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- Center for Academic Assistance
- FLORIDA GULF COAST
- UNIVERSITY
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- This study guide is adapted from the text, “Winning at Math” by Paul D.
Nolting, Ph.D., Academic Success Press, Inc., 1997.
- The author of this presentation, Robert Brownell, Ph.D., Applied
Mathematics, University of Virginia, has over 30 years combined
experience teaching university level mathematics and training engineers
in industrial simulator design and operation.
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- Maybe it would help to know that most people feel the same way about
math and math homework.
- Did you know that most people are not trained to study mathematics?
- That’s right. You can learn how
to study mathematics.
- This study guide can help you learn the study skills that make
mathematics easier to learn.
- It will take persistence and work on your part, but you will start to
see results right away.
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- Math is a language of symbols and words.
It takes time to assimilate, and requires steady practice.
- Skill one: establish a regular
study time for math and stick to it.
- Use your study time well and avoid procrastination. Learn how
- to “Work Smarter” with your
available time.
- Skill two: make your studies more
effective with a “hands on” approach to solving math problems. This approach can -
- improve your learning and retention of math basics
- reduce or eliminate the need to use rote memorization
- improve the effectiveness of your exam reviews
- Skill three: improve your note
taking in class.
- Skill four: ask the help of
teachers, tutors, and friends.
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- Instead of thinking “I can’t learn math”, consider another approach:
- Most often, the real reason for poor learning of mathematics is poor
study skills, NOT the ability to learn and understand.
- Tell yourself you are responsible for your own grades.
- Make sure you are doing all that you reasonably can, realizing that
miracles DO happen.
- More than any other factor, regular practice is the key to absorbing and
learning mathematics.
- Make math study time a high priority.
- Post your study schedule in a prominent place so you can see it easily
every day.
- Stick to your study schedule.
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- Set study time hours for a whole week in advance. Knowing when you will study and when
you will not makes study more efficient.
Schedule hours for tutoring as well. Call Learning Resource Services to
arrange tutoring help.
- Several short study sessions should be scheduled. Don’t try to finish all of your work
in one session. Spread your work
over several days to let the math sink in.
- Choose a place to study that is
free from distracting sounds and visual images. Having the TV on is not good! Use your study area regularly,
reinforcing the process of “settling down” to study and think. Your “warm-up time” will be
significantly reduced.
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- Look over the text and notes for the topics you will cover. Make a list of these topics.
- Skim the homework problems assigned.
Write representative problem numbers with their page number under
the appropriate topic.
- This list defines the scope for your study session(s) and shows where
the formulas and tools are for the problems.
- Some of the problems may look familiar.
Warm-up with these, encouraging success. You may need to rework them to
reinforce your understanding of the basic principles.
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- If there are new problems you have not worked, choose the easier
ones first. This will reinforce success.
- Work each problem using the method given by Set I of this series:
- Write the problem statement in symbols and words
- Write each solution step in words
- Write each solution step in math symbols
- Speak the words as you write them
- It may seem tedious, but the process can be done in small steps. You can
pick up, at any time, where you left off.
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- Keep your scratch work to one side of the problem solution so it does
not add confusion to your problem.
You do not need to take additional time just to decipher your own
work.
- Make it legible the first time.
- Make note cards for hard to remember problems or concepts.
- Review them briefly at the beginning and end of each study session.
- Sounds trivial? Remember, you are
reading to understand, not memorize.
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- When you cannot solve a problem using your understanding of the text,
use your problem statement in words and symbols and complete as much of
the solution as you can.
- Seek help from the instructor, a tutor, or friend. With the outline of the problem in
words and symbols, others can help you more effectively.
- You may be pleasantly surprised at how helpful they will be because you
made the effort to do it yourself first.
- End your session on a positive note: do not end on a problem you cannot
complete.
- Work a similar one, or rework a previous problem, to end the session
with success and a positive frame of mind!
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- At the end of your study session, re-read your work for each problem you
reviewed.
- This verbal summary helps assimilate long-term knowledge.
- Do not memorize, just read to understand your own work.
- When you get tired of studying a topic, change the pace and review
previously learned material, or take a study break.
- Learning decreases if you study without breaks. You deserve a break after 30 - 45
minutes of study!
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- Try to improve your note taking in class. Make short phrases of topics the
instructor emphasizes.
- Make a checkmark next to each topic you feel is hard to understand.
- Ask questions about these topics during or after class.
- Update your class notes after talking to the instructor, tutor, or
friend .
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- Find a good tutor who has had the course, or who is trained in the subject. A tutor can help you build an outline
of the important math concepts
and representative problems, and can help you learn the methods.
- Always emphasize your need to understand all steps in the solution of
math problems.
- Let the tutor guide while you work the problem.
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Notes