For community-college students who struggle with arithmetic, some solutions
By Elizabeth Redden
Remedial math instructor Robert Fusco does basic division in front of a class. (Photo by Elizabeth Redden)PARAMUS, N.J. – Today’s lesson is how to add mixed numbers: 6 2/13 + 8 7/26. “Is anyone still having difficulty finding the least common denominator?” the instructor, Robert Fusco, asks. One student raises her hand and asks for help. “I’ve never seen this before,” she tells Mr. Fusco.
For many students, this is where community college begins – in a remedial arithmetic class, reviewing mathematics concepts they learned, or should have learned, before they graduated from high school.
“I get it quickly, and then I forget it completely,” says Ligia Halvorsen, 46, a student in Mr. Fusco’s class at
Remedial math instructor Robert Fusco does basic division in front of a class. (Photo by Elizabeth Redden)
For many students, this is where community college begins – in a remedial arithmetic class, reviewing mathematics concepts they learned, or should have learned, before they graduated from high school.
“I get it quickly, and then I forget it completely,” says Ligia Halvorsen, 46, a student in Mr. Fusco’s class at
