by Rebecca Mayer | May 4, 2016 | Math
Being a student is hard, stressful, and time consuming. This is a small list of the most important things I have discovered over time that I believe are the most beneficial things a student can do to be successful, without all the stress.
Time Management and Procrastination
Time management is a big part of high school success. Having a lot of homework to do and the motivation to do it will only get you so far unless you plan out the time to actually complete the assignments. High schoolers are notorious for busy schedules, being a part of sports and countless clubs, students often find it hard to set out time to do homework. This is when procrastination becomes a big problem.
Waiting until the last minute to complete homework is how bad grades appear because the work is not the best it could be. Creating a weekly schedule that lays out when all due dates are and when you have time available for doing work can go far when trying to be successful.
Start out each night with the things that are either due the soonest or the hardest and most time consuming. You don’t want to start with the easiest thing and then not have the motivation or time to complete the rest. Setting out enough time to complete all assignments well is the first step to getting good grades.
Note Taking
The main problems students have with studying for tests are that they don’t understand the textbook or the online notes that the teacher provided. The issue is that the words in the textbook are about as complex as the information gets, and you might not understand all the words it uses or all the material.
Bringing a notebook to class and some colorful pens will help with note taking in class. Don’t write down exactly what the teacher says, instead reword it to be in your own words. This way, when you’re studying, you will know exactly what the paper says and studying your own notes will help you remember what the teacher taught.
Use whatever note style best suits you, whether it’s bullet points or drawing a lot of pictures. Also, using colored pens and highlighters all over the paper will help you remember the material more on the test. Usually, when I read a question on a test, I am able to picture where it was in my notes.
Organization
It is very easy to let that school binder get bogged down with all of the papers students get daily. This makes it very easy to lose assignments, misplace papers, or crumple them. The best way to keep your binder organized is to put in colored pocket dividers, one for each subject.
I like to coordinate the colors of the dividers in my binder with the notebooks and folders for each class, so math has a green divider and a green notebook. This way, when I’m in math, I can flip to the green divider and all of my worksheets will be neatly placed in the folder, not shoved into my backpack. Then it’s easy to reach for the green notebook to be prepared to take notes and turn in homework.
Doing homework after school is also easier and less time consuming. When you’re able to grab an assignment out of a colored folder, where you know it will be, it makes it easier to start that homework and get it done.
Get to Know the Teacher
Or maybe I should say let the teacher get to know you. Sitting in the front of the classroom is one of the main signs to a teacher that a student is in their classroom ready to learn and succeed.
Asking questions in class can make the teacher feel like you care about their class and the subject, and most importantly, that you believe the teacher can successfully teach you, and you value their opinion about the topic.
Going to your teacher’s tutoring sessions can also help the teacher get to know you. When studying the night before prepare a list of questions you have, so you can make the most of the teacher’s time during sessions.
Getting to know the teacher and spending time showing that you care about their class will help you because the teacher will be more willing to help tutor a student that they like, and that they know cares.
Stay Positive and Motivated
Getting a poor grade on a test is not the end of the world. It is all part of the learning experience.
When you do bad on a test in a certain class this tells you that you need to study harder for the next test in order to do better. The point of learning is to improve your skills and knowledge, not to start out a pro at each subject.
A bad grade on the first test of a class will not make or break your high school career. All the grades will get buffered out by the tons of grades you receive throughout the semester, so there is no need to stress about the very first grades you get. Do not let bad grades discourage you from continuing to try the rest of the year, and stay motivated to get a better grade on the next test!
Attempting to complete all of these success tips every day when you go to school, even just a couple at a time, can change your grades and the way you go through your education. It will certainly help your grades, and you will have a great learning experience.
by Rebecca Mayer | Mar 3, 2016 | Math
Math is very important in everyday life, more necessary than some may think. I often hear students complaining about how they do not think they will ever need to know any of the things they are learning in math class and how it is a waste of their time. It is more relevant to your life than you may think. Whether you are baking a cake with a recipe or deciding how long it will take for you to drive to your friend’s house, math is hidden in daily tasks and often goes unnoticed, but not unused.
Trying to decide how much your lunch will cost? Math.
Setting an alarm in the morning to have enough time to drive to school? Math.
Many basics everyday activities depend on math and would be very difficult to figure out without it. Some people have the false impression that only complex jobs like engineering and accounting rely on math, however, a lot of different jobs include math. At least every employee has to know some math to understand their salary, wages, and hours, even when working at a job that seems completely unrelated to math. It is easy to overlook the necessity of math in our everyday lives because it becomes a habit, however in order to form these habits, everyone needs some extent of math knowledge to make these daily tasks involving math second nature.
Math is also important in other subjects and can be helpful to understanding things in science, English, and even the arts. There are many numbers and calculations involved in different sciences, like chemistry and physics. Studying the movement of objects, chemical reactions, or reading charts, graphs, and data all require one to know some math concepts. In English, poetry has a meter, or beat, and a certain number of lines, stanzas, or syllables that is easier to understand with knowledge of math.
Many students think that their high school math class is a waste of time and that since they are going into a career as a history teacher or a writer, whatever the case may be, that they do not need to pay attention or care about math. Of course, it is not necessary that everyone be as ecstatic about math as I am and wake up loving it every day, but everyone should be willing to learn it to an extent because of how much it is used in everyone’s life, regardless of careers. Knowing at least some basic math concepts is very helpful to have a simpler, easier life. Having to pull out a calculator every single time you go to the store and wonder how much change you will get can get annoying and time consuming and it is just easier and faster with a basic concept of math.
by Rebecca Mayer | Nov 17, 2015 | Math, Teaching and Learning
Ther
e are many common math mistakes that I have noticed many students making. They are simple issues that are often overlooked, missed, or forgotten. For some of them, no matter how many times you mention them to a student, they seem to continue to be missed, usually out of bad habit. As a tutor, it is my job to continue to enforce correcting these mistakes through repetition. As a student, here are some of the most common mistakes that you may be able to look over, remember, and not make them in the future.
1. Overlooking or adding too many parentheses: parentheses are very important when solving any type of equation. They are, of course, part of our order of operations. Some students forget when to evaluate parentheses, don’t register their existence, or put too many in an equation when solving by steps, causing incorrect answers. For an equation such as 8=4(x+3), I have noticed some students attempt to put the parenthesis around the x, giving them 8=4(x)+(3), which would give the wrong answer.
2. Negatives: some students often make the mistake of not distributing a negative or forgetting that subtracting a negative number is actually just adding a number. For
5-(4+3), the negative can be distributed into the parenthesis giving 5-4-3. This is often rewritten by students as 5-4+3, in which they forget about the parenthesis and distribution.
3. Writing an equation incorrectly: some students like to rewrite equations on a separate piece of paper, and while there is nothing wrong with this, some students do not write it correctly and therefore result in an incorrect answer. Writing a fraction, such as x/2, as 2/x when rewriting would not be correct, because in the original expression, the x is in the numerator, .
4. Remembering formulas: when a teacher gives you formulas, they are important, use them! Some students ask for help over something they can’t solve, because they haven’t glanced down at the formula sheet that their teacher provided them. The problems aren’t solvable without them! Make sure to take a good look at your formula sheet, especially if one won’t be given to you on your test.
5. Not writing down all steps: Many very intelligent students are fully capable of solving equations in their head and just writing down the answer. A lot of times this is effective, but no matter how good the mathematician, they will most likely make mistakes if trying to solve equations all in their head. It is important to write down all steps when answering questions, first to be able to solve it mistake free, and second, in the event that a mistake was made or the correct answer was not found, to be able to look back at work to find the mistake. If you do the whole problem in your head and end up with the wrong answer, you won’t have any idea where the mistake was made.
by Rebecca Mayer | Aug 26, 2015 | Math
How do you know if it is time for a challenge?
I believe that a very important aspect of learning is knowing when to challenge yourself. Struggling on things helps make you better and m
aster topics rather than taking an easy route, which might allow you to learn the basics of something, just not grasp it fully. Accepting a challenge and at least trying to accomplish it is what will lead you to success, even if you pass a few failures along the way. Not trying at all will always result in failure. Some people like to coast through their education, but I liked to be pushed further than the basic standards of a class, so that I am stimulated through that subject and not bored.
I recently created a picture graph for my pre-calculus class, and I decided to create a personal challenge out of it. Instead of doing the twenty required equations to create the image, I decided to go further and I ended up making a picture with over 300 equations. I felt way more successful and proud of myself after completing it, more than if I had done the bare minimum of what was required. Rather than spending ten minutes on it, I spent countless hours that I believe paid off long term.
Overcoming a challenge can feel extremely rewarding and make you feel so much more successful than if you did the bare minimum of something. Even though challenges might take longer or more effort to accomplish, you will feel way better about succeeding at something difficult than something easy.
by Rebecca Mayer | Jun 29, 2015 | Math, Teaching and Learning
Learning Your Learner-
For students who need a lot of help comprehending a certain topic, one-on-one tutoring is a good way to go. For these types of students, I have learned that it is best to work at their pace and to reiterate things as many times and in as many different ways as they need. Repeating things and asking them to repeat something you’ve said helps you make sure they understand something, and helps them realize they understand something themselves and will be able to remember it.
It takes a while to learn exactly what the student needs and how they learn, and it is important not to force a learning style on them and to use what they know. It takes some time to figure out what a student’s certain learning style is, and when they get that aha moment, it’s easy to tell you’ve found the right style.
During my time as a tutor, I’ve found that the most common type of learning style is asking questions. This helps the student figure things out for themselves and allows them to find answers without you telling them. It can also make them feel very accomplished when they reach their own aha moment by themselves, then you know they’re truly comprehending the topic.
With patience and understanding, I have been able to learn the learning style of many of the students I tutor. You have to try out different methods to see how well they respond and how engaged into the topic they feel. It may take a while, but with time, finding out how a student learns best will definitely pay off and allow them to get the most out of tutoring.
