The methods you can count on

How should you think when doing mathematics? And what do you do when you get stuck?

Math is more than just counting, it's problem solving - one of the best skills you can learn. Doing mathematics improves your logical thinking, your planning skills and your patience. These are qualities that you benefit from in everyday life and that make your life better.

However, it is easy to mistakenly believe that you are bad at math when it is really about having the right methods and a good attitude.

Math is, of course, different from other school subjects. Unlike learning facts and connections for one thing, and then moving on to something else entirely, math is constantly built upon what you've previously learned. Therefore, it can be difficult if you fall behind, hindering the way forward.

Here are the tricks that make it easier to study math.

Mimic

It may at first sound bad to imitate, but imitation is actually the basis for learning from one another. Think about it and you will see that it is true.

In math books there are usually example numbers that show the whole solution, start there and imitate step by step what they do. You don't have to understand everything yet, that will come later, first learn the method. The problems that usually appear as an example are often typical for that type of problem, where many similar looking problems share the same method for solution.

Finding the right level of difficulty

After doing the book's example problems, you should continue with more simple problems similar to their examples, for practice in the method. Gradually, you will begin to see the connections and gain a better understanding as of why and how the method works.

Soon you will know the solution method by heart and find the problems to be easy (a good boost for your confidence). If all the problems are so similar that it soon becomes boring, you can skip ahead to slightly more difficult one. Fair level is when the problems feel a bit challenging, but not so much that they seem impossible.

Is it instead too difficult? Don't be too proud to jump back and do some easy ones again. You learn best at the right level of difficulty for you, which varies from time to time, and you should practice doing both easy and difficult problems.

Give it time

Don't be too eager to finish quickly. Math requires good thinking and you can't just try and rush to find a solution. On the contrary, stress can block your deep thinking and it is better to let the problems take their time. Remember that math is like a marathon, not a sprint. With persistent and patient work, you will reach the goal.

Solve many problems

Math is actually a bit like a muscle - you get good at it by practice. Even though you may have understood a solution in theory, that doesn't mean you can recreate it, it's easy to forget the steps along the way. But if you solve many problems of the same kind, you activate the body's muscle memory and get used to the method. It also makes it easier for you to keep stacking your knowledge, which will be advantageous in all subsequent problems. You also develop a certain way to think, to be persistent and where you keep searching for solutions.

Wrong answer - no problem

When you study math and do a lot of problems, you will inevitably get it wrong sometimes (often). Don't be discouraged or sad about it, but instead remember that it's a natural part of the learning process. You learn from your mistakes (and better to make them now, rather than at the exam).

Seek understanding

When you have a grasp of the method and are able to solve most of the numbers (i.e. you could pass an exam), it is good to think more deeply about why the method works, to seek a deeper understanding and find the connections. This is what secures the highest grade, because then you have enough understanding to also pass "trick-questions", where the teacher might test you on the odd special cases or has added new things that you haven't been practicing before.

Stuck on a question? Follow these steps

1. Is there a similar example problem you can mimic? See if you can find any difference to your solution. Could it be some kind of special rule you need to use?
   
   
2. See if you have a classmate who knows the answer and might explain. Otherwise, you can at least discuss and think together, maybe you will find a solution.
   
   
3. If more than at least 15 minutes have passed and you are no closer to a solution, it may be worth to check the solutions page. See if the answer allows you to figure out the method backwards (you now know how the problem starts and what the result is. What could have happened in between?).
   
   
4. Ask your teacher. If not available right now, you can send an email.

If none of these worked, or while you are waiting for a response from your teacher, you can skip that problem for now and try the next one instead. So that you use your study time well. It makes you more efficient and ultimately gives you both more knowledge and free time.

How to have more fun while doing math

When you get over a certain hump, doing math won't be so hard anymore. Maybe it even starts to get fun?

I myself used to think that math was the hardest thing there was and I was always behind schedule. But once I caught up to schedule and started to understand more, it actually became fun.

You can think of math as solving a puzzle or figuring out a riddle. Then it's actually not so bad. Like detective work without stress and where you focus on one case (problem) at a time.

Summary/Checklist No. 9

• You cannot be "bad at math". It's about having a good attitude and knowing the right methods.
  
  
• Math becomes more fun if you give it enough time, study at the right level of difficulty and know how to imitate the example numbers in your book of math.
  
  
• Math is like a muscle (you get better if you exercise) - practice a lot. It strengthens your problem-solving skills, from which you benefit in everyday life.