How To Survive Math Class

by Ikee Gardner

“Blah, blah, something, something, blah, blah, blah.”

It was 10:05 AM, and my Linear Algebra professor had just begun the day’s lecture. While everyone else sat calmly at their desks, I was starting to panic. To me, nothing the professor was saying even sounded like English. None of the equations written on the board looked like any kind of mathematics I had ever seen before. I recognized the occasional “and” or “therefore,” and the occasional plus sign or parenthesis, but the rest of the class might as well have been in Tagalog (or any other language I don’t know).

The weirdest part was that, before that lecture, Linear Algebra had never confused me. I was good at math and liked it. I went to every class and tried to turn in homework on time, but the homework questions were becoming undecipherable too. Every time I went to class, my professor was lecturing in a foreign language. I felt like I was hitting a brick wall.

If you’ve ever had this experience, you know that it can be scary; it casts creepy shadows over your GPA! I understood the material at the beginning of the semester, but now that I was halfway into the term, the difficulty of the course was increasing. Midterms were coming up soon, and I knew that unless I wanted to take a test in Tagalog, I had to do something fast.

Thankfully, I was able to change my approach to Linear Algebra and successfully dig myself out of a hole. If you’re in the same situation, maybe the steps I took will help you too!

Step 1: Get your professor’s help

My biggest mistake was thinking that I could navigate through Linear Algebra on my own. After a few weeks of struggling, I decided to go to my professor’s office hours to ask him questions about the lecture, homework problems and general course material. When I knocked on the door to his office, guess what I found inside? A group of other Linear Algebra students who were just as confused as I was. We solved problems together, and we asked my professor for help when we got stuck. Attending office hours was an enormous help in helping me to complete homework problems and understand the material.

Step 2: Don’t get intimidated

It wasn’t smooth sailing once I started going to office hours. My professor was a nice person (and very intelligent), but not necessarily approachable. There were many students asking him questions at once, which made it difficult for me to ask mine. I had to be aggressive—asking questions repeatedly or pressing an issue—when I wanted more explanation or didn’t understand. I refused to get offended if another student interrupted me or cut me off. An outgoing, understanding and blunt personality was key to getting my questions answered.

Step 3: Make friends

Make sure you get to know people in your classes. Not only will you meet a lot of great new friends who share your academic interests, you’ll have someone to lean on—to compare lecture notes with or to study with. One day I felt sick and didn’t go to class, but I was able to ask another student what I missed. People are more willing to loan you their (valuable) lecture notes if they know you and trust you. Think about it—you wouldn’t want to give your notebook to a stranger.

Step 4: Read

Going to class isn’t enough. Just because your professor doesn’t mention pages from the textbook in class every day doesn’t mean reading is optional. It turned out that the answers to many of the questions I had were right in the textbook. The professor assumed everyone had already grappled with the material in the book and skipped over the basics during lecture.

Step 5: Keep your confidence

Time was precious on Linear Algebra midterms—I didn’t have time to be nervous. So, I just did my best and kept going. By keeping your confidence and remembering that you are a good student, you won’t waste valuable study time wondering if you’re behind or ahead of the class. I studied hard because I liked math, did well on the midterms, and earned an A in the class.

Hooray for happy endings!

delicious

digg

technorati

Email this page