Strategies for Math Success

The other day I posted a blog entry on getting the school year started right. The entry just stated some probably obvious ideas about how you, or your son or daughter, can get things going the right direction from the outset. They seem obvious, but 30+ years teaching informs me not every kid is doing these things. I also offered that in the next few days I'd make a post going over specific things that will help over the long haul. But first, I cannot emphasize enough that self-discipline is probably the most important aspect of success in the math classroom - and for that matter, anywhere!

We tend to start off any endeavor filled with enthusiasm and good intentions.  We might even have a plan. But, quoting a person I don't usually find highly quotable...

Math Success Tip #1: Self-Discipline

In life, and even in math class, even with the best formed plan, there will be bumps in the road. It's vitally important that you have the self discipline to stick with your plan, perhaps making tweaks, and see it through to the end.  You will find success in math and life employing this approach.  The following video is a tiny bit over the top, but has some great points...

Math Success Tip #2: Take Great Notes

Studies have shown that the seemingly simple process of writing information down forms the basis for greater integration of that knowledge into your toolkit of math skills. Taking notes is a skill that requires practice to master. There are note-taking strategies, such as the Cornell Note-taking Method, but my suggestion is that you develop your own system. You clearly cannot write down every thing the teacher says...you have to develop a sense for what's important and learn to summarize.

Great teachers make knowing what's important easy. The tell you what you must know, what's nice to know (but not essential), and what is conceptual material that is just interesting and you definitely do not need to retain.  Not all teachers are great. That's reality.

So, what can you do when the teacher is not clear and their method of instructional delivery isn't ideal? First, do not go to the teacher and say, "I don't like your teaching methods." Instead, try saying, "I'm trying to take really good notes to help me with homework and test preparation. I am having a hard time writing everything down and was wondering if, as you teach, you could give cues as to what is really important."

If your teacher is truly bad, the response will be, "Everything I say is really important." That's unlikely to be the case, and your teacher will likely try to accommodate your needs. They may need periodic friendly reminders, but I can say that students who care enough to make such requests, moved up several notches in my book.

Math Success Tip #3: Practice with Persistence EVERY Day!

A study was done that showed that math students in high performing countries had one characteristic that American math students did not have - PERSISTENCE. Students in these countries exhibited the trait that they would spend as much as 10x more time on a given challenging problem before quitting than American students.

I think some of this may be the "drill and kill" strategy where too many teachers assign tons of low level problems and just a few challenging ones at the end - where American students are trained they can get by just skipping the hard ones. That produces negative outcomes.

To be successful - meaning you internalize conceptually the mathematical concepts - you must be able to apply what you learn in meaningful ways. This means you have to consistently work problems, and if you are skipping any, they should be the trivial easier problems at the start of the homework. The problems that will make the difference in your success on assessments/tests/exams will be like the challenging ones towards the end. Do math every day...even if no assignment was given, go back and work previously assigned problems. Set an amount of time you will devote to this practice every single day.

At first, you may struggle mightily. But do whatever it takes to figure these problems out. Be persistent working them on your own. Be willing to ask for help - from other students, your teacher, technology (like photo-math...but be judicious and careful here), or a tutor when you are just flat out stuck. But you will gradually grow in your intellectual capacity to do hard problems...but believe in yourself and give it time.

It amazes me that students who accept the fact that playing a musical instrument or performing in a sport takes tons of time, effort, and persistence to become great...cannot grasp the idea that becoming even decent at a high level intellectual pursuit like math requires effort. Give yourself the grace and time to progress through hard work. Also, don't pay the least bit of attention to students for who everything seemingly comes easy.

Math Success Tip #4: Know what is going on!!!

Be organized with regard to due dates and upcoming tests. Keep a calendar of some kind - use your phone, use  calendar book...whatever you like, but write every piece of information down that pertains to when things are happening. When you have a test/assessment coming up, start preparing in advance...days or even a week in advance is the time to start. Work through assignments from the unit, practice tests, or whatever you can access to be best prepared. There's nothing worse than finding out in the morning from a friend that you have a test in 3rd period Algebra 2 that you were unaware of. There's really no excuse for that.

Following these four tips will give you an absolutely great chance at having success - which to me means coming as close as possible to maximizing your true potential. That might mean getting an A in the class or getting a C in the class. I suggest focusing less on the grade and more on the process and the concepts.

At the end of the day, you will be able to look yourself in the mirror and say you gave it your best shot.  That's a win!  

If you feel like you still need help, reach out. My tutoring services are best utilized by students willing to try hard, but still having a hard time.  Any tutor being honest would say the same. 

Reach out any time at https://www.facebook.com/AMannTutor/. Have a great day!!!

Get the Year Started Right in the Math Classroom

Last year at the beginning of the school year I published an article that is similar to this one. The reason that there's similarity is because the secret to being successful in the math classroom doesn't change much from year-to-year. Pretty much every student wants to have success, and certainly every parent wants their child to have success.

We all start the year with enthusiasm, both teachers and students, but it's easy to lose focus of the things that help us to be successful. This article will detail a few of the things that you can do from day one to make sure that your year is as successful as it can possibly be.

One strategy that I strongly suggest is to try to get to know your teacher from day one. It may seem like that's something that you as a student should not have to make an effort to do, but keep in mind that in many situations a teacher has as many as 150 students throughout the day, and you’re  just one. Although teachers almost inevitably want to get to know their students as quickly as they can, with the volume of students it can be difficult. What I am suggesting here is not something any more than, perhaps at the end of a class in the first week of school, go up and introduce yourself to your teacher. If at that time you feel like you have needs or concerns that you wish to express to the teacher briefly, do that. For example, if you have test anxiety, you might let the teacher know at that time. Just a little effort like this can make a big difference at the beginning of the school year. For me, as a classroom teacher, it was at least a couple of weeks and sometimes more like a month before I really knew with confidence all of my students' names, and felt like I had some knowledge of each one of them as an individual.

My next suggestion might seem overly obvious, but many students do not do it. Show up on day one completely prepared. See if a teacher has published any materials that are required for class. There might be a specific calculator or a certain kind of notebook or other items that your teacher may want you to have. Being completely prepared on day one can get you off to a great start. It also looks good to your teacher which cannot possibly hurt.

Next, I strongly suggest that you have a goal in mind. Going back to my first suggestion, this might be something that you even mention to the teacher, as he or she would certainly be impressed by the fact that you thought this through ahead of time. For example, you might set a goal that you will study one hour each day that you have class. This is just a personal opinion, but I believe it's better to set goals that are things that you can consider to be an action, than to set a goal for example as a grade. If you correctly identify the factors that lead to success, you'll maximize the grade that you would get in that class anyway.Not setting a certain letter grade as a goal, but instead expressing ahead of time the actions that you will take to find success in the classroom can minimize the amount of anxiety that you have every time you get a graded paper back with a slightly lower grade than you want. I will publish additional blog entries that will detail the types of goals that you can set to maximize your success in the classroom.

One factor that affects more high school students, in my opinion, than any other, is the fact that so many young adults are getting way too little sleep. We can't fool ourselves and pretend like this does not affect us. In reality getting too little sleep has a cumulative effect that dramatically decreases intellectual performance. The reasons why you might not get as much sleep as you like might be completely legitimate. You might be involved in sporting activities or other extracurricular activities. You might need to have a job working until late in the evening. I realize as a longtime high school teacher, and as a parent, these are real things and sometimes things that students cannot do much about. Being aware of the consequences of lack of sleep and lack of rest and not pretending like they don't exist might cause you to try to rearrange some things in your life so that you can get the sleep that you need. If I could pick one thing I think impacts negatively students’ performance more than any other, lack of sleep would be it.

These few little pieces of advice, might very well take care of any problems that might arise at the beginning of the school year. But a final piece of advice that I want to impart right now, is that the moment at which you feel like you are starting to struggle, is the time to reach out for help. Most high schools have an abundance of resources that are available to you at no cost. The high school which I last taught, for example, had a program through  the National Honor Society for students to be able to get help before or after school . Further, your teacher will almost always be available to help you either in the mornings before school, or in the evenings after school.

Of course,, your teacher's time is a finite resource. Also, the reality is that resources like after school tutoring from high school students may not address all of the needs that you have. When you have exhausted all those freely available resources that are available to you, and you just don't seem to be making the headway that you need to make, then perhaps other avenues of assistance may be called for. Tutoring services come in a variety of different forms, and are available in most locations.

During the past school year, for example, I offered online tutoring resources,  where I could address the needs of students all over the country. Being from Missouri, and having some connections still with teachers that were co-workers in the district I retired from, many of my students were from right here in this local area. But for my online students, it really made no difference whether I was working with the student here in Missouri, or in Florida, or in Michigan, or many of the other places where students that I worked with came from. Many of us, for good or for bad, are now very familiar with working online.

  Working online can alleviate some logistical problems such as simply having to travel to a certain location for tutoring. It also creates flexibility where by if you have a tight schedule working online can often be much easier to find a suitable time to meet your needs. At least for my tutoring services, because I do not have to travel anywhere when I'm working online, I can charge less per hour for those services. Some students, or their parents are concerned at the beginning that working online may not be suitable for their son or daughter or for themselves. Really, the only way I can address this concern is by trying a session and seeing if it works for you. In all candor I had no students last year, who after one session felt like the online version of the tutoring did not work for them.

So get off to a good start at the beginning of the school year, and do all you can to be successful. If it turns out somewhere along the line that tutoring is something that you need,  feel free to reach out through the Facebook page link below. This year, I may in certain circumstances be willing to do in-person tutoring for students in the Warren County, St.t Charles County, or Franklin County areas. So, if you have a need don't hesitate to reach out. 

Tutoring Services