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Math

Math Prep is a new and innovative program developed by SOI Systems to prepare students beyond the memorized facts-and-rules taught in early grades. This program can be utilized starting at the fourth grade level through high school. Public schools are being subject to new standards for high school graduation. For the area of math, there are new requirements that students must pass an exit exam that includes standards in algebra. Math Prep was developed to help these students in achieving this requirement.

How does it work?

Math Prep provides a foundation for math instruction by insuring that students have the conceptual repertoire and intellectual abilities that are presupposed by that instruction.

Intellectual abilities specific to math learning are developed through exercises that have been used for more than 30 years. Math concepts are taught by a technique that was developed for industry and proved to be 800% more effective than conventional instruction.

Concepts Covered

A set of computer-based modules that develop a conceptual understanding of Basic Arithmetic Operations, Negative Numbers, Decimals, Primes, Fractions, Exponents, Evaluation of Expressions, Complex Expressions, and Unknowns.

How Long Does it Take?

Each new concept can be covered in two or three class periods. Abilities can be taught in 10 to 20 minutes, two days a week.

Group or Individual Instruction?

The materials permit you to do either group or individual instruction. Individual instruction is always available for students who need more.

Math Concepts or Math Skills?

Everyone agrees in principle we should teach both. But practically, which do we teach first and how can we find the time to teach both?

MathPrep says teach both (teach concepts first) by using our new method of instruction to teach concepts quickly to all students.

How can you teach concepts before you teach content? If you think of instruction in the traditional way, you cannot. But if you allow new ways of thinking, then you can teach concepts in a concrete way before you confront the student with mathematical abstraction. The students who cannot handle abstraction are quickly lost when taught in the traditional approach to instruction – they never get to the concepts and skills.

MathPrep offers an introduction to math concepts that is immediate and concrete. Students can internalize meaning before they need to assimilate content. This accelerates the learning process, so there is time to teach both concepts and skills.

MathPrep is appropriate both for the introduction of new material and for the remediation of material not learned with previous instruction.

For more detail on how SOI prepares a student to be successful in Math, the following SOI Products outline the approach to developing math based thinking skills.

SOI MathMinds

This new innovative approach to math instruction includes student concepts testing and remediation. MathMinds prepares students for math instruction in two ways:

• Intellectual abilities for math
  Some intellectual abilities are more closely aligned with math than with other parts of the curriculum. We teach these intellectual abilities directly with materials that we have developed and applied over the past thirty-five years using the Structure of Intellect model of cognitive abilities.

  After students have developed these abilities, understanding math instruction becomes much easier for them and for the instructors. A list of the abilities taught and their relationship to math is included below.

• Math concepts
  All students need math concepts in order to assimilate instruction. Many students develop these concepts on their own – they have learned how to abstract the concepts from the instruction they are given.

  Many students who struggle with math never develop the basic concepts. They typically have difficulty deriving and understanding abstractions – they are concrete learners.

Complete Computerized Tracking and Monitoring Math Program

Benefits for the teacher:

• Computerized Testing: Tests Math Concepts as the program automatically progresses from one test to another.
• Computerized Remediation: Computerized student lessons that correspond to test results. Student works independently with minimal instructor supervision.
• Student Tracking and monitoring System: Program provides constant tracking and monitoring of each student’s progress.

All of these benefits create less work for the teacher.

Assessment evaluations test performance:

• Proficiency: performing in a given skill with correctness and facility – only practice to reinforce.
• Capability: having the ability or capacity to improve with relatively little help.
• Weakness: lacks abilities required – would need considerable help and practice to become capable.

Definitions of math cognitive abilities

• CFS: Cognition of Figural Systems – ability to see spatial relationships.
• CFT: Cognition of Figural Transformations – ability to orient objects in space; spatial perspective.
• CSR: Cognition of Symbolic Relations – ability to understand notational relations.
• CSS: Cognition of Symbolic Systems – ability to understand notational systems.
• MSU: Memory for Symbolic Units – ability to attend auditorily and recall separate symbolic units.
• MSS: Memory of Symbolic Systems – ability to attend auditorily and recall symbolic sequences.
• ESC: Evaluation of Symbolic Classes – ability to make judgments about notational classifications.
• ESS: Evaluation of Symbolic Systems – ability to make judgments about notational processes.
• NSS: Symbolic Problem-Solving – ability to correctly apply numerical facts.
• NSI: Symbolic Implications – ability to apply symbolic reasoning to given facts.

Mini Prep

The Mini Prep series is designed to bootstrap students back into the curriculum to complement their training with SOI (intellectual abilities) and IPP (perceptual skills). Once the students have achieved good focus and a reasonable amount of mental stamina, we start them on the Mini Prep series so at the conclusion of their training they will be closer to grade level in their academic achievement. Each student who has had learning difficulties will have different academic needs in either math or reading (including language arts) or both, so we provide them with a selection program that will allow them to select up to 10 learning (computer) modules by simply clicking on the desired titles. They then attach a file that is created to an email and send it to: scoringdept@soisystems.com and a personalized Mini-Prep CD is created and sent out.

Math Starter

For a child’s first experience with mathematics.

MathStarter is part of an early childhood development program in basic concepts of mathematics and has two major components: a computer program and a workbook.

The computer program is designed for students ages 4 to 9 and teaches the following:counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and the decimal system. The older students will want to complete both the computer program and the workbook.

The younger students may want to complete the computer program and the workbook over a period of time that permits the activities to coincide with the requirements of the school curriculum.

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