Mathematics Study Strategies

Today I am going to write about some study strategies that are helpful when studying mathematics!

Here is my go to strategy list!

• Make flash cards

• Do practice problems

• Teach a friend, sibling or parent

• Make up mnemonic devices, songs, chants, poems to help you remember

• Study buddy

Make Flash Cards

When making flash cards, really focus on the words or equations that you really struggle with. If you know certain words or equations by heart, do not bother writing them down. Highlighting or underlining the most important things to remember is a good trick, too. I like to draw myself a picture for the visual effect.

Example:

Front of flash card:

pythagorean theorem

Back of flash card:

a^2+b^2=c^2

Used when you need to find the length of a leg or hypotenuse in a right triangle

Practice Problems

Practice problems are always a good idea, not only for studying for a quiz or test, but also for refreshing yourself on what you know and do not know. Sometimes when we are studying for mathematics, we are not sure what we know and what we do not know. When you do practice problems, you may discover problems that you thought you knew how to do, but actually really struggle with.

Where to find practice problems: Any old homeworks, classwork, tests, or quizzes are all great places to look for practice problems. What I do is cover up the answer that was already done and then I do out the whole problem without looking at the answer. When I am done, I look back at my answer to see if I did it right or not. This is helpful because you know instantly what you are struggling with and what you know.

Teach a friend

I believe teaching is the greatest way of learning. When you have mastered something, you are able to explain it and teach it to someone. If you do not know what you are doing, you will not be able to successfully teach it to someone.

So grab mom or dad or your best friend and see if you can teach them!

Make up mnemonic devices

My favorite, and probably most used mnemonic device is PEMDAS, the mnemonic device for the order of operations.

Please

Excuse

My

Dear Aunt Sally

Parenthesis

Exponent

M/D multiplication/division

A/S addition/subtraction

You can make up mnemonic devices, songs, or chants for just about anything in math. I know a lot of songs for the quadratic formula.

Have fun with this one!!

Study Buddy

Different people view things and learn things differently. Seeing multiple ways of doing things helps solidify your understanding. Your study buddy might explain something to you that you never thought of and it may make a lot more sense to you that the way you were taught or how you view it.