December 1, 2020
RULES OF THUMB
- Attend classes and tutorials regularly, be active! Think, ask questions in class, give feedback to your teacher.
- Lecture by itself will not suffice. You need to spend time on your own doing math: studying, working on assignments, preparing for tests and exams, etc. Rule of thumb: three hours on your own for each hour of lecture.
- Plan your study time carefully. Don’t underestimate the amount of time you need to prepare for a test, or to work on an assignment; try not to do everything in the last minute (the fact that your hard drive crashed night before your assignment is due is not an acceptable excuse for a late assignment).
- Make sure that you are aware of (and use!) learning resources available to you.
Philosophy
- Always learn by understanding. Memorizing will not get you too far. Think, do not just read; highlighting every other sentence in your textbook is not studying!
- If you are able to explain something to a colleague and answer their questions about it, then you have learnt it!
- Drill is essential for a success (not just in math!). It’s boring, but it works! Solving hundreds of problems will help you gain routine and build confidence you need (together with a few other things) to write good exams.