My Math Experience Reflection

The first step to successfully study for any type of material is to keep the material organized and make sure the information is correct. A good routine would be to check notes periodically

Carter, C., Bishop, J., & Kravitz, S.L. (2011). Key to Effective Learning: Study Skills and Habits

For the past three years of my high school career, and now my fourth, I have made it an obligation to continually expand my horizons in regards to math; when I cannot fully grasp an idea or concept, rather than giving up, I relentlessly pursue the idea until it is understood. During freshman year, math did not come easily to me. I was forced to go in early some days because, simply, I did not comprehend the concepts. However, taking initiative with my school work, and constantly working through problems that were difficult can be deemed one of the best decisions I have made. Although my final grade may not have been an

After reading the article I want to change my study habits some. My goal is to implement the strategy previously mentioned. I think self-testing myself as I read will allow for much more long term absorption of material. In addition, to increasing the skills in how I read I want to learn to create study questions for myself. When study guides are not provided it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the idea of exams. However, we can train ourselves to recognize important information and create our own study questions to be able to answer before exam day. Self-testing and self-created study questions are going to my new approach at studying.

Shellenbarger presents five ways to improve your study skills. Through other people’s experiences and studies Shellenbarger is able to support her claim of the helpful tips for getting the most from your studying while appealing to her audience through her organization and relevant references.

Before taking this course I was really excited about what I am going to learn. And I was right! This course is not only interesting but it is also helpful. I have learned that the grade I am having right now is the reflection of my try throughout the entire semester.

Tynan statement, “…you’ll have to push yourself hard to work even when you don’t like it” resonates with me. I have always been a fairly decent student, tried my hardest in all my classes, but for some reason without fail Algebra and I have never connected. For as long as I can remember I have struggled with math, it’s always been my weak link in school. I know may people enjoy math, but to me it’s a lot of work. Now I am having to relearn Algebra and I don’t like it, but in order to achieve my goal of becoming a physician assistant this is the course I must stay. Maybe Tynan is right and by the end of this I will have learned to love math.

The second semester of this course made me question my passion for math. I understood concepts and the curriculum but I would never do well in the practice AP Tests my teacher gave us weekly. The tests would be curved tremendously and the grades I received were a lie. 9/45 does not equal a 70%. I felt true resentment.

This book is a well-known textbook concentrating on learning how to form effective study skills. This textbook is used in training entry-level college students on how to develop good study habits. This book was written by Carter, Bishop, and Kravits which are well known authors in the circle of education. This book was found in the e-Book section in

Effective study skills help a student to learn and build a sound education, but what works for one student may not work for another. A student needs to look at the different types of techniques available and see what works for them.

So freshman algebra rolled around and I loved it. After two weeks in the class I was three and one half chapters ahead of the teacher. He would only assign the odd problems for homework, but I’d do them all. Geometry was even cooler. But thinking back, not one of the teachers even commended me for doing so well. My father noticed I was good at it, but I thought he had to tell me I was good; he was my father.

During the observation time I was placed in a first grade classroom. Walking into the class I began to look around and smile, there was so much color all over the classroom I could not help but feel happier. The teacher immediately stopped the class and told us what they were doing that morning and had each student introduce themselves to us. They went around and stated their name and then went back to their math workbook. When they were finished with their math worksheets they were then able to pick something to do around the room. That included reading on their own, getting to use the iPad, working on the computer, etc. Some students were together while others chose to work on things independently.

A range of different and useful topics have been discussed since the start of Pathways to lifelong learning, some of which I found to be of particular help. The college expectations which we learned towards the beginning of the course was especially helpful to learning how to become a critical thinker, something that was not very touched upon throughout my time in high school. I now use Bloom’s Taxonomy when beginning to prepare for an important paper or presentation. In addition to the first chapter, I had also found great help in the second chapter on the skills needed to succeed in school. In the past, I used rehearsal as my main strategy to memorize for any upcoming tests or exams, however that often resulted in either retrieval failure or ineffective encoding. I now use chunking and elaboration as my main strategies to studying as I find it most effective when studying and retrieving information, especially when I am needing to memorize and learn a big amount of material.

I found several helpful strategies throughout this course but the ones I found to be most beneficial were the ones on setting goals and managing financial

A range of different and useful topics have been discussed since the start of Pathways to lifelong learning, some of which I found to be of particular help. The college expectations which we learned towards the beginning of the course was especially helpful to learning how to become a critical thinker, something that was not very touched upon throughout my time in high school. I now use Bloom’s Taxonomy when beginning to prepare for an important paper or presentation. In addition to the first chapter, I had also found great help in the second chapter on the skills needed to succeed in school. In the past, I used rehearsal as my main strategy to memorize for any upcoming tests or exams, however that often resulted in either retrieval failure or ineffective encoding. I now use chunking and elaboration as my main strategies to studying as I find it most effective when studying and retrieving information, especially when I am needing to memorize and learn a big amount of material.