Basic Mathematics

Basic Mathematics, by Goetz, Smith, and Tobey, is your on-ramp to success in mathematics! The authors provide generous levels of support and interactivity throughout their text, helping you experience many small successes, one concept at a time. You will take an active role while using this text through making decisions, solving exercises, or answering questions as you read. This interactive structure allows you to get up to speed at your own pace, while also developing the skills necessary to succeed in future mathematics courses. To deepen the interactive nature of the book, Twitter® is used throughout the text, with the authors also providing a tweet for every exercise set of every section, giving you timely hints and suggestions to help with specific exercises.

Brian Goetz has helped students of all levels achieve success in mathematics for sixteen years. As a curriculum specialist for the Grand Rapids Area Precollege Engineering Program, he created numerous materials to motivate and inspire underserved populations. Brian also ran a math learning center at Bay de Noc Community College, where he helped students exceed their expectations of success. Brian has been teaching at Kellogg Community College for eight years. A common thread throughout all his teaching experiences is that an active and supportive environment is needed for students to succeed. With this belief close to his heart, Brian finds working with the other authors to be one of the most rewarding experiences of his career. When he isn’t working, Brian spends quality time with his family and friends, mountain bikes, and kayaks. He dreams of spending a summer kayaking around Lake Superior.

Graham Smith has spent his life immersed in education. He was raised in a family of six teachers, where dinner conversations often centered on public education. Since then, Graham has gained sixteen years of classroom experience, and spent the last 9 years teaching full-time at Kellogg Community College (KCC). The majority of Graham’s professional life has been focused on the education and success of the under-prepared student, which he continues through this work as the Developmental Mathematics Coordinator at KCC. Graham’s substantial training and experience in mathematics and education, as well as his training and certification in developmental education through the Kellogg Institute at Appalachian State University and the National Center for Developmental Education, provide a comprehensive understanding of developmental mathematics. This background and experience provide the author team with a well-developed perspective. In his spare time, Graham enjoys spending time with his wife Amy, catching big fish, playing the guitar, and tinkering with his car that runs on recycled vegetable oil.

Dr. John Tobey currently teaches mathematics at North Shore Community College in Danvers, MA where he has taught for thirty-nine years. Previously Dr. Tobey taught calculus at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has a doctorate from Boston University and a Master's degree from Harvard. He served as the mathematics department chair for his college for five years. He has authored and co-authored eight college mathematics textbooks with Pearson. He is a past president of New England Mathematics Association of Two Year Colleges (NEMATYC) and is an active member of the American Mathematics Association of Two Year Colleges (AMATYC). In 1993 Dr. Tobey received the NISOD award for excellence in teaching.