How to succeed in math even if you suck.

[DarklordKyo]

I'm not the brightest person out there, in fact, I'm probably the dumbest person on Earth [and before you say it, no, I'm not exaggerating, nor am I looking for attention (hell, I'm probably one of the few truly honest people in a life filled with people who're way too nice and patient for their own good)]. Even when I study every single day, I still need at least two tries in order to have a chance at passing a college math course. Seeing as though a Computer Science degree is my only real chance at a decent livelihood from what I've seen (and the only math teacher I have a chance at passing with is already fully taken), anyone have any tips on passing math classes in only one semester? (and don't say study every day, I do exactly that).

TL;DR I suck at math, the only degree I can get that has any chance of giving me a decent liveli hood requires math, any tips other that the obvious?

P.S. If this topic (or something like it) was already posted recently, I apologize.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

My advice: lie, cheat and steal.

I kid, I kid.

But seriously, exactly what type of math do you have problems with, and what exactly is so difficult for you? Is it the concepts themselves or is it the application of those concepts?

edit: I'd also think about changing the thread title to something a bit more relevant to the topic if you want people who are good at math to give you some tips.

 

[DarklordKyo]

My advice: lie, cheat and steal.

I kid, I kid.

But seriously, exactly what type of math do you have problems with, and what exactly is so difficult for you? Is it the concepts themselves or is it the application of those concepts?

edit: I'd also think about changing the thread title to something a bit more relevant to the topic if you want people who are good at math to give you some tips.

I honestly don't know, it's just that I screw up even if I study daily & do all my homework. Also, changed the title [the reason for the previous title is that I try to think up something witty that also somewhat pertains to my topic, and the Scarecrow (allegedly inaccurately because the writers didn't research well enough apparently) recited a math theorem immediately after the title character of the Wizard of Oz gave him that confidence boost in the end of the film (I can't speak for mathematical accuracy in the original novel, because I haven't read the original novel)].

 

[dyre]

I knew a guy just like you. Great programmer with comprehensive tech knowledge, but for some reason couldn't pass Calculus 2 in two tries. I'd recommend doing as he did and taking a community college version of the course (make sure beforehand that your university accepts it). Seriously, even a drooling moron could pass those community college courses.

 

[Bellvedere]

Math isn't something that I find comes very easily to me and for my University level Math courses I have to put a whole lot more effort into it than any other subject. If you can get through your study exercises and homework then the problem is either that you missing the broader implications of the work your doing, such as by memorizing the formulas rather than understanding the key concepts that underpin those formulas or the lack of confidence in your own abilities is getting in your way.

Firstly, your lecturer has not necessarily provided the best explanation of a concept for you. People learn better in different ways. If you feel that you've missed something or you'rr not fully understanding everything they've talked about, look at material from outside your course for other explanations. Web is full of them, youtube actually has a very decent number of videos explaining particular math concepts. I found in some instances they were better than my lecturers explanations. Worked examples can be great, but remember your not trying to learn how to solve a problem, your learning to understand a concept so that you can apply it to a problem yourself.

If you have the opportunity, try to study with other people taking your course. If there's something they don't understand, explaining what you know is a fantastic way to solidify your understanding, and if there's something you don't understand then having someone right there with you to go through the problem is a massive help. You should also be able to ask for help from Tutors, Lecturers and perhaps from other study services if your college offers them but regular group study can be much more helpful. Don't be afraid of looking stupid. You're there to learn not to get marks for stuff you already know, as is everyone else, they will get stuff wrong all the time too. At the end of the day though, what's going to make a difference is you understanding the material and getting through the course, not what anyone else thinks of you.

Finally don't make Math scary for yourself. You obviously have a very low opinion of your abilities but at some point you can go beyond accepting you have a problem so you can improve and turning that into failing because you expect to fail or not trusting your understanding of a problem (then trying to make it more complicated) because you think you're always wrong. This is another reason that working with other people can be a massive help, so you can build some confidence.

 

[Frezzato]

I think you should make yourself an account at the Khan Academy [https://www.khanacademy.org/]. It's one of the few projects mentioned in a TED Talk that turned into something real. Not to mention that, while studying is a great idea and all, perhaps you can't really blame yourself for falling into the Catch-22 of not being able to teach yourself something you don't fully grasp. Khan Academy. It's free and it's legit, and it's something you can start today.

 

[Foolery]

Most math is taught wrong. There is too much copy/paste memorization (even for teachers) instead of proper comprehension. I'm a big 'why' kind of person and I need to understand why certain principles, numbers, theories work the way they do. It helped me to look into the actual history and process of mathematics. That said, I'm in the skilled trades (Millwright in particular, working my way towards becoming a Machinist) which uses simple applied math, not academics, which makes things much easier.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I remember having lots of trouble with Maths at school as soon as it reached a certain level.

I found that it starts to click into place all together at a certain point, as everything starts to make sense. Unluckily for me, this was brought on too late and I didn't do very well in my examinations. Hopefully you can stimulate this to happen earlier for yourself.

I will say that what brought it on was having someone who understood it just explain it to me over and over and in different ways until things started to make sense.

Perhaps my teacher didn't teach it in a way that was accessible to my brain or didn't drill it in in that specific way, I don't know. Regardless of the reason for my troubles, my advice would be to seek out as many knowledgeable people as you can and can spare you the time and ask them to explain to you in as many ways as possible.

I still have 'my way' of getting to answers sometimes and alternatives are alien to my understanding, even though they are right, but as long as you can get to the right answer, by a correct method, then I can't see why there would be an issue in passing exams.

 

[Hero of Lime]

For me, doing well in math for the average person requires two things, the willingness to put time into it and learn with practice and studying(which could be applied to most things), and a good teacher. I was terrible in math classes in my later grade school and high school, but once I got to college I took them seriously, and I had good teachers who helped me understand the concepts.

Sometimes you just have to ask for help from you teachers, it's so easy to just not raise your hand and say "could you do that again?" or "I don't get it." You are there to learn, not to sit there and keep your "dignity" and fail the class. Plus, if you have questions, so do others in the class, by asking a question, you can help others too!

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

You might want to try a different method of learning the subject.
I grew up with a learning disability, traditional methods taught by the teachers never worked for me. No amount of "studying" was going to get me to pass Math.

I needed to hear the teacher's lectures, I needed to take notes while they explained it (some teachers move fast, don't be ashamed to ask them to show it again), and most importantly, I needed to understand the steps necessary to get the correct answer, step by step in order.

My notes looked like a cookbook and I was following the recipe. When I did the homework, I followed these exact steps and if I didn't get the answer I needed, I went back and did it again, if I still couldn't get the answer, I asked the teacher the next day. I would also try explaining the steps to other people (because my process also helped them), if I could teach it, then I was sure I knew the material myself. It was also important to understand why things are done this way.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

*snip*

If math is something that you really struggle with, a degree in computer science might not be the best option. At the very least at my university there's a lot of math courses that you need to take in it, Discrete Mathematics, Linear Algebra, and Calculus are mandatory at my university. If you get through those, you won't use all of it on a regular basis, and you can glide by without using much math for the most part (manipulating equations is still important though).

What you will need to use all the time though is mathematical induction. It's more of a logic thing than math, but at the university level those two subjects are a lot more linked than in high school. Quite often you'll be manipulating equations like in algebra or in ways conceptually similar to it.

There's a big difference between high school math and university math though, so struggling in one doesn't necessarily mean you'll struggle in another. For example, I haven't used a calculator once in university. You almost never use decimals, you work almost exclusively in fractions, and you don't even encounter 3 digit numbers all that often. What it's pretty much all about is understanding it at a conceptual level.

So you might want to elaborate on what comes easy to you and what you really struggle with. Depending on what it is, it might look better to go into software engineering instead of computer science, or some sort of programming boot camp. If you're looking at computer science with the intent of learning how to program there's better ways to go about that. A degree in computer science is better if you're more interested in the mathematical, logical and conceptual side of it.

I don't want to try and turn you off of this idea or anything, but you might want to think of what your goal is and what the best way to achieve it would be