Math Study Skills – Time Management (Part 1)

Note: This is the beginning of a series of blogs on advice for students concerning Time Management. The series will run over the next several Tuesdays.

The best time to study new material is as soon as possible after the class ends. Look over your calendar of commitments for a block of time as close to your class as possible. This may include studying in between classes while you are still on campus. It’s a good idea to study each day at the same time.

Start your study session by reworking your notes: add definitions from the book, write down questions you have, summarize each page of notes. After looking through examples in the textbook move on to your homework exercises.

A second study period, later in the day, should be established for review purposes. This second study period can be used to review homework, review your notes, or even to read ahead for the next class period.

Summary

Time management is one area that most students need to improve, and can significantly impact your success in your classes. If you have any thoughts or questions on time management, please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

Study Skills – Time Management Activity

Note: This activity is done in two parts, preferably a few weeks apart.

Part 1

Give your students a weekly calendar, showing 24 hour long blocks for each of the 7 days. (There are plenty of these available online, but you could make one in Excel or another spreadsheet pretty easily.) Ask your students to pencil in their “commitments”. This would include things like work, classes, volunteer activities, etc. Also ask them to pencil in regular events like meals, sleep, commuting, etc.

Next ask them to pencil in the times they would plan to study and do homework for their classes. Remind them of the college rule of 2-3 hours outside of class for each hour inside of class.

When your students come back the next day, ask them if they learned anything about their schedule from this calendar. In my experience, several students will remark that they didn’t realize they were so busy. I tell the class that if they had trouble squeezing in study time then they have probably over-committed themselves. This is a good time to discuss other time management related study issues: it’s a good idea to study as close to the end of class as possible, focus on difficult subjects first, being organized, etc.

I tell the class I will look over the calendars, and I discuss them with students throughout class for the next few days. However, I don’t return them in anticipation of Part 2.

Part 2

In a few weeks, I pretend like we have never done the first activity and hand out the same calendar. Except this time I tell my students that I want them to keep track of their time for one week. I ask them to write down everything they do: work, sleep, study, do homework, … In addition, I ask them to write down which class they are studying for or working on homework.

After the week ends we quickly talk about their time devoted to school. I ask whether they feel they made the most of their time. After a few minutes I hand back the calendar from Part 1 and ask the students to compare what they had planned to what they had actually done. I also ask if anyone changed their schedule dramatically since the first calendar. I find the discussion to be really valuable, not just for those doing the talking but also for those listening and picking up ideas.

I do collect the second calendar and look them over. I talk to students over the next week or so about my observations: who needs to spend more time, who needs to shift their study times, who is still over-committed, etc.

Summary

Time management is one area that most students need to improve. If you have any thoughts or tips on time management, or any activities that you use with your classes, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

Test Review And The Half Test

My new arithmetic class has reached the time for their first exam. I planned out a 2-day period to help them learn how to prepare for an exam. This study skill is clearly of high value to students who have struggled with mathematics as much as these students have.

Review Session – Day One

On the first day of review we began by brainstorming a list of the material we have covered. I started with the main topics – number line, place values, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. We then moved on to the types of problems we did in each of these main topics. By reflecting on the problems we have done the students have learned how to take ownership of this process, as well as realizing how important this reflection is. They used their notes, worksheets, and homework to help build the list.

Once we finished building the list, I opened my MyMathLab gradebook and ran an Item Analysis on a review quiz they took last week. I asked the students to determine which type of problems we needed to work on. They noted that the problem areas seemed to be under three main topics: writing a number using digits, writing a number using words, and rounding whole numbers. As a class we went back over these ideas, getting students to share their knowledge with each other. I then had the class retake the quiz and I made my way around the classroom answering questions as they came up. The scores, not surprisingly, improved from their first attempt.

Half Test – Day Two

On the second day, I began by giving a half-test. (Click here to see a previous blog about the half-test.) At this point they’ve seen me work enough problems, and watching me go through problems one more time might not be so helpful. I wanted to put them in a test situation (no resources) without test consequences. So often students will take a test and tell me “I know all of this material, but I just blanked out.” This may be true for some students, but for the most part these students do not realize how much they were relying on their resources, were not used to the actual stress of taking an exam, and were not working quickly enough. The half-test will diagnose their issues.

Here’s how I give the practice test.

• Write a varied practice test that will take half of a class period.
• After the students have finished, either give out a sheet with solutions or go over the solutions on the board.
• Have students determine whether they are working quickly enough.
• Have students determine which subjects/problems will require further study and spend the remainder of the time answering questions.

Again, the main idea is to put students in a test-like situation prior to the test. You can never tell how you will respond until you experience the feeling of walking the tightrope without a net. For a student with anxiety, it gives them a chance to experience that feeling, then focus on techniques to overcome it. This also clearly helps students to determine where their weeknesses are while they still have time to study and prepare for the exam.

I only use this activity once a semester. After that students can do this on their own prior to all subsequent exams.

Summary

Learning how to prepare for a test is one tool that is missing from the toolbox of many students. This review period has shown my students some effective ways to prepare, but just like with any strategy the students will need to take ownership and apply these skills on subsequent tests. I am expecting this exam to go really well and will share the results in a future blog.

Do you have any activities to help students learn how to prepare for tests? Do you use an innovative technique for helping students to prepare?  Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

Note Cards for Learning Multiplication Facts

As I have mentioned before, I am teaching a new arithmetic/math study skills course. (The math topics are whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents.) This week we finished a 2-day session on learning basic multiplication facts, so I thought it would be a nice follow-up to the note card series (part 1, part 2, part 3) to share how we used note cards in that class.

We began the unit with a 100 question multiplication fact quiz. (As an aside, the majority of these students were unable to perfectly complete this quiz in 5 minutes.) For each problem that the students got wrong they had to create two note cards.

Fact Family Note Card

The first note card was a note card that showed the fact family associated with that product. The card is triangular in shape, with the two factors in the top corners and their product in the bottom corner. Here is an example for 3×5=15.

The idea is that the sooner a student realizes the 3, 5, and 15 are all related, the sooner they will memorize 3×5 and 5×3 (as well as the associated quotients). It works really well for visual learners. Students were to cycle through the cards, looking at all 3 numbers. Once they felt confident, they could cycle through the cards while holding their thumb over the product at the bottom, giving them a chance to quiz themselves.

Quizzing Note Card

The second card that students had to create was a standard multiplication fact card with the problem on the front and the answer on the back. They cycle through the cards, guessing the product and checking their answer by looking at the back of the card.

Results

I gave the same 100-question quiz after the students studied their cards over the weekend, and nearly half of the students were perfect this time. As the course goes on, we will reduce the amount of time available for this quiz. Hopefully this effort will pay off once we reach the fraction material. I did other activities, such as building a multiplication table, etc. If you’d like a full explanation of the in class activities, let me know and I’ll blog on them in the future. I also set up an online practice page for my students that allows them to practice with a specific factor in a randomized fashion. You can use this page at the following address: http://georgewoodbury.com/mult.html  If you use it, I’d love your feedback.

If you have any comments or questions related to using note cards in math, or learning multiplication facts, let me know.  Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

Math Study Skills – Note Cards (Part 3 of 3)

For the last 2 weeks I have been working on a series of note card related blogs, and today I finish the series. (Part 1, Part 2)

Learning New Procedures

For each new procedure you learn in a chapter, create a note card. Write the topic on the front of the card, and write the steps on the back of the card. For example, suppose you just learned how to solve linear equations.

• Front
  Solving Linear Equations
• Back
  Simplify both sides of the equation – distribute, combine like terms, clear fractions.
  Collect all variable terms on one side of the equation.
  Collect all constant terms on the other side of the equation.
  Divide both sides of the equation by the coefficient of the variable term.
  Check the solution.

You could also create a note card with a sample problem that illustrates these steps.

These note cards are handy to refer to while doing your homework.

At the end of the chapter you will have all of the procedures covered on your note cards. You can cycle through them to refresh your memory or to quiz yourself as you prepare for the test.

Note Cards for Quizzing Yourself

As you finish each section in your textbook, create note cards for each type of problem that was covered. On the front of the card write the problem, and on the back write the complete solution. In a couple of days come back to the cards to make sure you can still do the problems – look at the front of the card and solve the problem on a separate sheet of paper, then compare your solution to the back of the card.

As you reach the end of the chapter, these note cards can serve as a practice test. Shuffle the cards and cycle through them. If you get a problem wrong, that indicates that you need further study on that topic. Create a note card that explains what went wrong, and look those cards over as the exam approaches.

Summary

There are many uses for note cards in your math class. They are an efficient and portable way to review important material. Although they are helpful for memorization, they can be part of an overall study strategy to help you develop understanding. Some great uses include learning the first step for a problem, vocabulary, translating from English to math, help with difficult problems, warnings, new procedures, and for quizzing.

If you have any pointers on using note cards, or any questions related to using note cards in math, let me know. Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

New Arithmetic/Study Skills Course

At my college we have just started to offer a new arithmetic course. Previously our lowest course was prealgebra, and we had a good number of students who lacked the arithmetic skills to succeed in that course. If a lack of arithmetic skills was one of the primary reasons for student failure, we determined that the lack of (math) study skills was another cause of failure.

Arithmetic Concepts

So we started by deciding the arithmetic topics to be covered. We settled on whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents. While covering whole numbers, we will devote at least 2 days to helping students to learn/memorize their multiplication facts. Fractions will be developed slowly and conceptually. We hope that the students, at this point in the course, will have little trouble with decimals. Besides the basic concept of percents, we will cover converting percents to fractions & decimals and vice versa. We will finish with some friendly percent equations.

Study Skills

We have two AI (augmented instruction) sessions per week, and we will cover such topics as time management, taking notes, doing homework, studying for exams, using note cards, test taking, and test analysis. The idea is that we will teach study skills in context. For example, after covering multiplication facts we will teach students how they can use note cards to help them learn their multiplication facts.

So Far, …

On the first day of class I gave a pretest that covered all of the material in the course outline. Some students did pretty well, scoring 16-20 out of 25. For most of these students fraction problems were the ones they missed the most. (I’m not surprised.) Some students struggled with all of the problems, with a handful getting fewer than 5 correct.(If you would like a copy of the pre-test so you can see for yourself, drop me a line and I’ll send it to you.)

The abilities of these students vary greatly, making it even more challenging to teach this course. It may be the most challenging course I have ever taught. For example, I spent 30 minutes with a student during office hours trying to show a student how to round whole numbers to a given place value. She knew the place values and she could determine whether the digit to the right was less than 5 or not, but she could not figure out what to do from there. There were some tears shed, but I think by the time we were done she was starting to get it.

I’ll keep you updated as the semester progresses.

If you have any suggestions for teaching a course like this, or if you have some experience to share, please leave your comment or you can reach me through the contact page on my website .

-George

I am a mathematics instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Friday I usually blog about technology, inside and outside of the classroom, but I will also be sharing my progress with this new course from time to time. Let me know if there are other topics you’d like me to cover by leaving a comment or by reaching me through the contact page on my website.

Math Study Skills – Note Cards (Part 2)

Last week I started a series on using note cards in a math class. That blog focused on using note cards to learn the first step for solving certain types of problems. Today I move on to discuss some other uses for note cards.

Vocabulary

Note cards are a great way to memorize definitions for important vocabulary terms. You can write the term on the front of the card and the definition on the back. For example, “difference” on the front and “result when subtracting” on the back. As you cycle through the cards, look at the term and try to recite the definition. You can also work backwards, look at the definition and try to name the term. For any cards you struggle with, add those to a high frequency pile and look them over more often.

Translation from English to Math

Many students struggle with word problems because they do not know how to translate English phrases into expressions or equations. Note cards with English phrases on the front and their mathematical translation on the back will help you to learn how to make the translations. For example, you could put “seven less than twelve” on the front of a card and “12 – 7” on the back, or “three more than twice a number” on the front of a card and “2n + 3″ on the back. Cycling through these cards, and having them handy while working on homework, will help you to become an expert translator.

Difficult Problems

If there is a certain type of problem that you find to be difficult, write an example of the problem on the front and the solution on the back. You can use a card like this to quiz yourself – look at the problem and try it yourself, then compare your solution to the solution on the back of the card.

For some problems that require several steps you can write one step of the solution on its own note card. This allows you to check your work one step at a time. You can also scramble the cards and see if you can put the steps in the correct order.

Warning Cards

If there is a mistake that you typically make, or an important fact about a problem that you often forget, a series of “warning cards” can help you with this. For example, if you are solving rational equations, a note card reminding you to always check your solution is a good idea.

Summary

Next Tuesday I will finish my blog series on the uses of note cards.

If you have any pointers on using note cards, or any questions related to using note cards in math, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

Math Study Skills – Note Cards (Part 1)

Let me make one statement before I begin – the path to success in a math class is through understanding, not through memorizing. However, there will be times when memorizing will be necessary as you try to understand. This blog will be the first in a series about using note cards to help memorize facts or procedures.

Note Cards for First Steps

Many students struggle to start problems, but can solve those problems quite easily once they begin. So, it is essential to be able to start problems of a certain type, and note cards are a great way to do this. Create a note card for each type of problem you cover in class one day – on the front of the card write a sample problem and on the back of the card write the first step to solve that problem. For example, you could write

Graph y = 3x – 4

on the front of the card. The first step for graphing an equation in slope-intercept form is to plot the y-intercept (0, b) and use the slope m to find other points on the line. So, you could write the following on the back side of the card.

Plot the y-intercept: (0, -4).
m = 3, move up 3 units and 1 unit to the right from the y-intercept.
Draw a straight line through the two points.

Note cards of this form are also a great tool when learning how to solve word problems. Write a problem on the front of the card, and the steps you follow to find the equation(s) related to the problem.

How to Select Problems

There are a few ways to select the problems. You could simply choose to use the problems your instructor did during the lecture. You could also choose the problems that are solved in the examples in the textbook. The advantage of selecting problems from your instructor or the textbook is that you have access to accurate solutions to use for creating your note cards.

You could also select problems from the homework. Even though you do not have access to solutions for these problems, you can use your class notes and your textbook to make sure your solutions are accurate. Choosing your problems in this fashion will probably increase your understanding.

How to Use Your Note Cards

One advantage of using note cards is that it is quite easy to cycle through a set of note cards in a short amount of time. Note cards are relatively small and easy to carry around. So, while you are sitting at the bus stop, or if you have 5 minutes of free time, you can pull out your set of note cards and review the material.

When you look at the front of a card, think about how you would start that problem. If you think you know how to get started, check the back of the card. If you are correct, do not study this card as frequently. If you are not correct, or you did not know how to get started, move this card into your “heavy rotation” and look it over as often as possible.

Exam Preparation

As you start to review for an exam you can begin with these note cards. These should refresh your mind about all of the problems that could be covered on the exam. If you struggle with a note card at first glance, this tells you that you need to spend more of your time preparing for that type of problem. Once you have completed your preparation for the exam, cycling through the note cards again is a great way to keep the material fresh in your mind.

Summary

Tomorrow I will share how I help my students to create note cards like these when I cover absolute value equations and inequalities. Next Tuesday I will blog again on other uses of note cards.

If you have any pointers on using note cards, or any questions related to using note cards in math, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

Study Skills Inventory Activity

If you have a little time to try a classroom activity in your math class, I have a good one for you. Break your students into groups of 4, and give each group 10-15 minutes to develop a list of the skills needed to be successful in a math class. In other words, what do “good” math students do? I also ask my students to list a benefit associated with the listed study skill.

Once time has expired, build a comprehensive list on the board while going over the benefits associated with these study skills. It is a great opportunity to offer your opinions on why it is important to take notes in class, why students should do their homework, etc.

One twist I like to use is to ask for input on each study skill. For instance, when a group reports that students should take notes in class, I ask them for pointers on how to take notes. Unfortunately many students know that a particular skill is important but do not know how to do it effectively. Students know that they should study for exams, but do not know how to study for exams. This gives me an opportunity to explain to the class that these skills are important and that I will be taking the time to help with all of the study skills we have listed on the board.

If you try this activity in class, or you already do something similar to this, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share by leaving a comment, or reaching me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Tuesday I post an article related to Math Study Skills on my blog. If there’s a particular study skill you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.

This Fall’s Blog Schedule

This semester I plan to blog 5 days a week (M-F).

Monday: MyMathLab
On Monday I will share strategies for successfully incorporating MyMathLab into your course, including how-to articles, successful strategies, updates on my own classes, and hopefully a question and answer article.

Tuesday: Study Skills
I strongly believe that study skill instruction needs to be incorporated into developmental math classes. Study skills can be taught without sacrificing a great amount of classroom time – the time I spend at the beginning of the semester is returned to me at the end of the semester when I have a class full of outstanding and prepared students.
I will share advice for incorporating study skills into your course, as well as some blogs aimed directly at students who want to improve their skills.

Wednesday: General Teaching
On Wednesday I will share course specific ideas for teaching community college mathematics. These may be big picture ideas like incorporating student contracts, or topic related ideas such as how to teach addition of rational expressions.

Thursday: Creating a Community of Learners
One of the best ways to encourage success in developmental mathematics classes is to create a sense of community among the students. This Fall I am participating in a Faculty Interest Group (FIG) with a Spanish instructor that will investigate the effect of community on student confidence and success. I will share results and findings as the semester progresses. I will also share some tips for creating a sense of community, as well as the reasons I feel this is so important.

Friday: Technology
Among the topics I plan to include on Friday are Twitter, Facebook, and StatCrunch.

I think that’s a pretty good lineup, but if you have any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear them. If so, please leave a comment or reach me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. If there’s a particular topic you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.