Maths Is A Hands On Subject

A quote that is often given in mathematical circles is "maths is not a spectator sport". This probably sounds very strange to anyone who hasn`t spent a lot of time studying maths (and comparing maths to sports is probably strange to everyone).

What this really means is that as long as you just passively listen you won`t really learn anything. The only way to get something to stick in your head is by trying, getting stuck, trying and again, and eventually feeling really pleased with yourself when you succeed.

The most common problem is that a student is scared and doesn`t know where to start. And when in this state it is much easier to listen to someone else telling you how to do the problem, hoping that some of the words make sense. However, what you really need to do is push yourself to try and tackle a question. It is only at this point that you will realise what you actually don`t understand, and that someone can help you; otherwise any advice is like being given the punchline to a joke before you hear the set-up.

Another pitfall is to nod along with what a tutor or teacher is doing. You can convince yourself that it all looks okay and will work out fine when you do it, so why waste your time. This is very dangerous, because very quickly you will move on to work that is far too difficult, and you won`t know how you got there. Whenever you think you have understood what someone has done, check! Fill in any gaps they have left (and they will always have left some gaps); copy their example but change some numbers and see what happens; or get out a book and start at exercise 1.1.

When I tutor students I often try to find their weakest areas, and write out 20, 30 or more exercises which are all very similar, to do in their own time. This takes the fear out of the problem, since now it is just a boring old calculation. After this, we can look at what is really going on, how they might think about it, and how to apply this technique in other areas.

With loads of online resources, you are bound to be able to find somewhere that will give you as many questions as you need, so you should start now!