Guidelines for Success in
Mathematics
by
Troy E. O'Brien
Take good notes and review them often. A habit that has proven to be helpful
for many people is to recopy your notes into another notebook after class. This
serves the purpose of you reviewing your notes and ensures you have a legible
and organized copy to review from later on in the course.
Make sure to plan and utilize enough time to study and do homework. The rule
of thumb is to plan for eight hours of homework a week, and some people need
more time. Homework is the only way that you will really understand
mathematics.
Use separate notebooks for homework and notes. Also, label all of your
homework and keep it organized. Your homework is an excellent source to study from
before a test and review before a class session. If you do homework on scratch
paper, label the problems and staple the pages together so you don't lose any
problems.
When doing homework - Don't conserve paper! Many students try to get as many
problems as possible onto one page. This style of homework makes it hard to
find mistakes, cause mistakes, reduces the chances for a tutor to find your
troubles with a problem, and makes your homework almost useless as a study
source.
When seeing a tutor -
Have your problems ready and be as specific as possible. Their job is not to
teach you the whole lessen, but rather to assist you with difficulties and
missing mental connections with how to solve the problems.
Go to them early. People who go to a tutor at the last minute as usually not
full happy with the help they get, unless it is for a specific problem.
Sometimes, tutors might need a day or two to get extra material for you; not
all of their resources are always on hand.
Try to plan your time in the tutorial services wisely. There are regularly
scheduled classes in the lab and glut times. The instructors in the tutorial
services can help you in finding better times to show up for your needs. They
also know which instructors are better for your needs and will help you connect
with them.
Tutoring is offered free of charge to Davenport students. It is offered on a
show up and get help basis. This means that you will need to find a time when
the lab is less busy to get more one on one tutoring. At this time, there is no
scheduling for a personal tutor. You are also expected to show other students
the same courtesies that you expect to receive from them. The majority of the
students assisted are happy with the help they receive.
Don't marathon study. Long sessions usually cause
problems like frustrations, low retention of the material, and ideas tend to
blur together. Make sure you take a fifteen minute break every two hours. You
will find the best results occur when you study an hour or two every day. Use breaks
in your daily schedule as much as possible by reviewing notes on three by five
cards.
Don't jump right to the problems - review first. This reduces your
frustrations with doing the homework.
Write mathematical ideas out in simple English in your own words. This will
help you remember the main ideas.
Study in a surrounding that is as free from distractions as possible. Also, keeping to regular study times as much as possible.
True study habits make your body and mind waist less time in preparing to
study.
Study with a friend - it works. The process of sharing information with
another person gives you a higher retention of the material.
Study in the tutorial services when a tutor is available if your schedule
permits. Outside of getting immediate help if you run into problems, some
people find it relaxing to know there is assistance near by. A relaxed mind
studies better.
Get help when you need it. Procrastination is the worst thing to do when
studying mathematics. While the problem is fresh in your mind is the best time
to get help. Also, getting the help early keeps you from getting into wrong
processes for solving problems. Most of mathematics is getting into good habits
and proper procedures.
Keep up with the class. Getting behind will confuse you and makes it harder
to understand the new material. Show up to class as much as possible.
Instructors try to show you the best way to learn the information. The
interactiveness of the classroom reinforces your memory of how to work the
problems. Don't be shy in the class room - ask questions. Instructors cannot
read minds; you have to let them know what questions you have. That's where interactive comes into the classroom.
When you ask a question, don't be vague. Instead of asking "I don't
understand the problem," you should ask "I don't understand the third
step." This allows the instructor to be more focus with their explanation
and you not to become bored with the steps you already know.
Take the time to step back from the problem and see the ideas. The old
saying is true - "You can't see the forest from the trees." If you
look too close at a problem, you won't see the process.
If you have math anxiety, see a tutor for help. There is an amazing amount
research that has been done to combat math anxiety. No one should let math
anxiety get the best of them. Most math tutors know how to combat it, and the tutorial services has a lot of material on how
to overcome math anxiety. Just keep in mind that no one gets it over night, and
it takes some time to beat it.
Watch the math programs on PBS and learning channels. They are written by
experts to help viewers. Those programs are an excellent source of other ways
to see how to solve problems.
Something to keep in mind.
Math instructors tend to make mathematics look easy. They have done their
homework when they were in school. Long hours of homework was
how they formed their skills. Everyone starts with basics and works their way
up since no one is born knowing mathematics. After you have done enough math
work, you too will make it look easy when showing it to someone else. Like
everything that is important to know - math takes time and practice.
