Struggling in maths really badly. Please help :( (1 Viewer)

[obviouslyme]

Hi guys, just so you know i am fully panicking. I am in year 12 at the moment and maths is like so hard.

I go to tutoring for maths and when i was in year 7-9, MATHS used to be my best subject since tutor was always ahead of school and was very detailed. I used to just breeze thru. it.

However after my tutor got replaced by a 'senior' when i was 1/2 way through year 10, i have to admit i started to fail terribly. I also moved school at the start of yr 10. So in the beginning, i was getting around 50% or just around the average when i used to get over 90% in year 7-9. Then i realised i had to get back up or else i wouldn't be able to do extension maths for year 11. And i did - made it in 45th position for 48 positions for 3u maths.

Then at tutor, we did those exams that allocate you to classes according to your ability. I used to be in top maths class. Then i moved down to 2nd top. Then WITHIN LESS THAN A YEAR i moved down to 12B (4 classes down from the top). I am also pretty miserable since my old tutor said that i was capable of doing 4u maths. Now my high school wouldn't even let me

I am now studying like really hard for maths, doing all my homework but i feel like i am missing key concepts. For instance, i am doing inverse functions. And there are rules that i don't even know that you have to apply to the question. Like, "find the largest possible domain for the inverse" i didn't even know that you have to apply 'monotonic increasing' method to it. And like integration, i couldn't integrate some questions and realised i needed 'integration by parts' which i didn't even know about.

I feel like my current tutor atm is like, not conveying as much >< he always skips around And now i have to undertake self study for BOTH tutor and school (which i feel like i am wasting too much time on maths instead of doing my other subjects). I always have to google how to do questions and look up different textbooks.

Does anyone have any tips to share? How do you feel confident in maths? How do u feel like you have grasped all the concepts? And just one more thing -- do you actually have to memorise proofs for maths?

Thanks guys! And also which tutor do u guys strongly recommend?

 

[Sup3rDry]

This tutor sounds like tipps.

But in hindsight, you seem just to be relying on your tutor. A tutor helps, but you also have to put in the effort outside of it as well. This applies to school. Maybe its not the tutor, but just the way you study? Atm I wouldn't be looking for a different tutor. But if i were, maybe a private tutor where tailored learning can be done may be an option.

Best of luck!

 

[kanakaratna]

Hi - I can help you achieve what you want - lets discuss. An experienced HSC Maths tutor - a professional Engineer and a PhD candidate with UNSW. 0431 402 217.

Thanks
Gayan

 

[strawberrye]

Below are some of my top tips for acing maths

The only way you can study for maths is essentially to understand mathematical concepts, apply your understanding by practice questions of increasing difficulty, and checking your answers and working out with those provided by the textbook or with your teacher/tutor. Before each maths exam, I would also do a summary of all the formulas that I would need and all the tips and tricks for each topic and revise over that before the exam.

One very important tip is to avoid exposing yourself to new, difficult questions the day before the exam-you would often be panicked and this would worsen your exam performance because you are not entering the exam with a calm, clear mind.

I had a habit to try to do my maths homework before it was set-so that I had more time for other subjects like English. I used an actual grid book-I found it particularly useful when I am drawing trigonometry graphs, but it is up to you, it doesn't really matter what type of book you use as long as you set out your questions neatly and in a legible manner. I did divide my pages in half, not to save space, because it was the format I was accustomed to. I would write out the question, write my working out, and ticked or crossed my own work by marking my answers with those of the textbook. And if I got a question wrong, I would re-do it several times until I get it right or I could ask my teacher. When I understood the mathematical concepts, I would then do practice trial papers to consolidate my knowledge.

One last important tip I can give you is that you need to ask questions the minute you don't understand something-don't leave any maths lessons without understanding everything about the maths concept conveyed-because maths is a sort of accumulative subject where if you don't understand something and don't clarify it, it can have a snowball effect. I have a habit of writing tips on the silly mistakes I've made or tips to do a certain type of question alongside questions I got wrong and I re-do these questions before the exam and remind myself to avoid making these mistakes.

MATHS is a subject that needs to be practiced on a daily basis, you cannot get away with studying it the day before the actual exam. You need to understand the approach to achieve a solution to the problems, not just knowing how to answer a problem, but knowing the different types of problems you can encounter in any topic and the variation in the solution method to achieve them. Essentially, practice, practice, practice is the key to succeed in Maths.

Remember to ALWAYS PRIORITISE YOUR SCHOOL HOMEWORK OVER TUTOR HOMEWORK.
Hope this helps

 

[panda15]

This tutor sounds like tipps.

But in hindsight, you seem just to be relying on your tutor. A tutor helps, but you also have to put in the effort outside of it as well. This applies to school. Maybe its not the tutor, but just the way you study? Atm I wouldn't be looking for a different tutor. But if i were, maybe a private tutor where tailored learning can be done may be an option.

Best of luck!

This. How much studying do you do on your own? Plus, do you use your school teacher as a resource for extra help? Majority of teachers will be happy to help you. Since your 3U cohort is 48 students, I'm guessing there's at least 3 teachers that teach the 3U course? I'm sure at least one of them is willing to help you.