How to Study for Mathematics

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Allow time in your planning and instruction to help students learn how to study mathematics. During the first week of instruction, discuss a summary of how to study for the course. It is most helpful if you write out several pages for the students to read and refer to as needed. An excellent resource for this discussion is How to Study Mathematics (Margenau & Sentiowitz, 1977). This 31-page (half size) softbound book is written to the student and serves as an excellent reminder of what teachers expect from, but do not always convey to, their students.

The following list is just a beginning; add to it as you gain teaching experience. As the year progresses, discuss with students your expectations. Ask your students to do the following with frequent reminders of how to study for mathematics.

• Beginning a new unit. Look over the table of contents to check the main ideas of the unit and see how these concepts relate to what you have or have not studied before. Skim the unit to look for new or familiar terminology.
• Classwork. Always come to class with supplies. Keep a record of assignments as completed, or mark off an assignment sheet provided by the teacher. Note briefly any difficult sections.
• Homework. Though the homework may seem easy at the beginning of the chapter, later sections build on the beginning, so don't ignore the easier material at the start of a unit. Look ahead on your schedule. If you will be busy on a given evening, try to get a start on that homework ahead of schedule.
• Review. Stop every several sections and think how the mathematics in this section relate to previous ones. Look ahead to get an idea of where the course is going next.
• Study for an assessment. Whether the assessment is a project or a written exam, do not fall behind in preparing for it. It is impossible to do well in mathematics by cramming. To practice for an exam, select a few homework problems from each section of the unit and work them without referring to the solutions. Check solutions only after finishing the problems.
• Taking an exam. Look quickly over the complete test to see the types and number of problems. Estimate how long you can spend on each, and try not to get stuck on anyone problem. Be sure to show your work so the teacher can follow it. Ask yourself if the answer is reasonable. Spend all allotted time working on the test even if you have ample time to rework every problem, because you might catch a careless mistake at the last minute.
• Get help as needed. Know what help is available and use it. Do not wait until the night before the test, when it's too late.
• Organization. Keep materials orderly in a loose-leaf notebook. If papers are in a pile on the bottom of your locker or on the floor of your room, it will be especially difficult to be prepared for class.

In addition to making these suggestions, take time to go through some of these exercises with students to demonstrate the procedures recommended. Give students a few minutes the first day of a new unit to look over the materials and spend time thinking over what is coming next. List meaningful problems for students to rework when studying for an exam. Provide specific instructions concerning what should be included in an assignment. Although these practices seem obvious to teachers, students need instruction in how to learn as well as in what to learn. If students truly learn how to learn, their education becomes a self-directed lifelong process.