FAQs: Preparing for College Math Study

tokenadult

Back in the summer of 2003, I gathered up some Web links about how to study math. Any reader of this who has suggestions for additional links would surely be doing several readers of this thread a favor by sharing them, or by commenting on the links I post here.

Preparing for the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE): A Mathematics Study Guide

How to Succeed in Math

Success in Mathematics

College Algebra (includes Tutorial 1 "How to Succeed in a Math Class")

How to Survive Your College Math Class (and Take Home Something of Value) (.PDF file)

How to Study Mathematics (Illinois Wesleyan)

Understanding Mathematics

How to Study Mathematics (The Ohio State University)

Survival Guide for Students Taking University Courses in Mathematics

Some Help on Reading Mathematics and Creating Proofs

Education (articles about undergraduate math study by Steven Zucker of Johns Hopkins U.)

Student's Guide to Good Problems (a great guide to mathematical writing)

Study Skills in Mathematics (Cambridge University)

Study Guide (Oxford University)

Credit Exams for Undergraduates lots of study guides and practice exams for undergraduate math courses

Reading Mathematics (Professor Hubbard at Cornell)

Books in the Mathematical Sciences (James M. Cargal) more than just a book list, a guide full of opinions on how to learn different levels of mathematics

Chicago undergraduate mathematics bibliography a book list and an introduction to studying math at the U of Chicago

Guide to Writing in Mathematics Classes (Franklin and Marshall College)

Guide to being a successful math student

Survival Guide to Calculus (UC Berkeley)

Writing a Research Paper in Mathematics (Ashley Reiter)

Mathematical Writing (Donald E. Knuth, Tracy Larrabee, and Paul M. Roberts)

Learning Strategies: Maximizing Your Academic Experience (Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center)

Student Web Links (Wadsworth Publishing, links to many sites about study tips for all subjects)

How to prepare for a graduate program in the mathematical sciences (U. of Arizona)

Here are some famous pages on how to avoid errors in mathematics study:

THE MOST COMMON ERRORS IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS

Common Errors in Writing Mathematics (.PDF file)

Hope this helps!

_________________
"The proper thing for a parent to say is, 'I did badly at mathematics, but I had a very bad teacher. I wish I had had a good one.'" W. W. Sawyer, Vision in Elementary Mathematics (1964), page 5.

http://learninfreedom.org/

JS1527

Wow thanks tokenadult.

**Posted:** Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:50 pm

tokenadult

**Posted:** Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:57 pm

_________________
"The proper thing for a parent to say is, 'I did badly at mathematics, but I had a very bad teacher. I wish I had had a good one.'" W. W. Sawyer, Vision in Elementary Mathematics (1964), page 5.

http://learninfreedom.org/

zscool · Riemann Hypothesis Offline Joined: 22 Jun 2003 Posts: 482

very informative. I don't suppose you have any good links on effectively studying for other subjects as well, because they would be very useful.

**Posted:** Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:06 pm

tokenadult

**Posted:** Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:15 pm

_________________
"The proper thing for a parent to say is, 'I did badly at mathematics, but I had a very bad teacher. I wish I had had a good one.'" W. W. Sawyer, Vision in Elementary Mathematics (1964), page 5.

http://learninfreedom.org/

shreyas_patankar

Many people know this already, but I found it very useful.
So You Want To Be A Physicist

Also, I have a general question. How do we make the most efficient use of modern learning tools like Wikibooks and Wikiversity? How far do you think such tools can influence/improve education?

**Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:40 pm

fedja

It is great to have free sources that are just a mouse click away but you should understand that they are just sources of information. The most important thing is some "education program" that guides you step by step from simple things to more and more sophisticated ones and is adjusted to your personal abilities, learning speed, preferences, etc. The difficulty with education is exactly in creating such a program (indeed, how can you do it without a priori expert knowledge of the subject?) and forcing yourself to follow it. Once this is done, I do not see much difference between reading online books and ordinary ones. So, the only influence the mentioned sources can have is making education slightly more accessible to those who know how and are willing to educate themselves.

How to use these tools effectively? The same way as you use the library, this forum, etc. effectively. Essentially everything boils down to finding the right books to read, finding the right people to ask questions and learn from, and having enough willpower to continue the studies when it is not easy. This works today the same way it did in China and Egypt thousands of years ago and will work the same way in the foreseeable future with new tools or without them. Everything else (like most modern education theories or fancy online programs) is secondary. All that is just my humble opinion, of course Smile

**Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:20 pm