Happy 2013 (using geoGreeting) (Click on the image).
Time for some new year resolutions for Mathematics students!
Remember the ten eleven commandments!
To elaborate a little more on some of these:
5 – looking it up – there are several excellent resources online for you to look up definitions or find extra examples. Never rely on just one source if you are finding a topic tricky, it can be helpful to see explanations written by different authors.
9 – if you want to practise your arithmetic you could play some games!
10 – on writing the language of mathematics correctly – see this clear guide to writing Mathematics from Dr Kevin P Lee and from John Kerl some excellent tips for mathematical handwriting, many of these tips these apply to students of all ages – do you distinguish carefully between a 1 and a 7 for example? Perhaps it is hard to tell whether you have written a 2 or a z or perhaps your 5s look a bit like a letter s?
Some more thoughts for you.
- Are you guilty of making any of the classic mistakes?
- How are your problem solving skills? There is plenty of good advice available – see this publication from Arizona State University for example
- If you are studying at university then have a look at Kevin Houston’s ‘How not to get a good mathematics degree‘ and ‘How to get a good mathematics degree‘. He also has provided a pdf file you can download: 10 Ways to Think Like a Mathematician. Kevin Houston works at the University of Leeds in the UK.
If you are trying to get organised generally then some of the resources on this page might be useful. I recommend Evernote highly (it’s free).
Wishing you all a very happy and productive new year!
Mathematics for Students 