10 Tips for Success in Your Math Course This Semester
by Caitlin Grosso
It’s 10 o’clock at night. You have a math assignment due at midnight, and you’ve been stuck on the same problem for over an hour. You’re frantically flipping through the pages of your textbook, looking up Khan Academy tutorials on YouTube, and hoping that some sort of math fairy will wave a wand, manifesting the solution. At this point, you may claim that math simply isn’t your strong suit and go to sleep – which may very well be what you need to do in this instance. However, the truth is that math doesn’t have to be one of your academic strengths in order for you to be successful in your course. Math success, in actuality, has very little to do with talent and a lot more to do with acquiring proper resources, tools, and strategies.
James Morgan, the math support coordinator in the 4Cs4U SUCCESS program, began teaching math in the early 1990s as a substitute teacher. He had his first college teaching experience in 1999 at the University of Connecticut. Before coming to 4C’s, he taught for Manchester Community College, Holyoke Community College, and Western New England University. He was hired at 4C’s with the goal of alleviating math stress from students by offering help in the Math Learning Center. Here are his top 10 tips for performing well this semester in your math course at 4C’s – no magic required.
1. Show up for class. “You will still learn something,” Morgan says. “Even if you feel like skipping.”
2. Get to know your professor. They want you to succeed in their course, and, often, you will find that they have creative and helpful ideas for you to succeed, despite any personal circumstances.
3. Read the syllabus. Morgan advises students to “follow instructions on the syllabus carefully, especially with items like homework submission, how to communicate, and where resources are posted for the class.”
4. Become a regular in the Math Learning Center. Not only will the tutors be able to clarify the material you are struggling with, but you will form connections with them, as well as with the other students/classmates who also show up for help.
5. Don’t “cram” at the last minute before exams. “Our brains become saturated if we try to upload too much information into it in one sitting, much like a glass that is full,” says Morgan. “If you try to pour in more water, it will just flow over the sides and down the drain.”
6. “Do math homework with the mindset that you are in the process of learning, not fulfilling a course requirement for a grade,” he says. This allows time for your brain to organize the material and make sense of it.
7. Ask questions and request clarification in class. By asking questions, you are encouraging other students to speak up, too. “Your ideas and understanding of concepts are like a currency for the classroom,” he says. “Ultimately, the culture of the classroom environment is made healthier by a robust exchange of ideas.”
8. Make friends in your class. Morgan emphasizes that math can bridge valuable relationships because problem-solving is often a collaborative process. “Do not be afraid to work in small groups to study and solve problems – it is always better to solve problems with more than one mind working on it,” Morgan says. “Plus, as students, you will find that your shared struggles lend deeply to the learning process.”
9. Make connections between the math material and real life. Many things connect to math in some way or another. Morgan says that “math is the language of all science, art, music, and philosophy.”
10. Leave your anxiety at the door, literally. Anxiety inhibits the learning process, and Morgan assures that the math classroom is safe. “I have had students write the word ‘anxiety’ on a piece of paper and leave it in the hallway prior to class,” he says. “Try this, even if it sounds silly. It works. And, if you really want your anxiety back after class you can pick it up again outside of the room.”
Math is magical, after all: It serves a bigger purpose in our lives than we give it credit for. And you don’t have to be a mathematician to reap its benefits, nor to be successful in your course this semester.
“Why Math?
Math is a language.
Math has and continues to influence history.
Math allows for science to happen.
Math develops insight.
Math requires research.
Math and art describe each other.
Math facilitates the making of music.
I teach math not because I expect you to major in math or because I expect you to work on math problems all your life, especially on weekends. I teach math because I expect you to be human, to understand the infinite, and to recognize beauty. I teach math because I expect you to want to be more of a person each and every day, and that learning something, for the sake of learning it, changes you fundamentally and permanently...for the better. I teach math so that you can actualize all your potential.”
-James Morgan, Math Support Coordinator, 4Cs4U SUCCESS Program
James Morgan. (Caitlin Grosso)
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