GRE Test Prep course has handouts to review basic skills

This is the test course we are in...  
GRE Test Preparation 
GRE (Graduate Record Examinations). 
Review of math and verbal skills required for the Graduate Records Examination. 
It includes review of effective test taking strategies. 
EDC 0458 
THUR 6/18-7/30 6-9p CEN 519939 


Review of math and verbal skills required for the Graduate Records Examination. 
Algebra
Ratios
Geometry
Triangles!!!
Area and perimeter of shapes
You can get reviews of these skills 


It includes review of effective test taking strategies. 

Sometimes we plug in...

Sometimes we work backwards from the answers.  Start with the middle answer.  If the answer is too small, then use the next larger answer.

X + 4 = 44

Example
A 10
B 20
C 30
D 40
E 50

Try the middle answer...  x = 30    oops, too small.
So try the next answer (D)


Other courses that Steve teaches
PERT Preparation Preparation for the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT).
EDI 0534
T 6/2-6/23 6-9p CEN 519938


SAT Test Preparation Prepare for the SAT, and review your math and verbal skills. Sessions focus on math and verbal skills needed for the SAT and effective test taking strategies.
EDC 0212
R 5/28-6/25 5-8p CSAC 519927
S 7/11-8/1 9a-12:45p CEN 519991

Read several exercises and put a CHECK MARK or put a QUESTION MARK. Prepare to discuss the exercises.

REMINDER:  July 14 Tuesdays
No class on July 16
Thursdays   July 23  30 and Aug. 6
When you look at questions, use this procedure:

PUT A QUESTION MARK "?" next to a problem that is confusing and circle the confusing words

If you think you can do the problem, put a check mark and then move to the next exercise.

The purpose is to push you to read quickly and get the sense about "WHAT IS THE EXAM ASKING ME TO ANSWER?"
What is the question?
Have I seen a similar problem?

IF NOT, put a question mark and move on.

If you HAVE seen this type of exercise before  (and you know how to handle it), put a CHECK mark and move on.

Example:  Write an essay (or at least an outline with three sentences) -- send me your outline
“Some people believe that government funding of the arts is necessary to ensure that the arts can flourish and be available to all people. Others believe that government funding of the arts threatens the integrity of the arts.”

OR 

“In order for any work of art—for example, a film, a novel, a poem, or a song—to have merit, it must be understandable to most people.”


==================

GRE TEST Registration

Online Registration

• You need to create or have a My GRE Account to register online.
• Use an American Express®, Discover®, JCB®, MasterCard® or VISA® credit/debit card or a voucher number. Note that ETS reserves the right to add or delete payment options at its own discretion and without notice.
• Online registration is not available for test takers with disabilities or health-related needs. Please see Disability Accommodations.

Phone Registration

• Use an American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, or VISA credit/debit card or a voucher number. Note that ETS reserves the right to add or delete payment options at its own discretion and without notice.
• Call the test center directly or Prometric® Services at 1-443-751-4820 or 1-800-473-2255.
• A confirmation number, reporting time and test center address will be given to you when you call.

This is an example of how to practice writing a GRE Essay -- Use Specific Examples when you attack and mention particular parts

This is the first student to send in an outline for an essay topic.   WELL DONE.

Notice how the student addressed a good attack ....



TOPIC 1

Essay Topic Outline #1

A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.

Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy and explain how these consequences shape your position.

Requiring a nation to implement a standardized, homogeneous curriculum would be disadvantageous to the students, damaging to educators and educational institutions, and would create a plethora of political problems in every facet of the creation process. A national curriculum would overlook the wide array of communities and regions each school serves, as well as the great disparity between every students’ individual needs, goals, and intellectual abilities. Teachers would no longer need to be creative or customize coursework in the classroom, and the need for nontraditional institutions, such as charter schools, private schools, and religious schools would be eliminated if a standardized curriculum was implemented. In addition, there would be much controversy and governmental strife over the contents of a national curriculum, leaving room for it to become a politicized agenda pushed by whichever political party was currently in power. Although I do believe some minimum standards should be set for a nation’s pre-college curriculum, creating a uniform educational agenda would not be effective or beneficial.   

HERE ARE MY COMMENTS
 in the curriculum essay, you might want to include some positive points (to acknowledge the good intentions of the idea) before you rip out its throat.  You did such a good job attacking the national curriculum....   could you give at least one positive point about a national curriculum?

==========


Here is a second essay.


TOPIC 2

Essay Topic Outline #2

Laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

The statement “laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places” is a naïve, erroneous suggestion that severely ignores the reality of the legal process. Although laws are meticulously crafted and constructed with the purpose of leaving no ambiguity in the language, there is an immense amount of flexibility in every aspect of how the law is applied. From law enforcement deciding to file charges, to state attorneys deciding to prosecute, and finally with judges determining a sentence, there is already ample amount of flexibility in the legal system to account for the circumstances, times, and places of a situation. This flexibility can be beneficial, but it can also lead to discrimination, bias, and unfair application of the law. Providing ambiguity in legal statutes would increase the potential for laws to be applied inequitably.

  HERE ARE MY COMMENTS

I particularly like how you took the second topic and introduced the concept of AMBIGUITY.  the word "flexible " sounds so positive ... but you looked at the dark side of being too flexible.  

That is an example of how to answer this type of question

if you had these topics, what would be the next step to building the essay?

what would you include?

steve

=====  

The student took the feedback, and look at the FABULOUS essay that she produced.  I have HIGHLIGHTED in RED the points where she made some Positive points, and in BLUE where she gave GOOD DETAILS.

Essay Topic Outline #1

A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.

Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy and explain how these consequences shape your position.

NOTE IN PURPLE:  The central point of the attack

Requiring a nation to implement a standardized, homogeneous curriculum would be disadvantageous to the students, damaging to educators and educational institutions, and would create a plethora of political problems in every facet of the creation process. A national curriculum would overlook the wide array of communities and regions each school serves, as well as the great disparity between every students’ individual needs, goals, and intellectual abilities. Teachers would no longer need to be creative or customize coursework in the classroom, and the need for nontraditional institutions, such as charter schools, private schools, and religious schools would be eliminated if a standardized curriculum was implemented. In addition, there would be much controversy and governmental strife over the contents of a national curriculum, leaving room for it to become a politicized agenda pushed by whichever political party was currently in power. Despite the problems a national curriculum would create, it is necessary that minimum standards be set in order to ensure the pre-college curriculum properly prepares our students for the post-secondary school world. Therefore, instituting a basic level of curriculum standards would be valuable, but creating a uniform educational agenda would not be effective or beneficial.

The most detrimental aspect of a standardized national curriculum is how it fails to acknowledge the myriad, distinct needs of every student and every school. A students’ curriculum should be customized to consider their individual needs, goals, and intellectual capabilities. If implemented, students would only learn what the curriculum dictates, not what best suits their abilities and their pace. A national curriculum also does not account for the vast regional and cultural differences that influence how a school serves its community. For instance, in some communities, schools utilize technical programs and career classes as a means to prepare students for the workforce and to encourage potential drop-outs. In other communities, AP classes and IB programs are highly sought after to prepare students for post-secondary education. A national curriculum would overlook the unique needs of each student, school, and community.

A standardized curriculum would adversely affect our teachers, nontraditional school, and specialized programs. Teachers’ ability to construct creative, customized coursework that best suits their students would be almost entirely eradicated. This concept also applies to nontraditional schools, which were created to provide a unique educational experience, distinct from the typical curriculum; if implemented, these institutions would be obsolete. The loss of creative freedom from our educators and institutions is another adverse effect of a national curriculum.

The final negative consequence of instituting a national curriculum is the political problems it would create. In the United States, every major education policy has been hotly debated and faced countless criticisms; this is evident in the “Common Core” initiative, standardized testing, and the “Blue Ribbon” program. State governments also tend to influence their own educational agendas, which is illustrated by the wide disparities in each states’ sex-ed programs and evolution curriculums. With the current partisan political culture of United States, it is clear that creating, approving, and implementing a national education curriculum would be very problematic.

THE ORANGE HIGHLIGHT shows that she gave the reader a signal word to show that there are several points

 Instituting a uniform curriculum may not be the most effective policy, but this proposal exposes the need for a minimum level of national education standards. It is deplorable how inequitable our education system is, and we need to implement a policy that standardizes the education quality and content. It is unacceptable that some students leave the education system without knowing how to read or passing basic arithmetic classes. This proposal correctly identifies the problem at hand; that the government desperately needs to set fundamental standards. However, we need to leave room for creativity and individuality for our students, teachers, and schools. Although we cannot guarantee every student will receive the same quality of education, we should be able to ensure that each student will leave the school system equipped with the basic knowledge and skills needed to survive in the work force or in university. Unfortunately, it is difficult to conceptualize a solution to our education issue that is not just as problematic. In conclusion, implementing a national curriculum would not be a beneficial or effective policy, but it does acknowledge a fundamental flaw in the education system.  

NOTE:  I like the signal word "In conclusion."

Turn to Your Neighbor... and talk about "What do you want to learn today?"

What do you want to learn today?
One of the students put a problem on the board and other students showed how they did the problem.

We tell students to "Turn to your neighbor" and argue about how to solve the problem.

things to practice
12 x 12 =  
13 x 13 =  
14 x 14 =  
15 x 15 =  
16 x 16 =  
17 x 17 =  
18 x 18 =  
19 x 19 =  

20 x 20 = 

We put problems on the board and we ask...."What do we know about this figure?"

things to practice
12 x 12 =  144
13 x 13 =  169
14 x 14 =  196
15 x 15 =  225
16 x 16 =  256                 36
17 x 17 =  289                 49
18 x 18 =  324                64
19 x 19 =  361                81

20 x 20 = 400


We also practiced the TWELVES

2 x 12 =
3 x 12 = 4 x 12 =
5 x 12 =
6 x 12 =
7 x 12 =
8 x 12 =
9 x 12 =
10 x 12 =
11 x 12 =
12 x 12 =





2 x 12 =  24
3 x 12 =  364 x 12 =  48
5 x 12 =  60
6 x 12 =  72
7 x 12 =  84
8 x 12 =  96
9 x 12 =   108
10 x 12 = 120
11 x 12 = 132
12 x 12 = 144

One of the students recommends RENT, the musical.  Please click and raise the hits.


Here's another video by Erik Mazur about peer instruction.

a crazy PEMDAS July 2

Welcome to our Thursday session
-4 - 5 + 15 -:- 5 + 16 -:- 4 x 2 + 8
                   3      +      4  x 2     
-4 - 5 +       3       +          8       +   8   
    -9    +     3
           -6              +         8
                           2                     + 8
                                             = 10


Next week we will focus on Geometry

YOU CAN BRING ANY PROBLEMS (any section, even algebra).  You can also text me
(954) 646 8246  ...
(1) take a photo
(2) SEND THE photo to 954 646 8246
(3) I make a video and I put the video on Youtube.
(4) I send you the link to the youtube location.

Calculators and a new set of MATH REVIEW questions

Tangela found a reference to calculators...

========== 

Here's what ETS (the testing service) has on its website about Calculators

MORE INFO 

Sometimes the computations you need to do in order to answer a question in the Quantitative Reasoning measure are somewhat time-consuming, like long division, or involve square roots. For such computations, you can use the calculator provided with your test.

Although the calculator can shorten the time it takes to perform computations, keep in mind that the calculator provides results that supplement, but do not replace, your knowledge of mathematics. You must use your mathematical knowledge to determine whether the calculator's results are reasonable and how the results can be used to answer a question.

Here are some general guidelines for calculator use in the Quantitative Reasoning measure:

• Most of the questions don't require difficult computations, so don't use the calculator just because it's available.
• Some questions can be answered more quickly by reasoning and estimating than by using the calculator.
• If you use the calculator, estimate the answer beforehand so you can determine whether the calculator's answer is "in the ballpark."  This may help you avoid key-entry errors.

you can see more here 

https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/quantitative_reasoning/calculator/

https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_math_review.pdf

FOR MATH PREP and REVIEW

June 30 Class... NEXT CLASS is July 2

Search for "math test prep gre"   <<<<<<< REVIEW BOOK
GRE® Math Review (PDF) - ETS

https://www.ets.org/.../gre/pdf/gre_math_review...

Educational Testing Service

Loading...

This Math Review will familiarize you with the mathematical skills and concepts that are ... Quantitative Reasoning measure of the GRE revised General Test.

TUESDAY
Several students stood at the board and showed how they calculated their answers.

The next class is Thursday July 2... bring problems...

REQUESTS for hits
www.TransFormTeaching.org
www.PassportsBeforeCollege.com  (created by my friend Wes Green)


EXTRAS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4IhCSMkADc
Amazing speeded up view.   The Space Station passes more slowly over these locations

[PDF]GRE® Math Review (PDF) - ETS

https://www.ets.org/.../gre/pdf/gre_math_review...

Educational Testing Service

Loading...

This Math Review will familiarize you with the mathematical skills and concepts that are ... Quantitative Reasoning measure of the GRE revised General Test.

Here is a clever problem, found in the GRE section of MajorTests.com

It's an organized way of multiplying the parts... like FOIL.

Bravo, Tangela.







let's work through the sections.   We can focus on these 22 problems.