Customer Reviews

Mathematics: Modeling Our World Course 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
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I had a chance to compare this book, side by side with another at the same level. This was the winner, almost before I read the content.

First, it is easy to follow the flow of each page. MMOW offers a clear organization of its content. The other - which shall remain nameless - bounces the eye from one brightly colored distraction to another. The [dis]organization of each page reflects the [dis]organization of each book as a whole.

The book's strengths stand on their own, though. MMOW treats the teen reader as an intelligent, capable individual - not a child to be amused with colored toys. MMOW develops truly creative thinking, by picking a problem and working on just that for weeks at a time. Students attack each problem from many angles, using every different mathematical tool at their disposal. I really wish I knew more adults who could look at one problem in two ways, or more.

Most importantly, MMOW develops a healthy faculty of self-criticism. Any of a student's solutions will have strengths and weaknesses. MMOW encourages students to weigh a solution's merits against the merits of other solutions. MMOW also encourages students to explore the weaknesses in their own solutions, and to create stronger solutions in response. The student's eventual math may end at the checkbook or fly to Mars; either way, checking and correction are critical for success.

MMOW actually adresses both kinds of students, those who need to solidify basic skills, and those who leap ahead. The other book treats struggling students deplorably. They are thrown a few watered-down problems and an "everybody wins" grading plan. MMOW tries to make sure that all students master the basics.

Having seen just that one other book at the pre-algebra level, I give COMAP my strongest approval.

I am using this book with a group of high school sophomores who are preparing to transition to college credit math classes at the community college that sponsors our charter school program. The overall quality of the chapters is excellent: the applications-based lessons are engaging for most students, but the mathematics does not get 'lost in the shuffle' as can easily happen. There is a nice mix of problems and good ancillary material for teachers. The book is not flawless, but what is? Most of the errors seem to be of the typo/glitch kind, rather than major substantive ones. Overall, an excellent book if you want students to see mathematics as part of the real world, not simply as an academic exercise or complete abstraction.