Academic Resource Center

Math Tips

1. Understand the Requirements for Succeeding in Mathematics

To succeed in mathematics, you must understand and apply all of the presented material.

• Mathematics has a linear learning pattern, so you must understand each of the previous chapters before continuing on to the next chapter.
• In college math, you receive less instructional time and proceed twice as fast. Most of your learning will occur outside of the classroom.
• Study hard for the first major test, which is usually the easiest and the least prepared for. If you do well on that test, you won't have to spend time on introductory material while learning new material for the next test. A good score will also improve your motivation and bolster your confidence.
• Get a study buddy, someone in your class to call when you have difficulty working the problems.
• Review your previous math course material before attending your present math course.
• Take each math course back-to-back so that you can maintain the linear learning sequence. If you need a tutor, find one the same week class begins.

2. Stay Alert in the Classroom!

• Sit in an area that directly faces the teacher's desk so that you pay attention to the teacher and are not distracted by your surroundings or fellow classmates.
• Prepare yourself mentally for the class by reviewing the previous day's notes, the reading material, and the homework.
• Copy every step for each problem that is written on the board.
• Develop a system where you write the least amount possible and get the most down while still hearing what the instructor is saying. Using abbreviations is one way to accomplish this.
• Re-work your notes as soon as possible after class in order to improve your memory and also expand your understanding of mathematics in general

3. Do Your Homework!

• Review each day's class notes or highlighted textbook material before doing your homework. If you do not have time, review an example in the book that appears similar to the problem you are doing.
• Write down every step of each problem even if you can do the steps in your head. In this way, you will over-learn how to solve problems, and your memory will improve. Also, when you are reworking incorrect problems, it becomes easier to backtrack through each step to find your mistake(s).
• Students who memorize how to do problems -- instead of understanding the reasons for correctly working the steps -- will eventually fail their math courses.
• Getting behind in daily homework assignments is the fastest way to get behind in math courses. It is a fact: doing homework leads to better grades, with less time spent on cramming for the tests!

4. Study Smart

• The best time to review the material you have already learned is right before going to sleep.
• The most efficient time to study is as soon as possible after the mathematics class. According to psychologists, you will forget most of what you have learned in the first hour after class. Reviewing your notes will increase your ability to recall the information and make it easier to understand the homework assignments.

5. Work on Your Reading Skills

• Skim the assigned material to get an overview of the assignment.
• Circle the new words that you do not understand.
• Put all of your concentration into reading. Reading a math textbook is likely
  to take more time and concentration than other textbooks.
• Highlight or underline the important material. Material discussed both in textbooks and lectures usually appear on the test.
• When you get to the examples, go through each step.
• Highlighted or underlined material should be reviewed before doing the homework problems, and the glossary has to be learned 100 percent before taking the test
• If you do not understand some words or concepts, develop your own glossary in the back of your notebook and ask the instructor for more explanation.

6. Learn How to Reduce Math Anxiety

• Test anxiety is a learned response that can be unlearned.
• Learn relaxation techniques so that you can replace an anxious response with a relaxation response. The Academic Center (located on the Spangler Learning Center 's 2nd floor) has several handouts on relaxation techniques.

7. Prepare Well for Exams

• Develop practice tests to determine if you are ready for a major exam. Do this by selecting questions from chapter sections or chapter reviews. Write out some questions in random order and wait a day. Then, take the test with the usual time limit.
• Hold a group study session in which each student prepares a test with several questions. On the back of the test have the answers worked out step-by-step.
• You can even ask the Math Lab! That's what we are here for!

8. Ten Steps to Better Test Taking

• Upon receiving your test, write down the information that you think you might forget.
• Preview the test.
• Write down material that was jarred from your memory while previewing the test.
• Decide the best way to get the most points in the least amount of time.
• Answer the easiest problems first, and review the answers to see if they make sense.
• Clearly write down each step in order to try for partial credit if you end up missing the problem.
• Skip the problems you do not know how to do, at first.
• Review the skipped questions. Reflect on how you solved other similar questions, or try to remember how the instructor solved that type of problem on the board.
• Guess at the remaining problems, or do as much work as you can on them.
• Review the test for careless errors.
• Use all of the allowed time.