I’m currently taking all my classes in the DCCCD. I’m planning to go to UTD after earning my Associate’s Degree… because those ACT/SAT tests are brutal, and I was behind on Math when I graduated from High School. I just barely passed Algebra II, and gave up on school for about seven years after getting placed in DMAT classes (and doing poorly in them).
The thing is, the program I’m in right now is very… hands-off. The instructors don’t grade homework at all, so you have no idea what kind of mistakes you’re making until you get your test scores back (and by then, it’s too late to do much of anything about it). Certainly I can see if I’m getting the right answer, but I don’t know if I’m using the right Mathematical notation or showing all my work. In other words, they test my Math based on the process I use, but the homework only trains me to get the correct end result. The lectures aren’t very engaging, and I often feel that I’m essentially being handed a textbook and told to figure everything out on my own.
While I’m managing to make As and Bs, I feel like I’m going to need a lot of help in order to “get” Calculus. I really want to major in Computer Science, but all this Math is killing me. I make As in every other subject, but with Math… I can study and practice until my fingers bleed, and just barely make a B-. I’m in Precalculus right now (which is really just review), and I feel like if I don’t get some decent instruction/help soon, my grades will start slipping when I reach Calculus.
So, I guess I’m really wondering whether I should just stick to DCCCD and get outside tutoring, additional textbooks, etc… or whether there are better Math classes out there that I could be taking? I don’t want to be a C student in Math for the rest of my life… if I’m going to learn this stuff, I want to learn it the right way.