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March 28, 2024, 09:10:51 pm

Author Topic: How does one manage to keep up with the large amount of sub-chapters?  (Read 979 times)

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QCAAMemes

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Normally I am able to revise every night, but due to the very fast pace sometimes our class gets thrown 2 chapters in one lesson and I fall immediately behind. Does anyone else have this problem and any tips to counter it?

RuiAce

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Re: How does one manage to keep up with the large amount of sub-chapters?
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2019, 02:24:41 pm »
+7
Somehow I missed this. Apologies!

To be honest, falling behind is natural. It's usually really hard being on top of everything for the entire year. When I did maths in high school, usually there were bits and pieces that never sank until later on, or that I had forgotten until I started studying it again. It wasn't always because of out-of-control factors like fast pace, but they definitely do impact.

How you combat this is really up to you, but these were some strategies I employed:

- (If I felt lazy:) Literally just say "screw it I'll come back to you later". This strategy works sometimes, and fails at other times. It doesn't work when the stuff at that point in time was necessary for something that was about to come up, say, next week or something. But if I knew I wouldn't have to use that concept in the near future, I would just wait it out a little. (Of course, right before an exam though, I'd make sure I studied heaps out of it.)

- For now, gloss over. This is sort of like the above option, but with more work put into it. At the very least, I'd try to skim down the important key concepts, and focus on understanding those instead. That may or may not mean understanding worked examples - I'd squeeze in examples if I felt my brain actually could handle it. The advantage of this is that if I require said concept that I don't know well yet, at least I know barely enough to not fall behind in class.

- Lag behind at school. Sometimes, this requires that your teacher isn't overly-strict and is willing to let you practice maths at your own pace in class. But it really just says that you absolutely need to focus on what's currently the more pressing issue. Although you may sit down in class and copy down what your teacher writes on the board, you choose to use any remaining class time on doing things at your own pace instead.

- Devote more time to catching up during weeks when you're not swamped. Basically, catching up is important, don't burn yourself out!

- Jump some questions. I generally advise against this (at least, in high school), but sometimes a bit of less practice in the short run can help you catch up on concepts more quickly. (Please don't do this in the long run!)

A mix of the above is also healthy.

These are just loose strategies I have off the top of my head. If there's anything else you feel is more specific to you, I can try to expand on that. Otherwise hopefully this serves as a start. :)

Specialist_maths

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Re: How does one manage to keep up with the large amount of sub-chapters?
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2019, 07:59:48 pm »
+5
Normally I am able to revise every night, but due to the very fast pace sometimes our class gets thrown 2 chapters in one lesson and I fall immediately behind. Does anyone else have this problem and any tips to counter it?
I think every student is going to face this dilemma at some point. Sometimes you miss a lesson, sometimes the teacher misses a lesson, and sometimes the result of dividing the course content by the number of lessons available to teach it means there is a bit of squeezing.

My first suggestion is prevention:Try to stay ahead of the course a bit, so that when the inevitable speed-bump comes along, you're not behind the course. There's two aspects to this:

- Try to have a 'big picture' of the unit (or at least the topic). What is it all about? What sort of problems does this content help you solve?

- Try to 'pre-read' before each lesson. If you are familiar with the course structure (syllabus is online) or have been given a unit planner by your teacher, have a look ahead to what the teacher will be teaching next lesson. I have three of the four textbooks and they all do a good job of explaining most topics - of course, there's also a stack of online resources that can help with most topics. See your teacher as the icing-on-the-cake to your learning, rather than the first (or only) way you can learn.

Secondly, if you do get behind, organise your catch-up. 
- Identify the key procedures (eg: "use logarithmic laws"). Aim to get a basic level of competency as quickly as possible. Often new skills build on previous skills. So you may need today's content to be able to use tomorrow's. You can then aim to achieve mastery over a longer period of time.
 
- Identify the key concepts (eg: what is a logarithm and why can they have different bases?). But don't try to rush your brain into understanding. Sometimes it just takes time. I would suggest focusing on only one or two at a time, so that you can have that 'ah ha!' moment, feel good about getting it, and the move on to the next one - rather than going all term without that periodic success and ending up with a wishy-washy half-understanding of everything (or nothing).

I also agree with Rui's comments.

In particular: catching up is important - but don't burn out. Keeping a positive, determined, growth mindset is critical! If you're working your butt off - be happy with that, be proud of your efforts and don't ever give up!
« Last Edit: October 24, 2019, 08:02:23 pm by Specialist_maths »
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