MAS-10 is a program designed for mathematically gifted students in 10th grade and under preparing for AMC10. A typical week includes a 75-minute take-home test, and in-class discussions about the problems selected from the test and their extensions.
MAS-8 is a program designed for mathematically gifted students in 8th grade and under preparing for AMC8. A typical week, split into 2-3 sessions, includes one 38-minute in-class test, and discussions about the problems selected from the previously conducted in-class test(s). Homework typically involves re-doing the recent in-class test w/o time limit, and rework on the selected problems of the recent in-class test.
MAS-O is a program designed for mathematically gifted students in 8th grade and under preparing for MOEMS. A typical session includes 20-30 minutes working on a 5-problem set from MOEMS Middle School Division, and the rest 20-30 minutes discussing two to three selected problems from the set. MAS-O does not include homework or report of class statistics and student performance.
MAS-A is a program designed for mathematically gifted students in 8th grade and under seeking more challenging problems than traditional school math. This is an introductory program for mathematical proof. Geometry, algebra and discrete math (e.g., combinatorics and graph theory) are included as applications.
MAS-F is a program designed for mathematically gifted students in 6th grade and under seeking more challenging problems than traditional school math. The aim is to build a strong foundation for their mathematical problem solving skills. A typical session includes 20-30 minutes working on a selected set of problems, and the rest 20-30 minutes discussing a problem solving strategy. MAS-F does not include homework or report of class statistics and student performance. Schedule by week: 1. Coins; 2. Tables; 3-4. Pictures; 5-6. Patterns; 7-8. Backwards.
MAS-A is a program designed for mathematically gifted students in 8th grade and under seeking more challenging problems than traditional school math. The aim is to build a strong foundation in arithmetic. The program emphasizes four basic operations, logic, reasoning, and proof by contradiction through solving arithmetic puzzles, such as alphametics and 24 puzzles.
MAS is conducted online. Every participant is expected to maintain the learning environment. Contact parents are expected to properly setup the technology and studying materials for the students. During the live session, students should follow the rules below:
Mute the mic unless Dr. Hong asks to unmute and speak.
Do not spam the chat box.
Do not give away answers without Dr. Hong's permission.
Do not bully other students.
Do not share screen.
Within a one-month period, violating classroom rules the first time will result in a warning in writing to the contact parent. Violating classroom rules the second time will require the contact parent sitting aside with the child for one session. Violating classroom rules the third time will result in termination from the program. Within a three-month period, violating classroom rules five times will result in termination from the program.
General Questions
Do you use any textbooks or follow any competition math training curriculum?
No. MAS is primarily based on past math contest problems. Dr. Hong does not follow the traditional approach to math competition training, where the instructor teaches some specific skills first and then immediately let the students practice the same skills. Dr. Hong considers that more of a memory test than building a better person with strong problem solving skills and good character traits. In MAS, as the students encounter difficulties in a problem, Dr. Hong will discuss with the students in-depth and guide them through the thought process.
Can we hire you to do 1:1 math competition training for my child if we pay the same fee as the sum of the entire group?
No. thanks. Dr. Hong's time is better spent helping a group of kids rather than just one or two. You may also check his HOURLY RATE, so that you can better understand why he doesn't do math training for profit.
MAS-8 Questions
How do I know if my son's math skill level is a good fit for the MAS-8 program?
The best approach would be to test him on your own. You can let him try AMC8 2019 problems. For the first attempt, you can set a 40-minute limit and see how many he can answer correctly. Make sure you don't tell him the answer keys. Then give him a second chance without the time limit, and let him try his best to see how many he can answer correctly. If he can do at least 13 in the first round and 16 in the second round, he meets the minimum requirements. You may contact Dr. Hong to get an update about the math level of current MAS-8 students.
Do you use AMC10 problems for MAS-8?
Yes. There is a big overlap between AMC10 and AMC8. Having high school math knowledge and exposure to AMC10 contest problems would help with AMC8. While MAS-8 are primarily based on AMC8 problems, Dr. Hong will occasionally assign AMC10 contest problems to the MAS-8 students. Dr. Hong encourages students on the Honor Roll and Distinguished Honor Roll to join AMC10 of the same academic year.
Why do you want to use big locks of time to monitor the MAS-8 students while they work on the competition problems?
MAS-8 is set to be a highly customized program. Understanding each student is the first step to providing customized learning experience. Monitoring the students in a big block of time allows Dr. Hong to better understand each student: how they react to challenges as well as easy problems; how they tackle brand new problems; how they struggle; how creative they are; how they teach themselves; where their strength and weakness are; etc.
Would you inform me if my child is not a good fit to the program?
Yes. If Dr. Hong finds that the student is clearly not a good fit to the program or is better spending time elsewhere, he would inform the contact parent. Dr. Hong will also make recommendations to the parents if their kids need extra work outside the program.
Many parents push their kids through math contests so that their kids can get into MIT or ivy league schools. Dr. Hong never considered math competitions or top schools the destiny for his children. He treats a math competition just like a sports activity, such as basketball. He believes through training for math competitions, students should build many good character traits on top of solving a few math problems, such as honesty; devotion; grit; patience; mental toughness; sportsmanship; leadership; respect to others; work ethics; positive attitude; sharing; critical thinking; and many more. That was his coaching philosophy when he trained his son Leo on math, basketball, and jump rope.
After Leo's early success in AMC8, many parents asked Dr. Hong to offer a math competition preparation program. In response to the numerous requests, Dr. Hong started Math After School (MAS) to gather mathematically gifted kids to prepare for prestigious middle school and high school competitions. MAS does not follow any popular math contest preparation books or traditional curriculum. The ultimate goal of MAS is to shape each student into a better person while achieving their potential in math.