Developing mathematical skills

AN i mpor t ant part of Mathematics studying is taking notes. In order to take meaningful notes, you must be an active listener. Keep your mind on what the teacher is saying, and be ready with questions whenever you do not understand something.

If you have read the text material, you will be prepared to take good notes. The important concepts will appear somewhat familiar. You will have a better idea of what needs to be written down. If you try to write all that the teacher says or copy all the examples done in class, you may find your notes worthless when you look at them later at home. You may find that you are unable to make sense of what you have written.

Write down important ideas and examples as the teacher lectures. Make sure that you are l i stening and following the logic. Include any helpful hints or suggestions that your teacher gives you or cites in your text. You will be amazed at how easily you will forget these if you do not write them down. Try to review your notes the same day after class. You will find the material in your notes easier to understand if you have attended the class within the last few hours.

Successful note t a k i ng requires active listening and processing. Stay alert in class. You will realize the advantages of taking down your own notes over

copying those of someone else’s.

APPLICATIONS OR WORD PROBLEMS

Applications or word problems are the very life of Mathematics! They are the reasons for doing Mathematics because t hey teach you how to put i nto use the Mathematical skills you have developed. Learning Mathematics without solving word problems i s similar to l earning all t he ski l l s and technicalities of a sport without actually playing the game.

The key to success is practice. As they say constant correct practice makes perfect. Make yourself do as many problems as you can. You may not be able to do them correctly at first, but keep trying. You should not give up whenever you are confronted with a difficult problem. If you cannot solve it, try another one. Ask help from your teacher or other classmates on how to solve the problem. It’s worth fulfilling once you are able to successfully solve a difficult problem.

Mat hemat i c s r e qui r e s mastering a set of skills that you learn by practicing not just by watching someone else do it. To learn the necessary skills, you must practice solving word problems over and over again. There is no other way. No matter how easy or difficult it may seem, the only way to be good in Math is to practice on a regular basis. The more word problems you solve, the better problem solver you become. (