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Learning Mode
Following the initial assessment, ALEKS
generates a color-keyed pie chart to display the
student's results. In the "pie," each "slice" corresponds to a particular
area of the syllabus, such as "decimal numbers" or "proportions and percents".
The degree to which the slice is filled by a darker color shows the extent to
which the student has mastered that area.
The report describes the student's current knowledge of the subject and makes
precise recommendations for further study. Each slice of the "pie" may be
opened to produce a list of the concepts on which the student can choose to
work. When the student clicks on a slice of the pie chart, the
Learning Mode is initiated, and the student is taken to the
first problem.
In the Learning Mode, the student is given a sequence of problems to solve which represent the concepts to be mastered in the subject. The Learning Mode offers:
- Practice problems
- Explanations of concepts and step-by-step procedures for each problem
- Immediate feedback and suggestions
Explanations
When a student is working on a particular problem, she can access an explanation of that problem by clicking on the "Explain" button. The explanation typically provides a step-by-step solution to the problem, with commentary. In some cases, an alternative or more detailed explanation is also available. Students receive immediate feedback and, in some cases, suggestions for correcting mistakes. ALEKS follows the student's progress during each learning sequence and will offer suggestions to improve the student's progress, such as recommending that the student look up the definition of a certain word in the ALEKS on-line dictionary. ALEKS may also propose that the student temporarily abandon the problem at hand and work instead on a related problem. After reading the explanation(s), the student may return to "Practice" by clicking on the "Practice" button. If the student is successful in solving the new problem, the system will generally offer two or three more instances of the same topic to make sure the student has mastered it.
While in Learning Mode, students will also have the ability to review recently practiced items.
As appropriate, a graphing calculator is available for computing and displaying geometrical figures in analytical geometry and precalculus.
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