College Algebra can be a challenge that many students face early in their college experience. If you’re concerned about how to do college algebra, consider developing a strategy that includes the following tips from a former math professor. College Algebra is accessible to everyone, even if you think you’re not a “math person.”
1. Attend every class meeting. Not attending a class meeting can take twice or three times as much as attending class after learning that you are missing information. If you need to avoid class, try plan ahead and read the material in the book. Do homework the weekend before so you can ask the teacher before missing class. If you miss class for unexpected reasons, make sure to stay current on your reading, notes, and assignments. To pass college algebra, it’s critical that you don’t fall behind the rest of the class, because it can be very difficult to take, even if you don’t miss the actual assignments.
2. Read the book ahead of time. Many people are surprised by this tip, because let’s face it: most people don’t read math books. In fact, these days, many people don’t read textbooks at all! But some math books are good enough to read, and they can increase the likelihood that you’ll pass college algebra. If you read the section of the book that will be covered in class before the class meets (even if you don’t fully understand what you read), then you will be well prepared to understand what the instructor is saying because it won’t be new material to you. You don’t have hours to read – just enough to get a feel for the material that will be covered in class.
3. Do your homework. You will likely take tests during the course that will involve similar homework problems. In the absence of practice tests, the best practice for the weekend is the weekend itself. Doing your homework will help you pass the tests, and you will pass the college algebra tests. But there’s an added benefit: Doing homework problems will also prepare you for future concepts in class. By completing all the assignments in the first half of the semester, you will have a solid foundation for places in the second half of the semester.
4. Do at least five problems each day, even if not from the current homework assignment. Even if your class only meets once or twice each week, to pass college algebra, you need to stay in touch with the material. Doing each question every day will help your brain consolidate the concepts you learned in the previous lessons and prepare you for the upcoming lessons. If you only interact with your book college algebra once or twice a week, you will do everything else in between. Reminisce about what you learned last time you interacted. We remember this most because we learn in the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes of each session, so the trick is to increase the number of study sessions so that their length does not increase.
5. Search in class. You or someone else paid for that class. Share your money with the teacher. If you have a very broad type, you should definitely say so. This grade is vital to passing college algebra, even more so than other math classes. We’ve taught many semesters of college algebra, and I’ve never heard a student ask a really stupid question. It sounds trite, but if you have a question, there are five other students with the same question who are afraid to ask it. Do them a favor and talk. This is especially difficult for students being educated in Asia who have learned to be disdainful to question the professor. In North America, not only is it allowed, but in most classes, questions are welcome and can be shown to your professor along with intelligently following the lecture. In my experience, most North American professors enjoy students’ questions.
6. Do not a.m. take a class if you are a person from night. Don’t procrastinate class if you’re a morning person. It can be challenging for some students to pass college algebra even when you’re the best. Taking math class first thing in the morning stacks the odds against you if early morning isn’t the best time to learn. In many schools the first classes are the last to be filled. If possible, register for classes early enough that options other than the first day’s classes are available. However, if you are a morning person, try not to take an evening math class. If you have evening classes because you have a day job, consider using twilight classes that meet earlier in the evening rather than classes that go until 10 p.m. Or consider a weekend or online class if your institution offers them.
7. Find writing tools that you like. This may seem trivial, but any little incentive you can use to try college algebra will work in your favor. When I took my undergraduate math classes, I started my first class by getting a notebook with graph paper in it. I did all my homework on that graph paper in that notebook. Now my pain is done, my homework is done, and so on. Find something that pleases you in some way at any time that you use it, and use it that way for math, that way, over time, you will associate a pleasant will with doing math.
8. Get a study. Two heads really are better than one. If you can explain a concept to another student, you’ve learned it! This is one of the most powerful ways to help pass college algebra. While an actual partnership with your group is definitely beneficial, groups offer the added benefit of keeping members accountable at a specific time and place, ready to do the math. It is easier to keep your college Algebra to yourself if you surround yourself with others who are interested in it. The best time to organize a study group is the first or second class meeting. They collect three classmates, for groups.
9. Learn a language. This tip goes hand in hand with getting a group study, but independently can be done One of the necessities of learning any discipline, from music to biology, is getting a handle on the lingo. When your instructor starts talking about polynomials, make sure you take quality notes and write down what a polynomial is. Then, when you ask questions in class (see #5 above), try to use the same words you hear the instructor using. Have a list of new words or ideas, with definitions, in your essay. Pay attention to how you use the language. This will help you understand future lessons when old terms are used but no longer defined. It will also help in tests when directions use expressions such as “use polynomial division to simplify the expression and express the remainder as a quotient.” While you know how to complete the process because you did your homework, if you don’t know the language, you don’t know how to start. That’s why it’s so important to be language-based to pass college algebra.
10. Believe in yourself. Tell yourself that you are a capable person. Almost all college students can eventually pass algebra if they apply themselves. The door is not closed to you. Chances are, even if you don’t think you’re a “math” person, and no matter how you hear from people who don’t think you’re a “math” person, you can identify the necessary material and skip it. class The power is in you. Think positively about this and you will begin to see your interest and class attendance pay off. Negative self-talk can be among the biggest obstacles some students face when trying to pass college Algebra. . Ask a friend to tell you repeatedly that you believe you can do math. He can also hear those words from someone else.
If you really can’t believe in yourself, find a lucky charm and believe. When I first started taking my math course, I didn’t believe I could pass any math class, let alone pass college algebra. I bought a bunch of new school supplies, and then came the first test. I struggled with it, erasing much of my work and breaking it up again and again. I got an A. Because I didn’t believe in myself, I deleted the new, “lucky” attribute. I used that eraser during my undergraduate years while pursuing my mathematics degree. (Then I told the student I was going to protect him, and the magic worked on him too.) Delete really had nothing to do with my score – I knew that, as I was. I had certain experiences before me. But it gave me an excuse to believe in myself when I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I was even good at math.
College Algebra can be a daunting challenge for students early in their post-secondary education. It will show you the course if you really want to apply yourself to get your degree. If you want to pass college algebra, consider following the advice provided in the top tips from the beginning of the class. You can pass college algebra with the right combination of hard work and planning.
Source: personal experience
