This class meets four days a week. Typically every other meeting will be lecture-based. During these lecture days you should focus on (1) doing exercises to practice mechanical skills and (2) forming questions about the concepts to ask the instructor. At the other meetings each week you will solve problems in groups based on the week’s lessons. It’s crucial that you exercise and get your questions answered so that by these class meetings you are prepared to focus on solving problems and won’t be bogged down focusing on the mechanics.
Schedule time each week dedicated to focusing on this class, and be intentional about where you spend that time: ideally a spot free of distractions and surrounded by other people quietly studying. The library is usually a good choice, or the small space outside the instructor’s office. The classroom is available at the usual meeting time on non-meeting days for this as well. Practice on your own at first to keep from getting distracted; only work with your peers later when preparing for an exam.
To avoid exhausting yourself (burning out), try to relegate the time you spend thinking about this class to the workweek and reserve a sincere break for yourself from mathematics during the weekend.
Before each Week’s Class Meetings …
Briskly read about the topics for the week: you’ll get more out of the lecture if you’re already familiar with the topics and if you’ve already encountered the ideas and begun to form questions.
After Lecture, Before the Next Class …
Reflect on what the skills and concepts core to the day’s lesson were, and get started doing exercises, either online or from the textbook, to practice those skills. If any homework exercise has you stumped, discuss it with your peer group from the class, or visit the campus tutoring center or the instructor’s office hours and ask someone to demonstrate how to do the exercise. Most tutors and the instructor are also available to supervise you doing exercises on your own to “check your form”. If you finish all the exercises for a certain skill from the online homework but would like more practice, ask a tutor or the instructor to generate more exercises for you. Make a note of any exercises you found particularly difficult and remember to revisit them before the midterm exam.
After each Problem-Solving Session …
Read over all the problems handed out in class, and ensure (1) that you understand what each problem is asking of you, and (2) that you are confident you know how to solve each problem. It’s not crucial that you write up solutions to all the problems, but you should be able to write up any solution; if there’s any doubt though, write it up. If you’re unsure about any of the problems discuss it with your peers or the campus tutors or your instructor. The instructor is also available to read and provide feedback to your written solutions in preparation for writing for an exam; simply visit their office hours or drop off your writing with them at the beginning of class.
Before Each Midterm Exam …
Read over the course trivium and the course Student Learning Outcomes to calibrate your focus. Print out any past midterm exams from this course to use as practice. Glance over the sorts of problems on these past exams to calibrate your focus.
Consider simulating the experience of taking the midterm exam by setting a 50-minute timer and “taking” each past exam rather than just working through the problems Consult with the campus tutoring center or the instructor about any exam problems you’re unsure about. Remember the instructor is available to read your solutions and provide feedback.
Try to get a “big picture” view of the material. While studying typically involves performing exercises and solving problems, there’s a cognitive pitfall in reducing the course to simply to a collection of exercises to do and problems to solve. Look for the narrative thread of course so you don’t miss anything important and can better organize the material in your mind.