Review Math On DVD Calculus

Last winter I reviewed Math on DVD Pre-Calculus by Steven Gottlieb.  Since then my son has been learning calculus, and it has not been easy.  However, his frustrating experience has often been soothed by a session with Math on DVD Calculus 1. 

As a physicist I’ve worked with calculus for many years, but I do not remember much of it after almost two decades as a stay-at-home mom.  And, while it does not take me long to remember enough to be able to show my son how the problems should be done, I cannot give the background information, tips, and help that an experienced calculus teacher can.  Instead, I turn to Steven Gottlieb’ Calculus 1 DVD lectures.

In over 20 hours of whiteboard lectures, Gottlieb covers 27 calculus topics, including Limits; Continuity; Product, Quotient, General Power, and Chain Rules; Extrema on an Interval; Rolle’s Theorem and Mean Value Theorem; Points of Inflection; Curve Sketching; and more—in short, everything needed to supplement a first calculus course, whether in high school or university.

Each topic is approached in a relaxed fashion, with every problem completely worked out and explained in great detail.  Gottlieb is obviously a gifted tutor and can organize concepts so that they are clear and memorable.  As my husband, a former calculus teacher, pointed out earlier, presenting math the way Steven Gottlieb does requires years of experience as well as outstanding teaching skills.  He does a good job, and his lectures really benefit my son.

And, of course, watching the lectures together with my son helps me remember calculus basics so I can explain them when he gets stuck in a confusing problem.

As mentioned in the earlier review, the video lessons are not professionally produced and have some surface flaws, but they are very similar to real life lectures given by good professors.  They are not glitzy entertainment or top-quality recordings, but they teach the math and teach it well.

Math on DVD Calculus 1 is a wonderful resource for anyone studying or teaching calculus.  For less than the price of an hour’s tutoring, you get 20 hours of an experienced tutor’s well-planned lessons. As I pointed out in the Pre-Calculus review, there’s no way you can go wrong with this.

You can purchase Math on DVD Calculus as a digital download, a DVD set, or a CD.  Calculus 1 covers beginning calculus, whether in high school or at university.  Calculus 2 and Calculus 3 are available for those moving on in math or physics at university.  I wish I had access to these videos when I was a physics student; they would really have helped me.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this resource from Steven Gottlieb for the purposes of this review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

~Written by Annie Kate