Everyone who has studied math has felt overwhelmed, confused, and downright frustrated at one time or another. The real stuff starts to happen when you decide how you are going to handle it. Are you going to give up and try to avoid it all as much as possible or learn to adjust a bit (kinda like working out hard – hey everyone gets sore sometimes but that doesn’t mean you stop!).
Today, Laura Laing was kind enough to drop by and offer some advice. And she knows what she is talking about too! She is the author of the book and blog “Math for Grownups” which is all about being REAL in math. In other words, answering questions like “how do you actually use this stuff in life?”, and “why is it this way?” in a completely laid back, nice to read way. Definitely worth checking out! On to her tips…
By the time you hit high school or college math, you might have a similar realization as Dorothy’s in The Wizard of Oz: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Even if you’ve done well in math before, you may find that the problems look a lot different and the concepts are more difficult to understand.
That’s because math is much, much bigger than most people might think. Mathematicians usually end up specializing—in statistics, abstract algebra or calculus, for example. But until you get to that point, you will need to learn a little bit of everything. And that can get pretty darned overwhelming.
So how do you handle feeling overwhelmed in a subject area that you once felt comfortable with? Or how do you get through a class when the math just isn’t clicking?
Breathe deeply
It never pays to panic. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed—or worse, thinking that you are too dumb to understanding the material—practice some deep breathing and look for ways to reframe your thinking. Be your own internal cheerleader, or find others who can boost your confidence.
Take small bites
By definition, feeling overwhelmed means there’s too much going on. Instead of looking at the big picture, try tackling smaller pieces. With homework, this can mean really focusing on each problem individually and taking breaks between problem sets. In lectures, focus on asking specific and concrete questions. Make notes to ask your instructor for more information, if something doesn’t make sense.
Look for connections
We all have some sense of the math around us. And with years of math education behind you, you definitely have some math skills that you can build on. The trick is to draw on this experience, even in math classes where all of the material seems brand new. Look for touch points in your classes—information that is familiar or that you can connect to skills you already have.
Get some help
No, you don’t need a psychiatrist, but it may be a good idea to ask for assistance from your instructor or find a tutor. This is not a sign of weakness. Everyone needs help sometimes—even mathematicians. In fact, most of history’s greatest mathematicians collaborated at least occasionally. Now is not the time to let your pride get in the way of success.
Write about math
One of the best ways to check your understanding is to restate the concepts in your own words. You don’t need to keep a math journal, but it can be helpful to summarize your class notes—especially if the concepts are challenging and your understanding of them is fleeting.
It can be upsetting to walk into a class and feel lost. But with a few strategies, you can get past feeling overwhelmed and right to the task at hand: learning the math.
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