Customer Reviews

Intermediate Algebra (with CD-ROM, BCA/iLrn Tutorial, and InfoTrac )

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1 star:		(5)

 

 

Having been a home economics major in High School 27 years ago, the last thing I needed in my struggle with college was assistance from Ms Kaseberg! This book is needlessly confusing, unorganized, and a poor showing for Ms Kasegerg's 30 years of experience. The chapters deal with various topics, but the exercises at the end of each chapter seem to have nothing to do with the material covered. The book's goal of teaching problem solving skills has failed miserably. The student is left with a different set of problems than were discussed in the chapter and with no clue as to where to start in solving them. Problem solving skills may have been overlooked or minimized in mathematics education thus far, but this book does not address the tools needed to solve problems--it simply leaves the reader lost in an algebraic vacuum without a compass. To make matters worse, after using this book as a trial for Algebra II (which was a dismal failure), the Math committee at my university decided to inflict equal torture on Algebra I students the very next semester. Publication of this book is bad enough, but it is a sad state of affairs when such a product is actually adopted as a teaching tool. I was in grammer school during the 'New Math' fiasco of the late 60's, and I view this approach with similar contempt. My mathematical and problem solving abilities seemed useless when trying to make sense of this text book. Publications like this will succeed only in making those of us who love working with numbers begin to hate it instead. In short, this text book is a rip off--don't buy it OR take a course that uses it. Have mercy on us Ms Kaseberg; your 'Just-In-Time Approach' will be the death of mathematics!

In short, every previous review was correct. Worst Algebra book I have ever seen. Pretty pathetic when a college cannot choose a better textbook than this one. This book appears to have been written to make students fail. With the help of several tutors, a C was salvaged from this book of failure. Make sure you communicate your comments to as many school officials as you can. Learning can be a lot better than this...

I had to buy this book for my Algebra class at Truckee Meadows Community College. It is by far the worst book I've ever had. The author does not explain the problem or the solution step by step, which is crucial in Algebra. She loses the reader half way through the problem. I deeply resent spending hard earned money for a text I can't use now or in the future. This book is so bad that my teacher makes copies of chapters in other Algebra books and hands them out, so we might understand what is going on. This book was evidently written by someone very lazy. She gives the answers to the odd questions only, but she gives only the answer, not how the problem was solved. I am very dissappointed with the book and I wish I could get my money back. A college student doesn't have much, I feel as if I've been robbed. The author should reinburse every student that had to buy the book. Believe me, I don't know of even one student that would keep this book.

This book was horrible!! I actually had to miss the first week of school due to medical ailment, and 'thought' I could do the work with just the book...what a laugh! Kaseberg doesn't offer examples before the exercises that even relate to the problems in the exercises. I understand her concept that if a student learns it on their own, than they learn it for life...well, I've got news for her, I learned it on my own, and I guarantee I won't remember it for life! Unless you're a math wizard like her, you are going to have a hell of a time w/this book. Come on, it's algebra! If you don't use it, you lose it.

Anyway, basically, when you get stuck on a problem, and you can't go to the math lab, or find it online somewhere, you're screwed...And I can't tell you how many of the other students agree w/me...terrible book.

This is by far the worst Algebra text book that I have ever seen. The text is very unclear and the author seems to be very unknowledgeable in her field. There are no explanations to how she came up with the answers that she got and that makes me question if they are correct. There are no instructions available, even to the instructors. This book is a waste of not only money, but time also and I am ashamed that the math department at TMCC in Reno actually approved it.

Having been a home economics major in High School 27 years ago, the last thing I needed in my struggle with college was assistance from Ms Kaseberg! This book is needlessly confusing, unorganized, and a poor showing for Ms Kasegerg's 30 years of experience. The chapters deal with various topics, but the exercises at the end of each chapter seem to have nothing to do with the material covered. The book's goal of teaching problem solving skills has failed miserably. The student is left with a different set of problems than were discussed in the chapter and with no clue as to where to start in solving them. Problem solving skills may have been overlooked or minimized, but this book does not address the tools needed to solve problems, it simply leaves the reader lost in an algebraic vacuum without a compass. In short, the voice from Maine thinks the book was as big a rip off as the voices from Nevada. To make matters worse, after using this book as a trial for Algebra II (which was a dismal failure), the Math committee at my community college decided to inflict equal torture on Algebra I students the very next semester. Publication of this book is bad enough, but it is a sad state of affairs when such a product is actually adopted as a teaching tool. I was in grammer school during the "New Math" fiasco of the late 60's, and I view this approach with similar contempt. My mathematical and problem solving abilities seemed useless when trying to make sense of this text book. Publications like this will succeed only in making those of us who love working with numbers begin to hate it instead. Have mercy on us Ms Kaseberg; your "Just-In-Time Approach" will be the death of mathematics!