 Don't fall behind. Many
students, particularly those with prior experience in Calculus, start
the semester slowly and never make the transition to College work.
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Make use of available resources.
Attend your Professor's office
hours. Do not feel as though you are infringing on your Professor's
time by attending office hours, it is part of their job description.
It helps to have a concise list of questions ready to ask. The Math
Question Center is located in Loker Commons and meets Sunday through
Thursday evenings from 8 to 10pm. Coincidentally, Freshman Snack is
scheduled in Loker Commons at 10pm on those days. Form Study Groups of
two to four people early in the semester. Meet at convenient times to
discuss your homework, and then go home to do the write-ups by
yourself.
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Devote at least two hours of work outside the classroom for each
hour in the classroom. A person taking 15 credit hours is then
"working" 45 hours per week.
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Read your math book.
Read the section to be covered in class lightly the night before class.
After class read the section carefully two more times. This will reduce
your dependence on class notes, which can often get in the way of listening
and actively learning. Think of your textbook as an expensive set of
tailor-made notes. Highlighting a math textbook these days is rarely
necessary, as publishing companies have used computer graphics programs
to do this for you.
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Manage your classroom time. Class time is for exchanging ideas.
Balance your listening, thinking, questioning and note taking. Never
be afraid to ask a question in class, if you are genuinely perplexed
perhaps others are as well.
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Make your homework write-ups
neat and legible , using complete
sentences and showing all crucial algebra steps. Remember that every
equation is a sentence. The solutions provided in the back of the book
or in manuals are often lacking in detail and should not serve as a
model for your work.
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When preparing for exams, rework the homework
problems out of sequence.
It is helpful to compile 3x5 index cards with problems and
answers on opposite sides. Draw the cards randomly so that you must
identify the proper technique or concept. Look in the textbook or ask
your Professor for supplemental problems.
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Work for a deeper understanding of Calculus.
Topics will now be
presented from visual, symbolic, numeric and linguistic perspectives.
It is important to master these perspectives, and their relationship to
one another. Problems and projects may be assigned which are
open-ended. Don't mistake "open-ended" for "vague".
Open-ended means that there are many methods and acceptable solutions,
while vague means that one cannot delineate between the possible
methods and solutions. Seldom in life do mathematics problems present
themselves in neat, tidy packages. We should prepare for this
eventuality.
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