Tips you can use to increase your academic effectiveness.
Being able to study efficiently is a skill that takes time to develop. It is normal to discover that the study habits and skills that worked for you in highschool or as a freshman need to be updated and improved if you are going to keep from being overwhelmed. It takes time and effort, as well as trial and error, to find which study habits work best for you. Below are some suggestions and resources to get you started. Good luck, and study efficiently!
Build a solid foundation, if you haven't already.
- A solid foundation in alegbra and precalculus is required for this course,
especially
knowledge of exponentials, logarithms, trig functions, and
algebraic operations.
- Many people do not realize that they still have some issues with
algebra. Success in this course will be almost impossible if there
are too many holes in your algebraic skills, especially those
concerning logs and exponents. Fix any issues as soon as possible
so that you will be able to do your best.
- Here's one Exponent
and Log review. Use Google to find more.
Tips on doing homework
- On the same day the homework is assigned, read over all the problems. This will get you thinking about them early on. The problems will stay in your brain on the "back burner", and you may have more luck later when you sit down to work them.
- Do all the homework problems, even if you don't get them in on time.
- Homework is excercise. If you want to get better at sports, you need to excercise everyday. If you want to get better at mathematics, you need to work on problems every day.
Advice from students for doing better on exams
- Study with more people. Study in groups or with a partner. Work problems together on a white board. Take turns challenging each other. Being able to explain a problem clearly to someone else is a major step towards understanding it.
- Pay attention in class and to the instructor's emails.
- Rework what you didn't understand well.
- Write down short examples on the notecard.
Note: Notecards are not allowed on exams; the pupose of this
tip is to help with studying.
- Label formulas on your cards.
- Theorems should be on the notecard.
- Keep a running list of things for your notecard rather than trying
to compile it all at the last minute.
- Write down formulas completely and correctly.
Advice on how to predict what is on the exam (in addition to some of the
above):
- Old exams are a hint.
- Pay attention to problems done in class several times.
- Take note of quiz questions; one of those might become an exam
question.
- Problems tend to be similar to homework/suggested homework.
In Class
- Make sure you have read the section we are covering before you come to class.
- Please be assertive in asking questions during lecture.
- Please be assertive in paying attention in lecture.
- Remember that you are responsible for all material presented in
lecture, no matter how strongly you felt it was emphasized.
Links* to articles on efficient study habits
Case
Study: Why the Number of Hours You Spend Studying Means
Nothing
Case
Study: How I Got the Highest Grade in my Discrete Math
Class
Case
Study: How Tyler Aced a Difficult Course
Case
Study: How Amy Saved Her College Career
Finals
Diaries: Travis Prepares to Battle Calculus
The
Grade Whisperer: Eric Prepares to Battle English Lit
How
Ricardo Aced Computer Science Using His iPhone (An alternative
would be to use Anki.)
Study Hacks "Four Weeks to a
4.0" series
Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Some of the above material is taken from Jean-Marie Linhart's
site, which has
some great resources. See her excellent website on Success at
Math.
* Use the external links on this page only according to your own judgement; I am not
responsable for, nor in control of, their content. The opinions given
there do not necessarily reflect my own, and I do not officialy endorse
any statements made on the websites which are linked to, nor any of the
content linked to therein.
