What
Every Freshman Math Student Needs to Know
(adapted from Steven Zucker's "Teaching at the
University Level", Notices of the American Mathematical Society, August 1996 (Vol. 43, No.
8))
1. You are no longer in high school. The great majority of
you, not having done so already, will have to discard high school notions of
teaching and learning and replace them by university-level notions. This may be
difficult, but it must happen sooner or later, so sooner is better. Our goal is
more than just getting you to reproduce what was told to you in the classroom.
2. Expect to have material covered at two to three times
the pace of high school. Above that, we aim for greater command of the
material, especially the ability to apply what you have learned to new situations
(when relevant).
3. Lecture time is at a premium, so it must be used efficiently.
You cannot be "taught" everything in the classroom. It is your
responsibility to learn the material. Most of this learning must take place
outside the classroom. You should be willing to put in two hours outside
the classroom for each hour of class.
4. The instructor's job is primarily to provide a framework, with
some of the particulars, to guide you in doing your learning of the
concepts and methods that comprise the material of the course. It is not to
"program" you with isolated facts and problem types nor to monitor
your progress.
5. You are expected to read the textbook for comprehension. It
gives the detailed account of the material of the course. It also contains many
examples of problems worked out, and these should be used to supplement those
you see in the lecture. The textbook is not a novel, so the reading must often
be slow-going and careful. However, there is the clear advantage that you can
read it at your own pace. Use pencil and paper to work through the material and
to fill in omitted steps.
6. As for when you engage the textbook, you have the
following dichotomy:
a.
[recommended
for most students] Read for the first time the appropriate section(s) of the
book before the material is presented in lecture. That is, come prepared for
class. Then the faster-paced college-style lecture will make more sense.
b.
If
you haven't looked at the book beforehand, try to pick up what you can from the
lecture (absorb the general idea and/or take thorough notes) and count on
sorting it out later while studying from the book outside of class.
7. Ask questions in class. Even if it appears as though everyone
else is "getting it," chances are that they are actually about in the
same position as you and will appreciate, not resent, your question (providing,
of course, that you are prepared enough to ask a vaguely reasonable question).
8. Study with other students in the class. This greatly
decreases your chances of "learning the material wrong" and gives you
the opportunity to explain what you know to others, which greatly clarifies
your knowledge.
URL: http://www.cs.bsu.edu/homepages/kerryj/kjones/zucker.htm