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Thinkwell's multimedia products in math, science, and social science integrate technology, art, and video with great teaching to produce a new path to success for students.
Website: Thinkwell Math
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(4 Reviews)
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Cons: Some parental involvement needed
Grades Used: 10-12
Our three sons who are strong in math used Thinkwell math starting from Precalculus (which is a big course - start in the summer!), AP Calculus AB, and AP Calculus BC from 2010 - 2018. All three got 5s on their AP exams and well prepared to study engineering in college. To encourage them to process the information thoroughly, I required my sons to take notes from the lectures and also to write out the solutions to their exercises in a notebook. After doing this, they would submit their answers online. If an answer was marked wrong, I looked over their written solutions and sometimes gave partial credit. I printed out all the exams and had them take exams with pencil and paper before submitting answers, again giving partial credit as needed. I created an Excel spreadsheet where I calculated the average of their exercise scores and test scores, weighting them to come up with a final course grade.
Cons: Not enough practice for some, possibility of cheating
Grades Used: 7th honors
My son really enjoyed the teacher saying he was funny. Overall impressed with the rigor and content. My son is very quick at learning math so for the most part the quick lessons and not a lot of practice was ok. There was only one time we’re he just wasn’t getting enough and I had him start at the beginning of the module and repeat all those lessons. He did at one point learn how to “cheat the system” and it took me a while to realize if he just opens the worksheet document the system checks it off on the scheduler as complete but he wasn’t actually printing or doing it… ughh. So there is def a level of integrity needed for a child to self pace on these courses.
Students watch a short video, complete a worksheet then the answers are provided (again integrity needed here) and they self grade w/s then do the online quiz after every lesson. Worksheets and Online quizzes sometimes only have a few questions.
Cons: Very few problems to work out , & no reputation, which makes it difficult to use if you are not a math whiz!
Grades Used: 7th & Algebra 2
None of my daughters enjoyed Thinkwell Math! They thought the instructor was fun, but felt he rushed through new concepts too quickly! We tried 7th, Algebra 1, & Algebra 2. Not working for us, so now we have wasted money, because it's not reusable! Most people love Thinkwell, but we are not math whizzes, & need it taught slowly & need more problems to work out, so we get it! Also, not crazy about multiple choice questions on the tests either. So, my 7th grader is switching to Saxon Math w/an instructor, my middle is back in PS & loves her Algebra class, & oldest will suffer through to finish Thinkwell Algebra 2 by the end of our subscription this Summer. She will probably go back to Teaching Textbooks for her senior year! I wish it had worked out for us!
Cons: cannot re-sell; goes quickly through topics
Grades Used: College Algebra (now Alg. 2) and Trigonometry
My son absolutely loves his Thinkwell courses. Dr. Edward Burger is a very humorous teacher who keeps his students' attention well. He has great ways of remembering how to do, and not do, problems.
Thinkwell's content is very deep and broad. However, there may not be enough instruction for slow math learners. The lectures are under 10 minutes and all problem sets have 12 exercises. There are good practice and review exams. It's also easy to jump around to various lessons if you need review.
Thinkwell's homeschool classes also come with a subscription to "Classhive", where you can interact with other students taking the same course. You can also access ALL of Thinkwell's videos (science & math, etc.) from Classhive. So if a student needs to go back and review something for a lower level, they can.
Thinkwell has great tracking and grading areas. You can also print full-color notes/transcripts and practice problems. You can purchase a printed companion book, also, but it's not in full color like the lesson links.
Dr. Burger is a well-decorated college professor. With him as the instructor, and Thinkwell's platform, parents can be "hands off" with math instruction.