7 Strategies for Success in Math
1 Manage stress

4 Ask questions

1. Math can be scary. Relax, be positive. Decide to
do what it takes to be successful. Decide early inthe semester. There’s lots of help. See Resources.

1. Classmates have the same questions you do.

2. Math sucks? “Don’t let your negative attitudecause problems in your math course (attendance,motivation, procrastination).” Nolting (25)
3. “The cure for math anxiety:a. Do math every day.
b. Study smart. The more you try different
things, the more likely you are to find out
what helps you most.
c. Do NOT skip class.
d. Be organized.
e. Practice quizzing yourself.
f. Replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk.
g. Use your resources.” Bass (37-38).
4. Conserve your emotional energy. “…you (don’t)
have to like math, you just have to pass. Tellyourself - I can become successful in math.”
Nolting (124)
5. Google math study skills (37 million hits). Findsome tips you like and use them.

2 Learn math vocabulary
To find explanations:
1. See Contents at the front of the book.
2. See section and chapter summaries.
3. See Index/Glossary at the back of the book.
4. See Vocabulary on Canvas (TLC Math BbSupport).

3 Go to class
1. Attend every class. Be early. Get ready.
2. Prepare to ask questions. Participation increases
your understanding.

2. Mark confusing parts. Write down specificquestions you have.
3. Ask classmates and TLC tutors.
4. Ask the professor in class, or in e-mail, or
during office hours (Go with friends. Gooften. Don’t wait until just before a test.)
5. See Khan Academy Community Questions.

5 Be active
1. Before the next class, read the sections to becovered. Work through problems andpractice explaining your processes out loud(to yourself, to TLC tutors, to classmates).
See Reading the Textbook and Doing Math
Homework on Canvas.
2. In class, listen for the professor to clear up
what is confusing. Listen for answers tothe questions you have. If you don’t hearanswers to your questions, then ask yourquestions. Classmates will thank you.
3. After class, compare class notes and thetextbook. Note connections and things thatare still confusing. Write down anyquestions you still have.
4. Practice doing additional, similar problems.
5. Review class notes regularly. See Use notes
effectively on Canvas. Use the system.
6. Make your own practice quizzes. Take them.
7. Join TLC study groups. Make appointments
to work with tutors individually. Go to theTLC early, often, regularly. Practiceexplaining how you did problems.
Explaining helps you remember.
8. Share contact info with a classmate.

3. You didn’t do the homework and didn’t read thetext. Go to class anyway. It is more helpful thanbeing absent. Catch up later. Do extra review.

9. Protect your investment of time and energy.
Keep actively attacking math. Don’t wait tosee how you did on the quiz or test.

4. If you are absent, study what you missed andprepare for the next class, too. Later, do extra
review.

10. Use Khan Academy (link on Canvas).
Videos, subtitles, questions with answers.
Practices, step-by-step hints, feedback.

TUJ Teaching & Learning Center (TLC) / Andrew Merzenich / andrewme@tuj.temple.edu

7 Strategies for Success in Math
6 Ace homework + quizzes ∴ tests
1. Get the highest grades you can on quizzes. Don’t
miss any. Homework and quizzes are easierthan tests and can help your average.

7 Do math every day

4. They can help you stay focused – Study mathevery day. Always be prepared. Do homework
problems whether homework is assigned or not.
Imagine there is a quiz every class.

“Do math every day. I cannot stressenough how helpful this will be foryou. Do math every day even if it’s
only for 15 to 30 minutes. Avoid
stacking all of your studying into one
or two days out of the week; if you
study this way you simply forget too
much in between sessions. Schedule
frequent, reasonable study times andstick to them.”

5. Keep old homework, quizzes, and tests. Regularly
review them.

Bass, Alan. Math Study Skills (2nd Edition).
Pearson/Addison-Wesley. (2013:27).

2. What you learn on quizzes and homework will
help you on tests.
3. They can help you check your understanding andpinpoint questions you still have.

6. On Canvas see: Doing Math Homework,
Taking Math TestsRESOURCES
TLC Math Canvas Support
Available for Math 0702 (thru TUportal).

TLC Math Study Groups
Are being organized. Check TUmail for info. No
signup necessary. Just come. Contact:
andrewme@tuj.temple.edu

TLC Math Tutoring
Free – Monday through Friday. Come every day.
Sign up for appointments in the TLC (Az209).

Math Study Skills Workbook
On reserve in the TUJ library. Paul D. Nolting.
Math Study Skills Workbook: Your Guide toReducing Test Anxiety and Improving Study
Strategies (4th Edition). Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt (HMH), 2012.

TUJ Counseling ServicesIf math is particularly stressful for you, TUJ
Counseling Services offers coaching, counseling,seminars, and workshops.
http://www.tuj.ac.jp/services/counseling

Ten Steps to Better Test Taking
based on Math study skills workbook.
Nolting (112-114).
1. Use a memory data dump. When you get thetest, write down everything you might forget(formulas).
2. Preview the test. Mark easy questions.
3. Do a second memory data dump.
4. Develop a test progress schedule. Decide thebest way to get the most points in the leasttime.
5. Answer the easiest problems first.
6. Skip difficult problems.
7. Review the skipped problems.
8. Guess at the remaining problems.
9. Review the test. Look for careless errors.
10. Use all the allowed test time. Review eachproblem by substituting the answer backinto the equation or doing the opposite
function required to answer the question.
Fight the urge to leave early.

Six Types of Test-Taking Errors
Nolting (116-119). On reserve in the library.
Analyze your tests, look for these errors:
1. Misread-directions errors 2. Careless errors
3. Concept errors 4. Application errors
5. Test-taking errors 6. Study errors

TUJ Teaching & Learning Center (TLC) / Andrew Merzenich / andrewme@tuj.temple.edu