Jimmy Buffett Summarizes Most Students’ View of Math

As singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett says in his song, “Math Sucks:”

The numbers come together in some kind of third dimension
A regular algebraic bliss.
Let's start with something simple
Like one and one ain't three
And two plus two will never get you five
There's fractions in my subtraction
And X don't equal Y
But my homework is bound to multiply

Many people share his feelings, but it does not have to be that way. In fact, most frustrations about math are centered on a resistance to attempt problems and expand the students’ minds. There are actually many math strategies that will improve your math scores. The Top 7 include:

• Stop memorizing and find the path to understanding.
• Math is an active sport, not for the sideline fan.
• Practice, practice, practice.
• Get additional exercises.
• Find a study buddy.
• Explain and question.
• Phone a friend.

Stop Memorizing – Too often in math, students will try to memorize the information instead of reaching a level of understanding. The learner should look for the why not just the how. When working a long division problem of 73 divided by 3, we generally say “How many times does 3 go into 7?” But to understand the concept, we would look at putting 70 into 3 groups. After all, 7 represents 70 or 7 tens. The understanding in this question really has little to do with how many times 3 goes into 7, but rather how many are in the group of three when you share the 73 into 3 groups. Three going into 7 is merely a shortcut. Putting 73 into 3 groups means understanding.

Join in the game; don't just be a spectator – Math is not something that is “given to you.” You cannot learn math by absorbing the information; you must become the intensive participant. Try to make connections in math; many of the concepts in math are related and connected. The more connections you can make, the greater the understanding will be. Math concepts flow through levels of difficulty, start from where you are and move forward to the more difficult levels only when understanding is in place. Find internet sites that allow you to participate. You do not need to be good at the beginning, but with practice comes mastery.

Practice, Practice, Practice – This is self-explanatory. It’s actually similar to sports. If the quarter of the football team did not show up for practice for the entire week and then showed up for the big game, he would not be mentally or physically ready to play. The same holds true about math. Daily practice conditions the thinker and prepares you for the assessment.

Additional Exercise – This is similar to practice. There is no limitation to the number of problems that one should do. Students should work problems until they have a clear understanding of the concepts and process. Not all students learn at the same rate, so the assigned problems are a guideline but not a limitation. 

Find a Study Buddy – Often times, when a student explains to another why he or she understands a problem, the other student will have better level of understanding. Working in pairs or small groups can help to clarify concepts and increase understanding. 

Explain and Question – Teach and explain the concept. Younger students like to play “school,” and studies actually show that explaining and teaching concepts increase the level of learning. Continuing this practice of teaching others increases one’s ability to retain and understand the information. Students are encouraged to teach concepts to others. If there is no one to teach, then the student should at least explain the concepts in a journal.

Phone a Friend – Find help when you are stuck. Do not let yourself get frustrated. Call a friend or teacher and ask for help.

Other helpful resources include:

Learn the timetables in 21 days:   https://math.about.com/cs/arithmetic/a/timestables.htm

Long Division basics:  https://math.about.com/od/arithmetic/ss/Base10Division.htm

Strategies for solving word problems:  https://searchwarp.com/swa561673-Six-Word-Problem-Solving-Strategies-To-Help-Reduce-Math-Anxiety.htm

Help in solving problems:  https://searchwarp.com/swa561673-Six-Word-Problem-Solving-Strategies-To-Help-Reduce-Math-Anxiety.htm