How to Succeed in Math

Summary: Math comes easier to some students and harder to others. Whatever your level of ability, even if you don’t like math, there are some things you can do to improve your performance, reduce your anxiety level, and succeed in your math class.

Workbook: These pages give general tips and advice. You can get more specific with a workbook available in the Baker Center library, Paul Noltling’s Math Study Skills Workbook (1998, Academic Success Press, Bradenton FL).

In many ways you can approach math like sports:

• Train with a buddy. If you possibly can, get a study buddy or form a study group, and meet regularly at least two or three times a week. Very often one of you will be able to help the other one with a problem.

• Deal with cramps right away. When there’s something you don’t understand, you may be tempted to just put it aside and hope for the best. That strategy doesn’t work at all in math! Because everything builds, if you don’t understand A you will probably not understand B and C either.

  If this happens in class, ask a question right away. Don’t apologize and don’t worry about looking stupid; probably other people have exactly the same question.

  Outside of class, use the Baker Center tutors or talk through the problem with your study buddy. Visit your instructor during office hours or make an appointment for another time.

• Warm up before the event. Before class, look back over the readings and your homework. Make sure you are ready with any questions.

• Stay in training. Review your notes after class, even rewrite them to make sure you understand everything. If there are several days between classes, review the material at least every other day to keep it fresh in your mind.

  Make sure you train enough. The College recommends 2–3 hours per classroom hour, but you may need more.

  Recognize especially that in the summer you’re making a big time commitment. If your class meets five days a week for an hour and 40 minutes a day, that’s two 50-minute classroom hours, which means you should expect to study 4–6 hours per night, every night.