make the institution aware that they are entering as a private candidate; therefore they will be responsible for paying the examination fee.

The cost of a maths home study course is affordable, therefore giving anyone who wants to take up study the option to do so without the worry of excessive course fees. Most home learning courses are available to purchase easily online, and normally give the student the option to have e mail or phone contact with the course tutor. Therefore although studying will be different from the traditional classroom study, the student is never alone because they always have the option of making contact with the course tutor.

When thinking about studying a home learning maths course it is always a good idea to contact the company to discuss your options before committing to anything. However it is never too late to gain the qualifications one needs to improve their quality of life.

Maths GCSE is a very important qualification to hold, in most parts of the United Kingdom. Many adults both young and old for whatever reason may not have passed their GCSE maths first time, or may not have even had the chance to take it. Starting a course from scratch can be daunting however, it can help towards moving on to further educational courses which could eventually lead to higher education at degree level or an alternative to degree level study.

Distance learning is an option that has become very popular in recent years, giving those who may not have the time to study a full time classroom based course the option to gain the qualifications they need from the comfort of their own home. Distance learning maths courses can also be used for gaining entry to teacher training courses such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education better known as the PGCE. The majority of maths home learning courses are approved by and suitable for the main examining boards such as Edexcel and AQA.

Home learning is suited to individuals such as single mothers who cannot find the time to go into college to study. Even people who are working and want to gain extra qualifications to improve their career prospects. There are more and more options for individuals who want to change their lives for the better without sacrificing work or family life.

The majority of home learning maths courses can be completed in the students own time and are usually entirely flexible. The only time the student would have to go into college or an educational institution would be to take the formal exams. These usually take place at a local college or educational centre. It is up to the student to contact the establishment and make arrangements to sit the exams. All students studying a home learning course will have to make the institution aware that they are entering as a private candidate; therefore they will be responsible for paying the examination fee.

The cost of a maths home study course is affordable, therefore giving anyone who wants to take up study the option to do so without the worry of excessive course fees. Most home learning courses are available to purchase easily online, and normally give the student the option to have e mail or phone contact with the course tutor. Therefore although studying will be different from the traditional classroom study, the student is never alone because they always have the option of making contact with the course tutor.

When thinking about studying a home learning maths course it is always a good idea to contact the company to discuss your options before committing to anything. However it is never too late to gain the qualifications one needs to improve their quality of life.

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Introduction
I have always known the Bible was a great spiritual and theological treasure, a way for God Himself to speak to us of His love and character, but recently I have come to see that God has also given us the Word as a foundation for stepping into a broad range of historical and scientific realms, if we but dare to dig below the surface and ponder.

Take the Bible and mathematics, for example.  The Bible is full of numbers, from men’s ages at fatherhood and death – as we will study in this article – to the specific dimensions of Noah’s Ark and the Ark of the Covenant. 

I love rabbit trails and enjoy exploring them in my own Bible studies.  When one restricts one’s thinking to a fixed box, one stops learning.  And the better one can understand how beautifully everything connects together, the better one will learn and remember relationships.  As I work through these sections of Scripture, I’ve made notes of different kinds of rabbit trails that can be explored, as time and interest allows.

One of the first things I would recommend doing when preparing for a study like this is to print up the relevant section of scripture in large type for easy reading and give it to the student.  The student should feel free to mark up the page(s) and circle words and phrases as needed.  There are many websites available where one can type in Scripture references in your version of choice, then copy to a word processor to change the font.

The Genesis 5 Formula
Genesis 5 describes the genealogy of Adam to Noah.  If we look from verse 3 on we can find a very obvious mathematical pattern:

When man A had lived X years, he had a son B; after he became the father of B, he lived Y years and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether A lived X+Y years, and then he died.

[ Rabbit trail:  The important exception to the above pattern, of course, was Enoch, mentioned in verses 21-24.  Enoch did not die, because God took him. Depending on your student and what you want to accomplish, you could ask the student to name the only other person mentioned in the Bible who didn't die.  Answer:  Elijah, see 2 Kings 2:11. ]

Looking at the data offered here, what sort of skills could a student be taught?  What sort of questions could be answered by analyzing this data?  Is there something in these verses that with more study could tell us more about what life was like for early humankind?

One of the first skills the student can be taught is to look for mathematical patterns (formulas) like the one above.  You may not want to necessarily “give” the pattern to the student right off, but rather help him discover it for himself, as a way to ease him into the concept of Algebra, later.

Data Collection
One of the first things any student should learn is how to collect and tabulate mathematical data, for later analysis.  These verses offer an obvious opportunity to practice just that.

First ask the student to count how many people are listed by name in the genealogy.  Hopefully you will have some discussion from the student as to whether he should include God, Noah and Noah’s sons, since though they are mentioned in the genealogy, they do not follow the mathematical pattern we have already presented.  (Though this exercise is meant primarily to teach math and problem solving skills, one always hopes to improve the student’s reading comprehension, as well!  Here we are also assuming that there are no names missing in our genealogy.  Some commentators and theologians may disagree about this; such a discussion is beyond the scope of this article.)

After the discussion, tell the student that you have decided to collect data only on Adam through Noah, since that is easiest.

Have the student make a table with 5 columns and 10 rows, labeling the columns  “Man’s Name”, “Age at Fatherhood”, “Age at Death”, “Birth Date (in Years Since Creation)”, “Death date (in Years Since Creation)”

The student is now ready to start collecting data.  In row 1, have the student write:  “Adam, 130, 930″, walking him through where you found the data.

Have the student leave the last two columns blank, explaining that once all the data had been collected, these last two columns would be calculated.  Have the student fill in the remaining rows.  When he’s done, he should have the following values:

Man’s Name, Age at Fatherhood, Age at Death, Birth Date (in Years Since Creation), Death date (in Years Since Creation)
Adam, 130, 930
Seth, 105, 912
Enosh, 90, 905
Kenan, 70, 910
Mahalalel, 65, 830
Jared, 162, 962
Enoch, 65, 365
Methuselah, 187, 969
Lamech, 182, 777
Noah, 500, ?

Now the observant student would note that he could not find Noah’s age at death from this chapter.  When he has finished the table, send him to Genesis 9:28, which will tell him that Noah was 950 years old when he died.

This ends Part I of this article.  Part II will discuss analyzing the data by looking at minimums, maximums, and averages, as well as calculating the men’s birth and death dates.  

To be continued…

Source
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible.  NIV Version

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David H. Albert writes a regular column for Home Education Magazine. In an excerpt from his book, Original Seeking: Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery (Common Courage Press, 2002) he addresses the sometimes daunting challenge of avoiding math fear or anxiety in the homeschool setting. Do apply his advice to your homeschool math curriculum!

He says, “The single most important thing you can do for your kids around math is to help them avoid math anxiety. And one best avoids math anxiety by preventing math trauma. Be a physician, and apply the first principle, Do no harm. Without trauma, anything remains possible. With trauma, your kids may end up with certain skills, but they will also end up with wounds that may take a long time to heal.” Adjust your math curriculum accordingly,,,

Many of us have experienced it, a terrible brain freeze when faced with what seems like an insoluble problem: learning and/or applying one or another math concept. I was never a whiz at math, in fact times tables’ mastery escaped my grasp well into adulthood. I regularly practiced what has been proven to be the most commonly used math phobic technique, math avoidance.

When exposed to aspects of math’s other side though, i.e., a compelling and interesting face found in nature and patterns, or the sly “trickiness” of fun formulas that make no apparent sense, my curiosity and interest rose high enough to overcome my formidable math fear.

About that interesting face found in nature and patterns, David Albert says, “When (your children) are ready, show them the Fibonacci numbers and where they can be found throughout the natural order: in the spirals of shells, branching plants and leaf arrangements, flower petals and seed heads, pineapples and pine cones. To me, these are God’s handprints upon the world, which we are all but children learning to read. (Check out the book Fascinating Fibonaccis: Mystery and Magic in Numbers by Trudi Hammel Garland, and her wonderful posters).”

Here’s one of those fun formulas that’s fascinating because it makes no apparent sense:
1) reverse any 3 numbers and subtract the smaller from the larger
2) add the reverse of the answer
3) the final answer is always 1089!
Two examples: 674 – 476 = 198 + 891 = 1089 / 752 – 257 = 495 + 594 = 1089

These two aspects, math’s connection to nature and math tricks, are both examples of making math more friendly and palatable, that can, along with other wonderful attributes of the subject that lie just beneath the surface awaiting discovery by you and your homeschool students, make a big difference. Sprinkle these two, along with other interesting facts, tricks and patterns liberally throughout your homeschool math curriculum, and watch the interest and motivation soar.

Most importantly, your homeschooled students will bypass math fear, which can be life-limiting in the extreme. Mark H. Ashcroft, Ph.D. suggests, “Highly anxious math students will avoid situations in which they have to perform mathematical equations. Unfortunately, math avoidance results in less competency, exposure, and math practice, leaving students (even) more anxious and mathematically unprepared to achieve.”

There’s a general propensity in our educational system to outlaw or denigrate the importance of making mistakes. Math, of all subjects, is most prone to this, with the assumption that there is only one correct answer. Mistakes should be seen as an essential element in the creative process.
Some of our greatest minds took the “trial and error” route to their most impressive strokes of genius and breakthrough discoveries. Your homeschool math curriculum should reflect this, in a tolerance for and welcoming of innovation and experimentation. Curiosity is the best teacher!

Albert Einstein was a wonderful example of this way of thinking and working. He famously said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

So, do imbue your homeschool math curriculum with creativity and imagination, and the rest will follow. Your students will love and practice math with healthy self-esteem and confidence.

www.philipbrocoum.com Math: Differential Equations Introduction
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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In Part I of this math series on Genesis 5 I discussed how the Christian teacher could use the Bible as a curriculum source for topics other than theology or Bible study.  I walked through the mathematical pattern or formula presented in Genesis 5, as well as how to help the student collect the mathematical data to make the following table (the Birth and Death Dates will be calculated in this part):

Man’s Name, Age at Fatherhood, Age at Death, Birth Date (in Years Since Creation), Death Date (in Years Since Creation)
Adam, 130, 930
Seth, 105, 912
Enosh, 90, 905
Kenan, 70, 910
Mahalalel, 65, 830
Jared, 162, 962
Enoch, 65, 365
Methuselah, 187, 969
Lamech, 182, 777
Noah, 500, 950

Analyzing the Table Data
Now you will have the opportunity to talk about the simple mathematical concepts of minimum, maximum, and average.

Ask the student to look at the data and answer the following questions:

Of these 10 men, who lived to be the oldest?  (Answer:  Methuselah, at 969 years)

Of these 10 men, who spent the fewest years on earth?  (Answer:  Enoch, at 365 years.)

Including Enoch, what was the average number of years spent on earth?  (Depending on your student, you may have to then explain the concept of an average and how to find it.)

If we decide to exclude Enoch, what was the average number of years spent on earth? 

Which of these two averages gives us a better idea of people’s life spans during this time, the first one with Enoch or the second without?  Why? 

(Answer:  the second average, because Enoch’s time on earth was cut short through Divine intervention and therefore is not representative of the true life spans of the people.)

[ Rabbit trail: you could spend some time discussing why these men lived so long back at the dawn of Creation, as opposed to today, when men's average lifespan is 70 years. ]

Calculating Birth and Death Dates
Since we do not know the actual date of creation, we must use the units “Years Since Creation” to calculate birth and death dates.  If we assume that Adam’s Birth Date was “0″, we can fill in our first row of our table as follows:

Man’s Name, Age at Fatherhood, Age at Death, Birth Date (in Years Since Creation), Death Date (in Years Since Creation)
Adam, 130, 930, 0, 930

Now we can walk through with the student how one would fill in the remaining cells of the table, starting with Seth. 

“If Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born, what was Seth’s birth date (in years since creation)?”  (Answer:  130)

“If Seth lived to be 912 years old, what was Seth’s death date (in years since creation)?”  (Answer:  1042)

Work with the student until he comes to see the mathematical pattern (formula) of:

Man’s Birth Date = Previous Man’s Birth Date + Previous Man’s Age at Fatherhood
Man’s Death Date = Man’s Birth Date + Man’s Age at Death

When completed, the student’s table should look like this:

Man’s Name, Age at Fatherhood, Age at Death, Birth Date (in Years Since Creation), Death date (in Years Since Creation)
Adam, 130, 930, 0, 930
Seth, 105, 912, 130, 1042
Enosh, 90, 905, 235, 1140
Kenan, 70, 910, 325, 1235
Mahalalel, 65, 830, 395, 1225
Jared, 162, 962, 460, 1422
Enoch, 65, 365, 622, 987
Methuselah, 187, 969, 687, 1656
Lamech, 182, 777, 874, 1651
Noah, 500, 950, 1056, 2006

You now have a table of mathematical data that you could work with in a variety of ways, including teaching the math students how to do bar charts, and other graphical representations of the data.  I won’t say the possibilities are endless, but you really are only limited by your own creativity. 

Blessings!

Source
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible.  NIV Version

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Math is not the easier subject to study for a lot of people. It can be frustrating and time-consuming, but it is extremely important to get good grades and do well in your math courses and standardized tests. My experience tutoring math to students of all abilities in New York City and Washington, DC has given me a unique insight into how students can improve their studying habits when it comes to math. I have seen the common mistakes and difficulties that students encounter and have developed a system for overcoming them.

Doing well in a math class generally requires a three-step process. First, you need to take clear and complete notes, especially taking note of any examples the teacher gives. Then, you need to go over these examples and other examples from the textbook, preferably with a tutor, to ensure you understand them fully. Finally, you should solve problems from the textbook, increasing in difficulty until you have mastered the material. Repetition is critical and it is key to not move on until you fully understand a problem’s process and solution. A tutor can greatly help a student understand the examples and work through the problems, but it is also important that the student can solve difficult problems on their own. Generally, an hour or two a week with a tutor can help the student master the material so that they feel confident when they need to solve problems on their own and on test day.

 

It’s really important to do well in your math class so I highly recommend you follow the process above. You may want to retain a NYC math tutor to get an edge. NYC is very competitive and top colleges and employers are looking for students who have demonstrated their math abilities.

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