Mathematics is increasingly important in today’s society—not only in science and engineering, but throughout the business world and in the expanding field of computer science. In addition to providing useful knowledge, studying mathematics cultivates the ability to think analytically, read carefully, and write concisely. All UMUC associate and baccalaureate degrees include math requirements, and statistics is required for bachelor’s degrees in business administration, information systems management, and the social sciences.

We find a variety of attitudes toward mathematics among UMUC Asia students. Some students enjoy math, and successfully complete a series of courses. Others try to avoid it and postpone taking mathematics even when it would help them in other courses. Because of the feelings about mathematics that many students have today, some authorities on American education recognize a problem that they call “math anxiety” or “math avoidance.”

The first key to success in mathematics is starting with the right course. Before you enroll in a math course, you should take UMUC’s placement test at your education center or Navy College office. If you do not take advantage of the availability of this test or choose not to follow its placement recommendation, you may find yourself in a course that proves to be beyond your current level of skill and understanding. You may also wish to seek advice from a counselor in your education office, a UMUC Asia Academic Advisor, or a UMUC Asia faculty member who teaches math at your installation.

Once you have enrolled in the correct course, the following tips on how to study, suggested by a number of UMUC faculty members, may be helpful to you. While many of these ideas could apply to other college courses (for example, foreign languages), they seem particularly appropriate for mathematics.

1. Set up a regular study schedule in which you work on your math course every day or several times a week. Many students find that success in math depends on careful attention to homework assignments. In general, you should spend at least two hours studying out of class for every hour in the classroom. This is especially true for mathematics. It is better to study math often for moderate periods of time than to try to do all the work in one extended study session.



2. Remain alert and involved during class, try to understand what is going on, and take careful and complete notes for later study. Write down everything your instructor writes on the board, as well as any other important points covered in class. Develop your own shorthand for taking notes. For example, write “oo” instead of “order of operations,” or “GCF” instead of “greatest common factor.” Note the algorithm (method of solving) for each problem. Mark the problems that the faculty member emphasizes as potential test questions.
   
   Learning math requires that you build your skills steadily and apply the concepts you have covered previously as new topics are presented. It is therefore important to ask questions to clarify any uncertainties you may have before you move ahead.



3. Ask questions! If you are puzzled by something in class, other students probably are too, so don’t hesitate to ask questions. You may be able to clear up a confusing point with just one question, especially if you have the background that you gain by completing your homework assignments before coming to class. Be sure you know how to contact your teacher outside class.



4. Begin work on your homework assignments as soon as you can after each class while the discussion is still fresh in your mind. If you get an early start on the assignment, and then do something else for a while, you may find it easier to understand when you come back to it later.
   
   Do all assigned problems. Do a problem and then check the answer in the back of the book. Note your mistakes. Careless mistakes that you make on your homework are careless mistakes that you are likely to make on a test — unless you learn from your mistakes while doing your homework. Homework is not just doing the assigned problems at the end of each section. It includes studying class notes and reading the text. You need to understand the concepts. Memorizing the material is not understanding the material. You should understand why each step of an algorithm is done.



5. Learn to use your math textbook effectively. You should not just read a math book, but should work with pencil in hand, examining and justifying each statement and marking ones you do not understand so you can ask about them in class. It is perfectly normal to get through only a few pages in an hour.
   
   Reading a math textbook is different from reading other textbooks. Read the entire section first. Then read it again slowly, one paragraph at a time. Read with a pencil or marker in your hand. Do each example and fill in the missing steps. Read it before doing the assigned homework problems.



6. Do problems and then do some more. You learn math best by doing math, by solving different kinds of problems and gradually developing your skills. It’s not enough to memorize formulas, notations, and definitions, although these can be important; your overall goal should be the understanding that you gain by working problems, reviewing, and becoming increasingly familiar with the material. You can expect to have regular homework assignments, with many problems to do outside of class. It’s important to do these faithfully in addition to getting all you can out of the class session.
   
   In doing a problem, there is often more than one correct way to get the same answer, and the best one to use may be the one that is most natural for you. There may be a simple way, or a more complex way, but these are rarely “right” or “wrong,” just different. (There may be times when your teacher wants you to learn a specific technique; if you are in doubt, you should ask.)

7. Use all the resources available to you. These include not only the textbook and the faculty member but also your classmates and the library. There is a list of available tutors at your local UMUC office.

   Media learning centers have free software for review of intermediate and college algebra. Take a formatted disk to get a copy.




8. Begin studying for a test at least a week in advance. Add one hour to your study time. Do your regular homework first. Read all your notes at least once. Do the chapter review. Write your own version of the test from the problems that you marked in your notes as potential test questions. Get a good night’s sleep the night before the test. Since you began studying a week early, there is no need to cram.
   
   Determine to succeed. You do not have to like math to succeed in a math class. Decide to do your best. Discipline yourself to a daily time commitment.
   

Math Anxiety

Let’s suppose that you have looked over the above suggestions on how to study mathematics and your honest feeling at this moment is that you would still like to avoid the whole thing. There are many possible reasons for this anxiety. Perhaps you had a negative experience in school or you know you are out of practice or you fear you will be slow in class. It is understandable that you may have feelings like these, but you should not let them unduly influence your decision about taking mathematics.

1. Keep in mind that many things have changed since you first studied math. Now you are an adult, with different attitudes and responses. If you disliked a math course years ago, your current view may be the result of that experience, which is not the same as saying that your ability in math caused the frustration you remember.



2. Although you may be out of practice, you probably use a little math now and then and you may be surprised at how quickly it comes back to you when you get started in class.



3. Recognize that mathematics is a language. Therefore, a key to success in it is to know the vocabulary.



4. It is not true that math is done by working intensely until the problem is solved. If, after a reasonable amount of time, you cannot get the answer, take a break and go back to it later.



5. If you believe that you can learn math, but it takes you longer than it does for other people, this may make you uncomfortable. This should not deter you; in all fields of learning people work at their own pace to master the material. What counts is reaching the necessary level of understanding, not how you get there.



6. Math is not easy; nothing worth learning is going to be easy all the time. “Math anxiety” can be experienced by students who are taking advanced math courses, just as it can be by those who are at a more basic level. But you should also realize that it’s not very logical for you to have thoughts like these: “I can’t do math. Others can, but not me.” “This is easy; if it’s easy, it can’t be math! Math is hard.” “I didn’t learn math before, and I never will be able to.” It’s understandable that you might have feelings like these on occasion, but they don’t make much sense for an adult student as a basis for actually making a decision.

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