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Math help from the Learning Centre

This guide provides useful resources for a wide variety of math topics. It is targeted at students enrolled in a math course or any other Centennial course that requires math knowledge and skills.

Self-Regulated Your Math Learning

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1. Plan and prepare for your math class. If you had a rough time with math classes before, consider this: That was then! You are better prepared than ever before to take on this math class.

2. Establish your math routine. Mark in your study plan how much time you want to spend on the course. Be specific with the days and exact hours. Setting shorter periods of time (e.g., 2 hours Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) is better than 8 hours during one day of the week. Your plan will need to be revised as difficult or easier topics arise.

3. Math courses have a Review/Introduction Chapter. Going through the examples in these chapter will remind you of some of the language that is particular to mathematics. Use the chapter to help establish your math routine and confront doubts and misunderstandings you have associated with mathematics.

4. Use your resources. You should contact your instructor not only to ask questions, but build a connection with so that you become comfortable asking any question. There is no question too basic, and feedback helps you to question and move your understandings deeper.

  • Your textbook is an excellent resource. There is an online component with the textbook that provides practice questions and online support.
  • Access the Math drop-in centres at the Progress, Morningside or Ashtonbee campuses or book an appointment with a Math Strategist or drop-in tutor 
  • There are plenty of videos online that walk you through examples. Contact a math strategist for more information.
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5. Math requires a deep understanding of the material. Rote memorization is the memorization of rules, formulas, or specific examples. This is not enough to succeed in a math course. The expectation is for you to apply those formulas in multiple context. In addition, questions may ask you to apply rules and formulas from multiple topics into one question.

For example, you may know the rules to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions. But how do you apply it to the following problem

1/9 of the shirts sold at a shop are white. 5/8 of the remainder are black. The rest of the shirts are green. If the shop has 81 green shirts, how many more black shirts than green shirts does the shop have?

How do you start this question? What am I looking for? What do I have?

Speak to a math strategist to develop methods to attack any mathematical problem.

6. Study with a classmate or tutor. You may not get the chance to clarify steps during an online lecture. Studying with a classmate allows for those questions to be asked. You can go through a lecture together, pause after each example, and address unclear steps and misunderstandings. Create a similar question for each other to test your understandings. You can book a tutor and ask them to go through a lecture with you.

7. Do a practice test. The majority of math courses are assessed through multiple tests. You want to do practice tests to verify your understanding. You also want to do a practice test in the same format online as the setting where you will be tested. You can create your own test with classmates by each contribution a question or two. Randomize the order of questions and see how you do. Grade your own test and look back at topics that are still unclear.

undefined 8. Revise your routine. The above tips help form your math study routine. Look back at your routine, highlight, difficulties, and successes. Revise your routine to continually improve.

 

"It is fine to work on any problem, so long as it generates mathematics along the way - even if you don't solve it at the end of the day." Andrew Wiles


Learning Math Online by Matthew Cheung. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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