Search Database

Elements of Mathematics: Foundations (EMF)

• Website

  https://www.elementsofmathematics.com/

• Topics

  • By Subject Area: Mathematics
  • Educational Options: Distance Learning
  • Grade Level: High School
  • Grade Level: Middle School

• Organization

  Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science

Comments

Parent on 5/19/2020

Daughter, 11, 6th grade DYS started this and is in the 4th course. At first I thought it was quirky and interesting by by about page 60 of the first course, I realized it was teaching complex, abstract math. It reminded me of how I only understand English grammar when I took Spanish, I understood better how standard math worked by looking at different mathematical operations. The class is not repetitive and daughter is learning very solidly. Previous online things (Alcumus, Redbird, Kahn) she did not learn very solidly. Started this before COVID19, first course took 2 months on top of regular school, working about 15 minutes a day. Now rate of about 3 weeks per class with reduced regular school, working 30-45 minutes per day. The class takes a lot of focus and she has to be in the right frame of mind for it.

Parent on 10/8/2019

My children credit IMACS with teaching them how to think logically, helping them to become great learners. I have had two kids with very different learning styles go through the EMF program. Both enjoy the high level of thinking required and thrive on the fast pace. In addition to becoming adept at problem-solving, they have learned responsibility at a young age through participating in a self-paced year-round online program. They both did well on their end of year exams given by their public schools. Upon completing EMF, my oldest earned 800's on the SAT Math Subject Tests as a 7th grader. Now an 8th grader, he takes Calculus online with UF as a dual-enrollment student and says EMF prepared him well for the challenge. Additionally, he took AP Java online through IMACS as a 7th grader and earned a 5 on the AP exam.

Student on 10/8/2019

EMF has allowed me to easily pick up new topics in math, even if I have not faced similar problems before. Unlike accelerated math, it's a curriculum that uses creative ideas to explain why math works, instead of repeating simple math problems. It gives advanced learners a chance to use abstract thinking and really get a deep foundation that will benefit them throughout their life when learning anything new.

Parent on 10/4/2019

Depending on the student and the circumstances, EMF can be an amazing experience. My daughter completed this program over three years in middle school to replace the public school middle and high school curriculum. I believe this is has been the best decision we’ve made in her educational career so far. I am sure she could have easily breezed through the standard classes. With EMF she got to truly learn how to struggle through difficult concepts until she understood. She got to understand the theory behind the calculations and I see it benefit her all the time. While her (very bright) friends are working hard in their high school chemistry class, my daughter says she understood after the first example. She often says – “Really, I already learned this in EMF”. So far the transition back to taking a traditional math class via dual enrollment has been very smooth. She scored well on her placement exams and the state end of course exams. She tells me since EMF she hasn’t seen any math she didn’t understand after working through the first example. While she was still enrolled in EMF, it was a lot of work because our school district set a challenging pace. There were many weekends and holidays spent working on EMF while all her friends were having fun. This is why I say for the right student. I would not want to see a student who didn’t really want to participate in the program forced into it simply because it’s available and they could do it. For her, it was very difficult and time consuming. For a child who has the flexibility to do EMF on a schedule of their own choosing, this time pressure would not be an issue. If the child wants it and will do it alone, then it’s great. I wouldn’t hire a tutor or have a parent sit with the child while they do the program. There were many days she wanted to quit but also wanted to finish what she started. It was hard to watch but I know it was a great thing for her. She probably learned as much from the process of working hard as she did about mathematics. Thank you EMF Math.

Student on 10/2/2019

I love EMF. I have been doing it since the start of the 2016-2017 school year, and I cannot say enough good things about it. The way the courses are structured to me is a vast improvement on traditional textbooks, and it is easy to transition from EMF back to normal methods. EMF has strengthened my logic and reasoning skills as well as my math skills through its focus on proofs. The curriculum asks its students why a certain theorem works instead of just asking children to brainlessly memorize. Because of EMF, I was able to get 800s on both of the math SAT subject tests in 7th grade, and I am now taking AP Calculus AB with an A in 8th grade. I really appreciate EMF for how well it has taught me math, and how well it has prepared me for my future mathematical endeavors.

Student on 9/26/2019

I have loved math from when I was little and was excited to learn more. In elementary school, that love faded as I found all of my math lessons to be boring. I did well on the homework and the tests, but I was never encouraged to do anything more challenging. When I started EMF in 6th grade, it was an amazing experience from day one. The way math was explained and the language used to explain it were unlike anything I had ever experienced before. With EMF, math became beautiful and fun for me. Within weeks, I was hooked on this new way of self-paced learning. I loved having the freedom to work at my own pace, and I accomplished way more than I ever thought I could, including taking AP Calculus in 8th grade. Most importantly, being in EMF made me truly love learning very advanced mathematics and made me realize that I’d like to become a mathematician.

Parent on 9/23/2019

I will always be grateful to the EMF program. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for my daughter. This program is like no other; it presents advanced mathematical concepts in the most fascinating, beautiful way. It enables a child to work at his or her own pace and reach his or her true potential without the constraints of traditional classroom pacing. My daughter was able to soar through the EMF program. Upon graduating, she was presented with opportunities that most students could only dream of. These opportunities include working in more advanced IMACS courses with renowned mathematicians (who wrote the EMF curriculum), taking calculus courses at the University of Florida in eighth grade, and attending a lecture given by the head of the UF mathematics department. After EMF, my daughter has the confidence and the solid foundation to enable her to thrive in any mathematical program. Her road to anticipated future mathematical success truly began with the EMF program.

Educator on 3/31/2019

I was introduced to the original Elements Of Mathematics in textbook/workbook form back in 1985. I was 12. A handful of other students and I were bored with regular math. Every year was just another form of multiplying and dividing. Because we showed interest in math beyond the usual curriculum, and because we were lucky enough to have a real mathematician for a teacher we were offered the Elements of Mathematics series to study for our last year in Middle School. (This is the original curriculum developed in the 1960’s upon which the EMF online curriculum is based.) It was such a fun year studying math and we were thrilled to be learning mysterious sounding subjects like “Set Theory” which our teacher claimed we would normally not learn until college, if even then. I didn’t even know math could be like that. It was an adventure. Lots of hard thinking. No boring memorization or drills. As a math lover, homeschooling mother, and math educator I looked everywhere for copies of these books to use for my kids and students. They were nearly impossible to come by. When I saw them available now in an online version I was beyond thrilled! This is a math-lover’s dream curriculum! I like the online format and the use of dialogue between student-teacher and student-student to explain concepts. I would recommend this curriculum for any student who is interested in learning and understanding math beyond the usual meorization and drill of skills and formulas. This is not just for “gifted” kids. I am not “gifted”. I just love math!

Parent on 2/6/2019

EMF is the perfect math curriculum for profoundly gifted children. Instead of merely accelerating the pace of learning the same merely functional interpretations of math, EMF leads students through the deeper mathematical universe, where they can understand mathematical relationships and appreciate the beauty. I have three very different children, with different strengths and weaknesses, and every one of them loves EMF.

Student on 11/15/2018

The best part about EMF is how it goes about teaching math. Whereas most math providers talk about formulas and how to solve problems, EMF teaches the fundamentals and builds up the concepts so you really understand how it all works. This makes challenging problems on more advanced topics easy. With this conceptual understanding, it made taking the SAT in 6th grade much easier because the SAT is based on foundational understanding but employs tricky tactics and mixes things together to make it seem more complicated. But the understanding I got from EMF enabled me to be able to handle these problems easily and is why I was able to score an 800 on the math portion of the SAT as a 6th grader. Now that I have completed EMF, I can attest to their claim that their students will be ready to take calculus. I am currently about half way through AP Calculus BC and am having no problem at all with the material. I just wish EMF continued on to calculus--it would be much more interesting than the class I am currently taking!

Parent on 11/15/2018

I cannot express how thankful I am that my son has the opportunity to take courses from IMACS online. Not only is the material well presented and engaging, but the topics covered go well beyond anything we have been able to find elsewhere. My son has spent 4 years with IMACS, first working in EMF and then taking computer science and logic classes at eIMACS. He has loved it all. Recently, during a particularly tedious stretch of papers, exams, and homework sets in his other classes, I asked my son if he thought it might be wise to drop something from his schedule and he replied, "as long as I have IMACS to look forward to each week, I don't mind all the rest."

Parent on 8/24/2018

Math taught in the schools does not prepare students for careers which require strong math skills. EMF Math’s proof-based math curriculum teaches concepts with more depth and breadth than any other math curriculum available for K-12 students. The curriculum teaches kids to think through problems rather than rushing to finish. I believe that EMF Math has helped my son develop his critical thinking skills, because he is able to work through the problems he has never been taught. Recently, he took another online math course with written problems. He earned many perfect scores, because he has learned how to write clear and logical proofs. I hope that more students will use EMF Math, because it teaches skills necessary for STEM careers.

Student on 7/13/2018

EMF is by far my favorite course in school. It's an abstract way of learning high school math using college methods in a way that's interesting and challenging. EMF has taught me to be a better thinker logically. It's greatly improved my ability to write proofs as most of the course consists of proving results, and I've used many concepts learned from EMF in competitions. The logic and abstract algebra concepts from EMF will probably stay with me for life and prove to be very useful later in mathematics. I think that EMF will benefit me greatly in college mathematics and even more so if I become a mathematician. Upon completion of EMF, I was placed into Calculus 1 at UF.

Parent on 6/1/2018

We are lucky to live in South Florida, where we have access to live classes offered through IMACS. We grateful that our school district, Broward County Public Schools, offers EMF as an option for its brightest students. Our three kids expressed a passion for math at early ages. Our first began to attend IMACS math classes at 5 years old, and we were hooked! Seven years later, we feel like IMACS is a part of our family. Our two oldest were invited to join the EMF program offered through BCPS (also available to purchase privately) which takes the kids from pre-algebra through pre-calculus in a 3 year online program. One is entering his 2nd and the other his 3rd year. They are also taking the University Level Computer Science classes. Both are learning high level math and computer skills at young ages and at their own pace in a unique, engaging and fun way. Our little guy began his IMACS adventure this year, as a homeschooler, and his favorite day of the week his IMACS day. We credit our kids' IMACS education with teaching them the logical and critical thinking skills that help them to excel in all of their subjects. They love the IMACS method of teaching. Thank You IMACS and Thank You BCPS!

Student on 5/16/2018

Elements of Mathematics: Foundations and University Computer Science I and II have been the highlights of my academic life, and they are what has inspired my passion for math and computer science. I cannot even imagine what my life would have been like without having seen the beauty of mathematics, which they have enabled me to do. I especially loved Number Theory and the Abstract Algebra sequence. Thank you!

Student on 4/27/2018

I was a student of EMF in middle and high school and am now, many years later, the parent of a young child. I recently revisited the EMF curriculum to refresh my memory of it. It's just as wonderful now as they was when I was in middle school. The material is engaging. The concepts are well-explained. The problems are joyously puzzling. I've read dozens of textbooks and taken thousands of hours of class, from primary grades through post-graduate work. There is no curriculum quite like EMF. I wish every student could experience it. I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to participate in the program. I hope it fosters the same lifelong mathematical curiosity in her that it did in me.

Parent on 4/25/2018

After briefly attending a public school and enduring a repetitious and boring math program, my daughter learned to hate a subject she once enjoyed. Once we decided to homeschool and found EMF, things completely turned around, and she joyfully declared that she loved math again. EMF is very challenging and requires students to think deeply about the topics, many of which do not appear in typical early math classes. She is truly engaged by the material and often asks to spend more time on math than any other subject. The strong foundation that EMF has given her has been especially useful to her because she also enjoys computer programming, and it seems especially geared to such students. In fact, my spouse, who works in the computer science field, often jokes that she knows more about topics like data sets and ordered n-tuples than most of his co-workers.

Parent on 3/7/2018

EMF is a brilliant program! It presents material in a way that young students want to engage with it. But it also stimulates them to think in a way that is often not encountered prior to a university context. The program has been of immense value to my son, who has learned to think hard about complex problems, and to understand why mathematical formulae work, not just how to memorize things and to plug numbers into equations that he has been taught are correct. This is what mathematical education should look like for gifted students.

Student on 6/13/2017

EMF is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of advanced mathematics in any shape or form. For those who receive the wondrous opportunity, I strongly recommend that you seize it. I guarantee you will never regret this decision. EMF opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the future, as it does live up to its name and teaches the fundamentals of mathematics. Within days of beginning the program, you will have learned and possibly even mastered concepts some of your most advanced peers may never have the chance to learn. Yes, sometimes the going gets rough, and it feels almost impossible, but with your brainpower and the assistance of the marvelous professors, anything in this program is possible. Because in truth, EMF is not just a program. It is a whole new world of mathematics.

Parent on 6/11/2017

My daughter has spent the last few years in school frustrated that her math class was not interesting, challenging or engaging enough. Since beginning EMF she has completely changed perspective on math in general. She finds the courses both challenging and super interesting. She loves both the mathematical approach and the logic pieces of the course. She has mentioned that the format of the course is very user friendly and more fluid than other courses as well. I'm sure she couldn't imagine taking any other course.

Student on 4/29/2017

As a student who is doing EMF, I can say this is one of the most fun and challenging course I've done. Everybody in my school always have 6 periods and EMF is always the last period, but I think of it more of a fun activity then math, I always think of my final period as "fun time" and always looked forward to it.

Student on 2/23/2017

I learned math and logic using the EMF curriculum from 1980 to 1984, in a Nebraska public school. We had a math teacher (now retired) who would select rising 6th graders she thought were up for the challenge of working with this curriculum for the next five years. I give the EMF curriculum (and my teacher) credit for preparing me with the tools, content, and mind-set to use, learn, and enjoy math and logic to this day. Here are some of the benefits: -High scores on the SAT and ACT (I was a Merit Scholar), -Admission into the University of Chicago, Michigan, Notre Dame -An easier time with the statistics I learned in undergrad and graduate school,  -Progressively more senior analytics/data science roles in my career, which I love. I came back to the site because I missed the gentle humor and challenges of my EMF books, which were lost along the way. So smart, these books. And more fun than sudoku.

Student on 2/7/2017

EMF is challenging and interesting. It is more advanced and not repetitive, so I don't get bored. The Virtual Classrooms are fun to watch, and the gadgets are fun to play with. EMF makes me think and analyze. The Help Forum and The Curly Bracket chat forum make it so that there is always a place to ask for help. In EMF, you can go at your own pace, so if you don't like timed math tests, you don't feel rushed in EMF. I really like EMF, and I highly recommend it to other kids.

Parent on 10/27/2016

I first heard of EMF on Facebook advertised as a math course for gifted children. We have home schooled our children for 12 years and have used 4 different math curriculums. We were successful in teaching formulas with the other curriculums but our students struggled to really grasp higher math. When we enrolled our son in EMF, we were hopeful but a bit skeptical. "Beware of the shiny new object," was the saying that dominated my thinking. My skepticism was erased when I saw my son solving difficult problems easily as he broke them down in a logical way. He is not afraid to tackle any problem, even college level statistics, because he has been taught through EMF to think and reason through a problem instead of relying on memorized formulas. As an added bonus, he genuinely enjoys the creative and interesting manner in which the EMF curriculum is presented. We are very pleased with this course and plan to use it with our other children.

Parent on 7/1/2016

My son completed hist first EMF course this year. He absolutely enjoyed this course from the first day. EMF was by far his favorite course in school. Comparing with traditional math courses, we like the way that EMF focuses on critical thinking and logic reasoning, and also present students with some challenging but interesting problems. Also more advanced EMF students can learn the course on their own pace, going ahead of schedule. We believe that the skills that my son learned from EMF has built a solid foundation for his high school and college math courses. It will also improve his problem solving skills in math competitions.

Parent on 6/28/2016

EMF and IMACS have been wonderful for my son. EMF is teaching him math almost from the inside out. He has such a deeper understanding of WHY things work that it is making a difficult subject into an amazing experience for him. I can't imagine any other math class where a child will ask to stay up late so he can get to the end of a lesson to see how it all comes together.

Parent on 6/24/2016

Our daughter completed her first year with EMF. The hope of every parent is to maximize their child's opportunity in life. The EMF program provides an avenue for children to stretch themselves mathematically in a way that cannot be found in any other class. The feeling of accomplishment our daughter has received bolstered her confidence and has her ready for whatever comes her way.

Student on 8/5/2014

I love the EMF program and have completed 6 courses and am about to start the 7th course. I especially like the way the material is presented and the interactive nature of the courses. I have always found the EMF help forum and tech support to be very responsive and timely. I know for a fact that I will be completing all 15 courses when they are available.

Parent on 7/8/2014

My son has completed the first three EMF classes and is excited about continuing with them next school year. This is the first math program that I don't have to remind him to do, even though it is quite challenging and occasionally difficult for him. The desire to level-up his avatar, combined with the interesting problems, has kept him wanting to learn and working hard to learn very advanced concepts. We have seen his focus and academic maturity grow as he completes the classes.

Parent on 4/10/2014

The days of learning math by repetition are a thing of the past. EMF teaches children critical thinking, logical reasoning and analytical math at their own pace. Although the program is self study,it has one-on-one feeling of having an instructor and at a very fair price. My daughter is very advanced for her age, and she tells me she enjoys the challenging work of EMF and the abstract mathematical concepts EMF employs. As a parent I give EMF an A+.

Parent on 3/5/2014

As a homeschooler, our son is an avid user of online educational resources. Over time, he has had the opportunity to use a wide variety of online curricula. I recently asked him to pick his favorite online course. He answered, "most definitely EMF, by a wide margin."

Student on 3/5/2014

EMF does more than teach; it inspires. I enjoyed the Operational Systems course immensely. Were it not for Operational Systems, I would never have known that there was such a thing, and that it is an idea which extends through every single mathematical topic there is. Seeing all the operations tie in with concepts like sets, which in turn tie in with functions and relations later, and so on, has allowed me to teach mathematics to the students whom I tutor, and not a discrete collection of problem solving methods. Using the ideas I learned from EMF, I was able to show them that math not only makes sense, but is truly fun!

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