Below is a discussion (between me and a
student in November 2006, when the student was in JC1) about how to revise.
Most, if not all, of the points apply to many math students. (The student’s
name has been changed to “ABC”.)
Topic:
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How to revise for H2 Math
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From:
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Mr NEO SOON HUA
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Date:
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??
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A student asked me how to revise for
Mathematics. What do you think? How do you revise? Or are you thinking that
there's totally no need for revision?
This is what I think.
----------------------------
The following should be attained in sequence:
1. Go through lecture notes and make a mark at parts which you do not understand. Do you understand at least 90 to 95% of each topic? If not, clarify them by discussing with friends or asking tutors. (Actually, this should have been done after every lecture.)
2. Redo the tutorial questions without looking at the solutions. Is your understanding already strong?
3. Redo the questions in the revision booklet and the mock papers. But take note that some of these questions are of a higher standard. Can you handle these questions?
This is what I think.
----------------------------
The following should be attained in sequence:
1. Go through lecture notes and make a mark at parts which you do not understand. Do you understand at least 90 to 95% of each topic? If not, clarify them by discussing with friends or asking tutors. (Actually, this should have been done after every lecture.)
2. Redo the tutorial questions without looking at the solutions. Is your understanding already strong?
3. Redo the questions in the revision booklet and the mock papers. But take note that some of these questions are of a higher standard. Can you handle these questions?
(Added in on 11 July, 2015)
4. Do new questions to test and train your
thinking skills. If you can’t solve a particular question, you would have to
apply heuristics that you learnt when in primary school. Here’s a good summary
of heuristics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It
Topic:
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What If......
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From:
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ABC
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Date:
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19/11/2006 11:30:02 AM
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| Halo Sir, What if all these extra efforts failed? I experienced it at this years promo exams for maths. I completed both maths booklet and some other extras and I still got a 45/100. even though you can say there is improvement in my work; I got a " U " for common test. It is rather demoralising , you know, when that happens. |
Topic:
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Re: What If......
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From:
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Mr Neo Soon Hua
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Date:
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22/11/2006 01:29:26 PM
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There are a few possible reasons:
1) You completed the questions but did not resolve your mistakes. 2) You did the questions referring to your notes and other materials. As such, when you don't have them during your examinations, you can't solve the questions. 3) You get stressed up or nervous during examinations. 4) You didn't understand the concepts well enough to be able to apply them to new questions. 5) You made many careless mistakes during your examinations, probably because of the rush to complete the paper. Is it any of the above, ABC? How about the other students? Are there many of you who have this problem? |
Topic:
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Re: What If......
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From:
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ABC
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Date:
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26/11/2006 06:14:37 PM
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I must admit that I may have revised via
quantity and not quality, but you know what, it took me hours to
actually solve certain questions during my revision and this actually affect
my other subjects as well.If I revise by quality, it's gonna take a hell
lot longer!
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Topic:
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So what are the reasons?
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From:
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Mr Neo Soon Hua
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Date:
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29/11/2006 01:07:50 PM
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Quantity over quality? So which, among
the five that I listed, do you think are the reasons?
Another thing. I'm not sure if your "took me hours to actually solve certain questions during my revision" means: 1) The questions were difficult and you couldn't solve them with your skills and knowledge learnt from lecture notes, tutorial questions and other practices you had done. You pondered over them for hours. 2) The questions were moderate or easy and you could solve them with skills and knowledge covered in lecture notes and tutorial questions. You spent hours learning these skills and knowledge by going through your lecture notes and tutorial questions. 3) You made careless mistakes and you spent hours to identify them. |
Topic:
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Re: So what are the reasons?
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From:
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ABC
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Date:
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30/11/2006 12:51:41 PM
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| option 4 for reasons: “You didn't understand the concepts
well enough to be able to apply them to new questions.” options 1 and 3 for what "took me hours to actually solve certain questions during my revision" means. |
Topic:
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My recommendations
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From:
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Mr Neo Soon Hua
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Date:
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07/12/2006 05:59:09 PM
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I am not sure if I am right but it seems
to me that you are the kind who wants to do well and puts in the effort. To
students like you, I advise not to dwell on a question for too long. Yes,
it's good to persevere but if you have limited time for revising or doing the
tutorials for all your subjects, you have to find a balance.
When you feel that you have put in the effort and you are still not advancing, I would recommend you: 1) discuss with friends who couldn't get the answers too; 2) compare your solutions with correct solutions (from friends or tutors), learn from your mistakes and make sure you understand the concepts well. These are what I do when I get stuck or can't identify my mistakes. But once in a while, when I can afford the time, I still like to persevere. |
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