By Spencer Inglett ‘19
THE ROUNDUP
Brophy classes have turned toward digital based learning, and the introduction of MathXL has furthered this goal.
MathXL is a learning tool that provides students an online platform for math.
With 13 years of mathematics teaching experience at Brophy, math teacher Mr. Doug Cox said he thinks MathXL is a great alternative to traditional homework.
“We experimented with it in a few classes two years ago and last year was the first year of real use,” Mr. Cox said.
This online math program provides students with different math problems to attempt, and gives teachers power to create lessons and supervise how students are doing.
“I can see how much time you are spending on each problem and what specific problems you need extra reinforcement on,” Mr. Cox said.
Mr. Cox has also seen an increase in test scores due to the immediate feedback given to the students.
“I think that the instant feedback the students get is great,” Mr. Cox said. “And the interactive help has provided an increase in the retention of the concepts in students.”
Students who have experienced the MathXL system have a variety of opinions.
Jack Eden ’19 said he believes MathXL is a critical resource for studying for tests.
“It’s definitely a helpful resource to have, especially when doing chapter reviews,” Eden said. “It helps refresh my mind on the concepts from earlier in the chapter, which ends up helping me on the tests.”
Not all students agree with the purpose of this new resource.
Matthew Whitehouse ’19 said he believes that MathXL disconnects the teachers and the students.
“Personally, one of the main drawbacks I see with MathXL is the distance it seems to put between the teacher and the work,” Whitehouse said “Sometimes this disconnectedness can leave teachers assigning what seems like enough to them, but in the format of MathXL is an extreme or an unreasonable amount.”
Though MathXL may be liked and disliked by the student body, teachers like Mr. Cox said he approves of the fairly new system and believes that it brings results to the classroom.
