Corequisite Support for College Algebra: Concepts through Functions, 4th Edition

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Preparing for College Algebra

The Learning Framework:

The MyLab Math course includes pre-made and pre-assigned homework assignments, based on the authors’ experience teaching corequisites. This Learning Framework can easily be modified based on your corequisite course’s implementation needs.

1. An Elementary Algebra Review starts off the MyLab Math course to allow mastery-based learning and personalized homework, acknowledging that students come to corequisite courses with varying backgrounds. Mastery topics are divided between arithmetic and beginning algebra.

2. Students then begin Preparing for the Chapter as they are guided through key intermediate algebra material and prepare for the subsequent College Algebra chapter. The assignments for each section are comprised of two parts:

• Learn and Quick Check: Includes Michael Sullivan’s Author-in-Action instructional videos, How-To exercises, and Quick Check exercises.  Students can always refer to their Corequisite Support for College Algebra enhanced eText to quickly locate specific pages for examples. Since students can easily reference the eText, the Learning Aid “View an Example” is turned off by default.
  
• Homework Exercises: These assignments are based on the Skill Building and Mixed Practice exercises from the text and prepares students to problem solve on their own.

3. Next, students move into their College Algebra homework within the same MyLab Math course or in a separate course, based on the instructor’s preference; students will only pay once.

Corequisite Support Text:

• Corequisite Support for College Algebra: Concepts through Functions comprises developmental support content tailored for the corequisite support course, available in both an eText and a loose-leaf, binder-ready format that is available to be packaged with an access code and/or College Algebra: Concepts through Functions.  
  
• This support text provides key beginning algebra review and intermediate algebra topics with explanations, definitions, examples, and homework problems. This content is drawn largely from Sullivan’s Intermediate Algebra, 4th Edition and has been thoughtfully edited to include only the key concepts needed for a corequisite course.
  
• Each section in the text opens to a Quick Response (QR) code that enables students to access all the videos for that section. Students can simply use a QR scanner from their smartphones for easy access to the popular Author in Action lecture videos, select end-of-section exercise videos, and the Chapter Test Prep videos.
  
• A variety of exercise types throughout each section includes:
  
• Building Skills exercises that develop students’ understanding of the procedures and skills in working with the methods presented in the section.
  
• Mixed Practice exercises that offer comprehensive skill assessment by asking students to relate multiple concepts or objectives.
  
• Quick Check exercises that follow the examples, allowing students to apply what they have just learned. These are numbered as the first problems in each section’s exercise set, making them assignable as homework, and giving an easy way refer back to the relevant examples for extra help. Quick Checks include fill-in-the-blank and True/False questions to assess students’ understanding of vocabulary and formulas. They are numbered as part of the homework set, and are assignable in MyLab Math for instructors.
  
• Classroom Activities are available for instructors to use with students on the developmental support topics and are found in MyLab Math. Being able to engage your students in the developmental content through an activity will build key mathematical concepts.  Activities such as station mazes, math scavenger hunts, and math puzzles engage students and allow them to work together in a meaningful way to flush out misconceptions and gain a deeper understanding.
  
• Corequisite Worksheets, available for download in the MyLab course, offer additional practice exercises of intermediate algebra topics with ample space for students to show their work.

Addressing Study Skills:

Students in a corequisite course can be overwhelmed by the amount of content they have to learn, or might lack basic college success skills. 

• New - Mathematics study skills videos can be assigned in MyLab Math, with assessment questions that test students’ understanding of the content.
  
• Created by co-authors Jessica Bernards and Wendy Fresh, these videos motivate students to stick with their math course and offer practical tips to succeed.
  

• See How Learning Math is Different and Math and Test Anxiety for a preview.

The College Algebra: Concepts through Functions, 4th Edition text:

The Concepts Through Functions Series introduces functions at the start of each text, and maintains a continuous theme by introducing/developing a new function in every chapter.

Preparing for Class:

• Just-in-time review begins all sections to prepare students for the topics ahead.
  

• Preparing for This Section lists previously learned concepts that will be useful in the section ahead. Page references are included for easy review.
  
• Now Work "Are You Prepared?" problems support the Preparing for This Section feature, allowing students to check that they are ready to proceed to the section ahead or if they need to turn back for further review. These problems appear at the start of each exercise set.
  

• Within each section, students get guidance along the way to help them master the material and develop their problem-solving skills.
  
• New - Desmos^© screen captures have been added throughout the text, reflecting that graphing technology expands beyond graphing calculators.
  
• Now Work problems–many examples refer to a related problem in the exercise set, which are marked by a yellow pencil icon. If students get stuck while doing their homework, they can look for the closest Now Work problem and refer back to the related example.
  
• Step-by-step, annotated examples contain detailed intermediate steps with additional annotations to help students see specific nuances.
  

Practicing Skills:

• Updated - Retain Your Knowledge problems in the exercise set improve student recall of concepts learned earlier in the course. These exercises are assignable in MyLab Math.
  

• Assess Your Understanding appears at the end of every section and contains a variety of problems for students to master the skills they need.
  

• "Are You Prepared?" problems appear at the start of every exercise set and help students determine exactly what they need to review and where to review it. This feature is referenced from the Preparing for This Section feature. Answers appear at the end of the section.
  
• Concepts and Vocabulary questions are fill-in the-blank and true/false items that assess students’ understanding of key definitions and concepts. These have been written to serve as reading quizzes and are now assignable in MyLab Math and MathXL.
  
• Skill Development problems provide straightforward practice, are organized by difficulty, and are correlated to section examples.
  
• Graphical problems use graphs in a variety of ways, supplementing students’ analytical understanding with graphical understanding.
  
• Mixed Practice problems offer comprehensive assessment of the skills learned in the section by asking questions that relate to more than one concept or objective. These problems may also require students to utilize skills learned in previous sections, helping them to see how concepts are tied together.
  
• Applications and Extensions allow students to apply their skills to real-world problems and to extend concepts learned in the section.
  
• DWR–Discussion, Writing, and Research problems are marked by a special icon and red numbers. They support class discussion, verbalization of mathematical ideas, and writing and research projects.
  

Reviewing Key Concepts for Exams and Quizzes:

• Author in Action Videos are actual classroom lectures with fully worked-out examples presented by Michael Sullivan III.
  
• Video assessment questions are available to assign in MyLab Math for key Author in Action videos.
  
• Updated - Guided Lecture Notes ask students to complete definitions, procedures, and examples based on the content of the Author in Action videos and book. By directing students into essential material, students can focus and retain the most important concepts. These notes help increase the success of your students in any course structure.
  
• Chapter Reviews at the end of each chapter offer a variety of convenient tools for students’ reference and review.
  
• Chapter Tests contain about 15-20 problems that can help students prepare for in-class exams. For additional help, students can watch an instructor work out full solutions on the Chapter Test Prep Video on YouTube™, or in MyLab Math.
  
• Cumulative Review problem sets appear at the end of every chapter after Chapter 1. They combine problems from previous chapters, providing an ongoing cumulative review.

Check out the preface for a complete list of features and what's new in this edition.

Reach every student with MyLab Math 

Teach your course your way

• Flexible platform
  
• Enhanced Sample Assignments by Michael Sullivan III make course set-up easier by giving instructors a starting point for each section. Each assignment, handpicked by the author to align with this text, includes a thoughtful mix of question types (e.g., conceptual, skills, etc.) specific to that topic.
  
• Data & analysis
  
• Learning Catalytics™ helps you generate class discussion, guide your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics.
  
• Now available through MyLab Math, Learning Catalytics is an interactive student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more sophisticated tasks and thinking.
  
• Michael Sullivan III has written Learning Catalytics questions to engage students in your course.
  
• Preparedness
  

Empower each learner

• Personalized learning
  
• This course has a pre-set Learning Path that personalizes to each student. Those students that need additional review will be able to receive it as a Personalized Homework assignment.
  
• New - Skill Builder offers adaptive practice that is designed to increase students’ ability to complete their assignments. By monitoring student performance on their homework, Skill Builder adapts to each student’s needs and provides just-in-time, in-assignment practice to help them improve their proficiency of key learning objectives.
  
• Motivation
  

• Students in a corequisite course can be overwhelmed by the amount of content they have to learn, or might lack basic college success skills.  Mathematics study skills videos can be assigned in MyLab Math, with assessment questions that test students’ understanding of the content.
  
• Created by author-educators Jessica Bernards and Wendy Fresh, these videos motivate students to stick with their math course and offer practical tips to succeed.
  
• See How Learning Math is Different and Overcoming Math and Test Anxiety for a preview.
  

Deliver trusted content

• Course-specific resources and interactive features
  
• Conceptual understanding
  
• New - Guided Visualizations help students better understand the visual aspects of key concepts in figure format. The figures are included in MyLab Math as both a teaching and an assignable learning tool