MathTV

Since math concepts have been around unchanged for centuries, there can be a temptation to stick with tried-and-true teaching tactics as well. With all due respect to Euclid, XYZ believes students respond more eagerly when they are met in the moment. Our approach conforms to them, rather than the other way around.

XYZ students can therefore choose the tools best suited to their learning style: traditional printed textbooks, interactive textbooks, peer-conducted lessons and an online homework platform all work together, giving students multiple ways-to find their way. This is how we keep math accessible, by recruiting and training our tutors in the XYZ approach and keeping student costs as low as possible.

After earning both his B.A. and M.S. in mathematics, Pat McKeague taught at both Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cuesta College. During this time, his students weren’t the only ones who were learning. Pat came to understand there are as many ways of teaching math as there are students in a classroom, and he applied this insight when he was invited to write a single textbook chapter on elementary algebra. When that chapter attracted the attention of three publishers and landed him a contract for an entire series, Pat realized his methods could benefit a much larger audience.

Eventually, Pat grew frustrated with profit-minded changes in the publishing industry, so he founded XYZ Textbooks to put student needs foremost. The company pioneered the now-standard practice of offering print and digital content simultaneously—at prices so low they seemed unsustainable. This student-first strategy proved not only sustainable, but transformative.

Knowing all this, it might not be surprising that Pat’s been honored by the American Mathematics Association for Two-Year College (AMATYC) twice with its Presidential Award and, since establishing XYZ, with its Herb Gross Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to mathematics education—a commitment we feel is reflected in everything we do.

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