5 Responses to “Head First Algebra: A Learner’s Guide to Algebra I”

1. Jane Wayne says:

   February 3, 2010 at 6:35 am

   I never had algebra in high school, but will be taken it in college so I wanted to get a start and study up on algebra. Well I got to the 2nd chapter and hit a wall. I could not understand a thing after the 2nd chapter. Any one with a Learning Disorder please do not get this book.
   Rating: 1 / 5

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2. John Jacobson says:

   February 3, 2010 at 9:20 am

   I liked this book. Why? I had an excellent algebra teacher in high school, and as I went through the book, I could hear his clear, concise instructions again. This is the second Head First book I’ve reviewed, the first was Head First Physics. In contrast to that book, I believe this book could be used as a textbook in high school algebra. Many math teachers are not gifted; their students are reduced to pouring through the text, scouring the examples to try and figure out what’s going on. This book in many ways can substitute for a good algebra teacher, and it could make a good teacher even better.

   The book proceeds in the usual Head First manner, using conversations about “real world” situations designed to attract young people’s attention (how big a gaming system can I afford?). There is much more effort given to an explanation of the process of evaluating expressions and problems, there is less given to working through many problems. The use of a book of algebra problems would an excellent adjunct to this book, think of this book as the instructor, and the problem book to be utilized for homework to cement the problem solving algorithms necessary for long term retention of the steps of problem solving.

   The book would also be useful for the adult who missed out on algebra, and may be wondering what he/she missed. The approach is very non-threatening and relaxed, the explanations don’t use technical math jargon. Where technical terms are used, they’re associated with an easy to understand explanation. The pace feels much slower than many introductory algebra books, but the necessary meat is there.

   In short, highly recommended
   Rating: 5 / 5

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3. Dale F. Farris says:

   February 3, 2010 at 11:41 am

   In Head First Algebra, the authors have collaborated with a super team of talented, creative designers to produce a very unusual book on algebra. In the case of this Head First book, the emphasis is on visual learning, and readers will find reading this book to be an interesting, enjoyable experience, all while they are learning, or reviewing algebra.

   For those interested in learning or reviewing their algebra skills, the approach with this Head First arrangement is on visual stimulation, connecting the language with the graphics, using a conversational style, striving to get the reader to think more deeply, getting and keeping the reader’s attention, and also striving to touch the emotions of the reader. In addition, the book takes the approach of multi-sensory learning, with the addition of tons of practical exercises that allow the reader to be sure they know how to carry out the presented examples by themselves.

   The way the book is designed and presents information is very conversational and engaging, and it genuinely feels like you are having a conversation with the authors as you read through the book.

   This book would serve as an excellent algebra book for any class on algebra, especially algebra I.
   Rating: 5 / 5

   [Reply]
4. James Pyles says:

   February 3, 2010 at 11:52 am

   I agreed to have a look at this book first as a rough cut via Safari. Unfortunately, it presented me with a major drawback relative to my learning style; I could’t write in the book. OK, I admit it. I really need to be able to write notes in my textbooks, highlight key sentences and paragraphs (which can include a sizable percentage of the book) and otherwise fold, spindle, and mutilate the thing. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t stick with it when the learning source was online. It doesn’t help that I’m kind of “math-phobic” on top of everything else.

   Actually, that’s not entirely true. I do just fine with standard math such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. It’s all that other pesky stuff, which includes “algebra”, that sets off my panic attacks. I’ve actually taken and passed an algebra class in the dim past, but my grades weren’t exactly stellar (compared to the much higher grades I got in all of my other classes), so when I saw that Head First was offering an algebra book, I figured I had a second chance. I hate admitting defeat or anything near it. This book seemed to be my way to victory.

   When the paperback version of the book arrived on my doorstep, I sharpened a brand new number 2 pencil, got out a fresh highlighter, and got to work. I had gone through the first chapter in Safari, so I knew that the material would lull me into a false sense of confidence. The authors present “solving for unknowns” as simple adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing problems (which they are), which I can do. Of course, that’s the point; to bring the reader in slowly and build up their confidence. After all, if you are going to use a Head Start book to learn algebra, it means that the more standard (read: dry as Gobi desert sand) texts on the subject have not been entirely successful.

   Actually, I’m the perfect person to review this book. If I like it, then the target audience will adore it. If I were an algebra teacher or skilled at more advanced forms of math, I probably couldn’t “reduce” my thinking down to who the book is written for. It would be like an Olympic swimmer trying to review a book written to teach pre-schoolers how to paddle in a kiddie pool.

   All that said, I had my usual “issues” with the Head Start series. The series is written for people (young and old alike) who are just a tad bit ADHD (or more) and need to have a lot of stimulus coming in more or less constantly to stay engaged. If you could teach algebra from the perspective of a first-person shooter, that would be ideal for this population, but that’s hard to do in a static book. The Head First series does its best to cater to this audience (and as an aside, I just sent my rather distractable son a copy of “Head First JavaScript”, and I’m dying to see what he thinks of it) and I think high school students everywhere should pay homage to O’Reilly for creating Head First.

   By page 14, you can see where the book is going, even though the problems are still easy enough to do in your head, and for the math-phobic, that’s when the sweat will start to form on your palms. Time to confront your fears and remember, this isn’t an “ordinary” algebra book. You end up seeing a nice, neat example of “isolating the variable”. Seems rather benign, actually. Why do I remember this stuff being hard? Oh wait! I’m still in the first chapter.

   By the end of the first chapter, the reader will start to get the feeling that they might really be successful at this stuff. Naturally, there’s the spectre of more complicated problems to face, but the saving grace of the book isn’t just the book. Unless your high school math teacher is using this as their official text book, you will probably use this book on its own. I’d really recommend it for a “summer reading book” you go through before formally taking algebra in the fall. The book (sans class) lets you do what the classroom experience doesn’t allow. You can go at your own pace. Parents reading what I just wrote will shudder in fear, calculating that their child’s voluntary “pace” at learning algebra will be slightly slower than the flow of the nearest glacier (although, with “global warming” effects, that could end up being a bad analogy).

   Fear not. I remember thinking to myself during my own rather painful “algebra experience” that I wished I had just a little more time to “get it”. I was working my sorry tail off going to class, doing homework until the wee hours, and taking tutoring, both from the instructor (nice guy, really) and outside tutoring. If effort was the ultimate measure of how well I’d do in the class, I should have gotten an A+. Alas, things like aptitude and time have something to do with it as well. That means, the existence of this book in your room or on your bookshelf isn’t enough to teach you algebra, but putting significant and regular effort into it, will. Without the artificial constraints of the classroom environment, learning algebra using this book is very “do-able”, even if you don’t like math.

   Is “Head Start Algebra” a fool proof method of learning algebra for everyone? Depends. First off, you have to at least be able to tolerate the format of the Head Start series (and if you already love the format, then no worries for you). Then, you have to use it. I found it a little easier to go through this book than others in the series for some reason. I think that I need to learn programming in a way that doesn’t lend itself to how Head Start teaches, but Head Start is really the way I need to learn algebra. Will wonders never cease. I don’t think I’d recommend this book to be the only exposure to algebra for you (or your kids). Almost nobody learns algebra because it’s fun and entertaining (OK, there are a few people out there like that, but the rest of the “herd” thinks you’re weird). We learn algebra, at least formally, because we have to.

   I can see the ideal use for this book as I described it a few paragraphs back. Take this book and work through it over the summer, before you have to actually take a “for real” algebra class, with a teacher, other students, homework, and (ugh) tests. Play with the book and the topic, but don’t be lazy. Really use it regularly so the learning remains fresh. Then, after finishing the last pages and with all that dancing in your head, enter your high school or college algebra class. Your learning curve won’t be nearly as steep and you’ll be “desensitized” to the fear-inducing elements of algebra. You won’t be fighting memory-destroying anxiety as you’re working on learning.

   I hear that No Starch is coming out with The Manga Guide to Calculus next summer. I wonder…

   Original review including links posted at: http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/02/head-first-algebra-learners-guide-to.html
   Rating: 5 / 5

   [Reply]
5. Ira Laefsky says:

   February 3, 2010 at 12:59 pm

   This is a clear and excellent guide to high school and elementary college algebra. Having had amazing and mediocre math instruction from junior high to graduate school, and having tutored high school students I can testify that this excellent series makes use of carefully researched instructional methods, and that this most exceptional volume in the series recognizes that all students learn differently. It uses visual and verbal examples, prompted and explained student problem solving and occasional well-placed humor to make sure that all students “Get It”.

   I can attest that this is a clear, multi-method guide with which any student can teach themselves to excel at Elementary Algebra.
   
   –Ira Laefsky
   Rating: 5 / 5

   [Reply]

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