Posted: 10/16/2009 8:02:40 AM EDT
My girlfriend needs help on study tactics for statistics, since math is not her forte and what she's doing now isn't working very well. My method of studying is to rewrite all of my notes until I get to the point where I can actually visualize the notes in my head. Unfortunately, she has more credit hours and is working on the weekends, so she doesn't have enough time to do this. And, lets be honest, doing what I do would drive most people crazy (hell, it drives me insane too!) So, I'm wondering, how do arfcommers study? Particularly in math and statistics. I figure it would be nice to brainstorm some better ideas for her.  |
I too get really distracted when I'm by my computer. Arfcom active topics...  It seems like most professors at my school are able to provide at least a couple tests from past semesters, which I usually go through until I can work the problems without any help from notes or examples. This is for engineering/math courses, but I'm sure the basic idea works for most classes.
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Quoted:
My girlfriend needs help on study tactics for statistics, since math is not her forte and what she's doing now isn't working very well. My method of studying is to rewrite all of my notes until I get to the point where I can actually visualize the notes in my head. Unfortunately, she has more credit hours and is working on the weekends, so she doesn't have enough time to do this. And, lets be honest, doing what I do would drive most people crazy (hell, it drives me insane too!) So, I'm wondering, how do arfcommers study? Particularly in math and statistics. I figure it would be nice to brainstorm some better ideas for her. Getting rid of her boyfriend would probably help a lot.
More seriously doing well in math and statistics (at the easy and moderate levels) is really about practice. Working through problem sets over and over and checking answers. But if she is past Calclus in math and multiple regression or factor analysis in Stats then I don't know because I never went that far. |
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Quoted: No, she only took college algebra. She's in the introductory stats course that is required for all psychology majors. I try to help her understand it when I can. I'm in the business version of the course and appear to be one of the only people with an A so far. Quoted: My girlfriend needs help on study tactics for statistics, since math is not her forte and what she's doing now isn't working very well. My method of studying is to rewrite all of my notes until I get to the point where I can actually visualize the notes in my head. Unfortunately, she has more credit hours and is working on the weekends, so she doesn't have enough time to do this. And, lets be honest, doing what I do would drive most people crazy (hell, it drives me insane too!) So, I'm wondering, how do arfcommers study? Particularly in math and statistics. I figure it would be nice to brainstorm some better ideas for her. Getting rid of her boyfriend would probably help a lot. More seriously doing well in math and statistics (at the easy and moderate levels) is really about practice. Working through problem sets over and over and checking answers. But if she is past Calclus in math and multiple regression or factor analysis in Stats then I don't know because I never went that far. |
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Quoted: Why would you have to "study" math? Just do the problems!  I have always had difficulty in math. I study how to do the problems by rewriting the notes, then I do the problems, then I talk to the professor about questions on how to do them. Then I repeat as necessary. |
| I took the same type of stats class you are describing last semester. I've always been good at math so it wasn't real real difficult. The advice I would give is to really understand the concepts even before she gets into numbers. The numbers will just make it more confusing if you don't have a grip on what is truly trying to be determined. I found the book we used to be more helpful than the teacher, so I would just read the chapters until it made sense. Just make sure she is doing it one chapter/concept at a time before moving on. Stats tends to built on the previous concept so if you don't understand #1 then #2 will be impossible. Good Luck |
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Quoted: Quoted: I have always had difficulty in math. I study how to do the problems by rewriting the notes, then I do the problems, then I talk to the professor about questions on how to do them. Then I repeat as necessary. Why would you have to "study" math? Just do the problems! I thought you were a MATH MAJOR? |
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Quoted:
My girlfriend needs help on study tactics for statistics, since math is not her forte and what she's doing now isn't working very well. My method of studying is to rewrite all of my notes until I get to the point where I can actually visualize the notes in my head. Unfortunately, she has more credit hours and is working on the weekends, so she doesn't have enough time to do this. And, lets be honest, doing what I do would drive most people crazy (hell, it drives me insane too!) So, I'm wondering, how do arfcommers study? Particularly in math and statistics. I figure it would be nice to brainstorm some better ideas for her. I study how you do so when it comes time to take the test I can "see" my notes. I don't know how you'd study for math outside of just memorizing the formulas and practicing them. Depending on the type of science she's studying, thinking of relationships between the various parts might help. Connect the pieces together and remember the total, so remembering one part cues the next part and so on. Mnemonic devices could also be helpful. Making a test and then studying that also helps. Think up as many questions as she can and then write the answers. Keep both the questions and answers as short and direct as possible. It takes a little while to write up the test, but it's worth it. In the future, it's also helpful to write the test as the class goes on, so by the time she needs to study she's already made up the test (and in the process, studied a little as well). Go through the questions as often as possible–– making dinner pop quiz "what is....", during commercial breaks if watching a tv show, whenever. Have her try to answer as quickly as possible. It doesn't take many reps before the question/answer pairs become almost a reflex. This will also help her identify the areas she knows and the areas she needs more work on. Good luck to her. |
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my math professor does pactically everything online. We have an online book that shows us how to do the problems when we are stuck. Its basically my teacher lol.
usually i study it by repitiion. doing it over and over again untill i get it. Try listening to mozart while studying it helps alot. |
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Sample problems after sample problems. I would even look up problems online. Also made flash cards with definitions (Geometry, Algebra, and Statistics). Math is all about repetitions and memorization of rules. Nailed it. For math you just need to know how to do it: practice. |
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a lot of people think i'm weird for this, but the best way i've found to study math (especially stats) is to create word problems. get it out of equation form and turn it into a practical problem that needs to be solved. what this does is to force you to figure out how and why the equations are built in the first place.
this won't work with some forms of math, but it has been successful for me more often than not. |
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Is the trouble maintaining focus (distraction) or is it methodology?
Would you say she is a morning person? A Night Owl? I used to do my studying in the daytime. This is merely because I was more productive and retained more of what I worked on. It may be difficult to do, but televisions are not necessary. Literally unplug the thing and send it packing. Social life is fine and good, but most of the social activities are at night. Do you have your studies finished? When it comes to actual studying tactics I would do something a bit unusual. I would take an index card. I would then condense everything I needed to know for a test onto it. I would use a mechanical pencil (very fine point). It would force me to choose what really matters due to the space consideration. This allowed me to concentrate on the structure of what I was studying, and not to drown in the minutiae. |
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Quoted: I am. I had shitty teachers in high school. It didn't start to come together until my senior year when I had a great teacher. It didn't become solid until the end of my 1st semester in college. I do have to work much harder than most of my peers. But I typically get better grades because I put in 10 times as much time. If I understand how everything is interrelated, I do excellent. It just takes me awhile to make that connection. And I am an economics major planning on double majoring in math (I haven't gotten around to declaring it yet, but I am taking all of the right classes.) Quoted: Quoted: I have always had difficulty in math. I study how to do the problems by rewriting the notes, then I do the problems, then I talk to the professor about questions on how to do them. Then I repeat as necessary. Why would you have to "study" math? Just do the problems! I thought you were a MATH MAJOR? |
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Quoted: Quoted: I am. I had shitty teachers in high school. It didn't start to come together until my senior year when I had a great teacher. It didn't become solid until the end of my 1st semester in college. I do have to work much harder than most of my peers. But I typically get better grades because I put in 10 times as much time. If I understand how everything is interrelated, I do excellent. It just takes me awhile to make that connection. And I am an economics major planning on double majoring in math (I haven't gotten around to declaring it yet, but I am taking all of the right classes.) Quoted: I thought you were a MATH MAJOR?Quoted: I have always had difficulty in math. I study how to do the problems by rewriting the notes, then I do the problems, then I talk to the professor about questions on how to do them. Then I repeat as necessary. Why would you have to "study" math? Just do the problems! Well good luck then.  |
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Quoted: Thanks. It isn't easy, but I've never done things the easy way. Quoted: Quoted: I am. I had shitty teachers in high school. It didn't start to come together until my senior year when I had a great teacher. It didn't become solid until the end of my 1st semester in college. I do have to work much harder than most of my peers. But I typically get better grades because I put in 10 times as much time. If I understand how everything is interrelated, I do excellent. It just takes me awhile to make that connection. And I am an economics major planning on double majoring in math (I haven't gotten around to declaring it yet, but I am taking all of the right classes.) Quoted: I thought you were a MATH MAJOR?Quoted: I have always had difficulty in math. I study how to do the problems by rewriting the notes, then I do the problems, then I talk to the professor about questions on how to do them. Then I repeat as necessary. Why would you have to "study" math? Just do the problems! Well good luck then. |
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working on my commercial electric inspector certification currently.
i deluge myself for hours with sample questions to get me familiar with the book. simple answers usually stick the first time i review them, but i find that once my mind starts slipping due to too much new information i need a day or two to let my mind defrag so i can continue. literally i go to the breaking point. i woke up twice this week face down in the 2008 NEC. tests are open book multiple choice with a time limit. the exam is 80 question with 3.5 hour time limit. sounds like a lot of time, but calculations can eat up a lot of your time. often i will dream of code sections or work out problems i am not grasping in my dreams. i tend to be more scatter brained when i am working up to take a cert, i hate wasting 195 bucks for nothing. |
cram cram cram until its all jammed in there... then tell her to get up and go study 
you know the rules! the first rule of arfcom is: you must post PICTURES when talking about female significant others. the second rule of arfcom is: you must post PICTURES when talking about female significant others. |
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Back in the day here is how I studied and aced my upper level finance and banking classes.
-Study as usual, reading the assigned sections as instructed by the prof. -Same with homework -A couple of days before make yourself a 'cheat sheet' whether they are allowed or not with the most important points laid out. Trim off all the fat. Just the bare essentials. -What really guaranteed me an 'A': Day of the test take a late nap (early evening) wake up between 12-2 and stay up the entire night studying. Right up to the test. Walk in, sit down, it is all very fresh and just flows out. I would breeze through exams using this method. Only took me until late in my junior year to figure it out. |
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With mathematics practice makes perfect. Read the chapters, get a cursory understanding of the problems then hit the problems hard at the end of the chapter.
Also there are plenty of resources that I have utilized in my undergraduate career to facilitate my learning.(EG:MIT's Open CourseWare) http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mathematics/18-05Spring-2005/LectureNotes/index.htm Also, if there is becomes a time where she is lacking a demonstrable knowledge of a specific topic she can turn to youtube or google videos to aid her in getting a solid grasp on the topics being presented in class. A simple google query "site:youtube.com Z-Score" should turn up quite a few videos which will walk you through the topic. |
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Quiet room, no distrations....(no TV, music, computer, noise, company, etc) Review the material until you know it cold. Pretty simple approach...no tricks, just discipline. +1. I just skim a few times, then re-read well a few times, and then go over it verbally out loud. |