Outside of Class Meetings …
The classic guideline is that
every hour in class should be matched by two hours outside of class
.
This is just a guideline, but serves as a good baseline.
Outside of class you should be focusing on
doing exercises and solving problems,
and how long that takes depends on your own satisfaction.
It may be helpful to block out weekly time specifically for doing this.
Exercises you can do either digitally through Cengage WebAssign or by cracking open the textbook: there’s a copy on reserve at the library and the answers to odd-numbered exercises are in the back. The problems that the instructor hands out are more important, but require the skills of the exercises to complete. There’s a balance here you must strike.
But be wary: don’t exhaust yourself with math. Try to relegate the time you spend thinking about this class to the workweek, and reserve a sincere break for yourself during the weekend.
Before Each Lecture …
At least start working through exercises and problems based on the previous lecture. Lecture topics in this class build on each other, so you should keep yourself oriented. If you encounter an exercise that you have no clue how to do, either visit the Tutorial Learning Center (TLC) or the instructor’s office hours. If time permits, consider reading the textbook, or somehow “preparing” yourself for the lecture otherwise. Doing this will prime your mind to be more receptive to the lecture and give you a jump-start on forming questions.
During Each Lecture …
A page summarizing the lecture will initially be displayed. Consider copying it into your notes — or not. The purpose of this page is to front-load all the details for reference so that you can afford to “just pay attention” while the instructor works through examples. The major thing to avoid here is entering transcription mode where you focus so hard on writing that you stop thinking.
Before the Week of an Exam …
You should, ideally, have finished working through the exercises and at least looked over the problems. Be ready to work on problems with your peers during that Tuesday class, and have questions prepared for the instructor. By the exam itself you should aim for being able to solve all of the problems. Consider also reading over the course Student Learning Outcomes to calibrate your focus.