Are you in danger of failing? Do you believe you’re getting a little ahead of yourself? Math can be difficult, but it does not have to be. Lets explore Why Students Fail Math
I understand that we don’t need to go over all of the reasons you might be failing. But in this post, I’d like to go over three things that we do to ourselves that prevent us from success. And if you’re starting to feel the frustrations and stress of not doing well in your math class, and you’re wondering if you’re going to fail or have to drop the class, use this post as a guide to ensure you’re giving yourself the best chance of success in your math class.
#1 Attend Class
The number one reason why students fail math class is now. It’s pretty straightforward, and it’s also clear that they’re not in class. To get the most out of your class, you must have your butt inside it. Yes, I am aware that online learning has taken over the educational space in recent years. And many students enjoy the online learning experience because of the flexibility and possibly not having to deal with everything that comes with attending school in person. But, if we’re talking about getting the actual value of education, it’ll come from being inside the seats. When I was teaching algebra, almost every single student who received a D or F in my class was not present. I was doing everything I could to assist these students in learning. However, if you are not in the classroom, it will be more difficult to reap the benefits. Now, I understand that online education has largely replaced in-person education. Even if that class were to happen today, where students could still check in on a Zoom call with my class, there would be a difference between education in person and education online.
I have live streams and course calls for various courses I’m currently enrolled in, and I have to make sure I attend those events because watching your recording doesn’t provide the same value. As a result, I make every effort to be present in real-time. Again, these are live streams that I can’t attend in person, but attending in person is a lot better than watching a recording. However, it’s still not as good as being in an actual classroom environment, which is the purest form of instruction and why it’s always going to be a superior mode for us to be able to educate our students. So, if there’s anything I can pass along to you, please let me know. Check that you’re in class. Do not miss class. When you begin to struggle or fail, that is the absolute worst thing you can do. You should double down, make sure you can show up, and try to get the assistance you require.
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#2 Take Notes: Study
The next reason Why Students Fail Math is I’ve been told repeatedly that we do not teach how to study math in school. Many students have no idea how to study, nor do they have the discipline required to succeed in mathematics. If your idea of studying for math is to stay up all night, cram for your test, or review your notes as quickly as possible in class, you’re making your life a lot more complicated than it needs to be. Math is something that must be done daily. It is a skill that must be developed, refined, and practiced. When students begin to struggle with math, they mistakenly believe that the problem is much more significant than it is, and they become frustrated and quit.
Break up all of your work into small chunks and try to do anything from 15 minutes to 30 minutes per day. But you must be consistent and do it daily. I can’t tell you how much of a difference this made for me when I was learning mathematics because it’s so easy for your brain to forget the connections you made while practicing the problems when you’re learning something new. Maintain your consistency. Do it every day. Another way to look at it is if I told you that you could get stronger by doing 10,000 push-ups. Are you going to do precisely 10,000 push-ups tomorrow? Most students who tried would quickly realize they wouldn’t be able to do 10,000 push-ups in one day. That’s a lot of information. Plus, you’re not going to get very far before your arms give out. Just do what you want, Jello. Let’s pretend you could do 10,000 push-ups the next day. Will you be that much stronger? Most likely not. You’re going to be sore for a long time. But what if I told you that for the next 100 days, you had to do 100 push-ups? What do you think you’ll feel like after 100 days? You might be sore, but you’ll be pretty intense and pretty good at push-ups if you do 100 push-ups every day for 100 days. That’s what I want you to remember about your study habits. Don’t try to do all of your math in one sitting. Make sure you divide it up.
#3 Take Action
Now. I have a lot of techniques and tips for studying mathematics in this playlist here. But for this tip, I want you to concentrate on planning your math and doing it every day. Because by the time a test or quiz comes around, if you’ve been consistent and done your math, the amount of studying you need to do the night before should be minimal. The final reason you might be failing is that you don’t understand the fundamentals. And this is a difficult pill to swallow because we often get a good grade on a quiz or pass the class and believe that this is justification for information that we know. But we can all agree that a letter grade is not always the best indicator of how much we know in a class. And if you’ve ever gotten a bad grade despite working hard and feeling like you’ve learned a lot, you’ll probably agree with that statement.
⭐️ One Simple Tip To Improve Your Grade ⭐️
Based on my experience teaching calculus and precalculus, the number one reason students struggled and why students fail math in those two courses was not the content itself. Algebra was the source of those students’ difficulties. They lacked the foundations required to succeed in those two courses. Then you might wonder, why did they struggle with algebra? It’s usually because they’re working with the foundation of their number sense. This is not to blame the elementary teachers but to emphasize that if we don’t understand something, we shouldn’t just forget about it and hope that we’ll never see it again. Whenever you’re taking a course, and you start to struggle, you wonder, Why is this the case? What made you do that? How did you learn how to do that? Those questions are critical, and they should not be overlooked. Those questions typically represent a gap in your understanding, and they can often be understood from previous content taught. If we’re in a class with our friends or people, we look up to. We don’t want to admit that we don’t remember something we’re supposed to know, such as fractions or factoring. But that’s fine. You must recognize what you know and what you don’t know. And, of course, if you’re starting to fail your class, you need to take action. Return to the fundamentals. Practice some problems. I’m not saying it’ll always be enjoyable or straightforward. When you begin to struggle with new information, returning to the basics is one of the best things you can do. And if you ever wonder what you need to know, just ask your teacher or look at the problems you’re working on and the basic operations you’re using to find some resources to help you out. It’s not fun to fail a course. It’s not fun to fail a test or a quiz. I understand, and I know how easy it is to give up when we see a grade that makes us feel like we won’t be able to complete the course. It is very simple to stop doing.
🎯Survive Math Class Checklist: Ten Steps to a Better Year🎯
However, the most important thing you can do to overcome all three of these reasons for failing a class is to take action. Attend the class. Make sure you’re paying attention in class, ask questions, and take good notes. Do your homework on the same day as your class. Every day, go over past homework assignments, do some extra math problems when you don’t have homework, and go over your notes again. 15 to 30 minutes can do a lot, just like 100 push-ups can do over 100 days. Don’t be afraid to ask the basic questions, which are sometimes referred to as “stupid questions,” because you are not stupid, and just because you failed a class before does not mean you have to fail the next class; there is no class or grade that will ever define what you are capable of in your math journey. I hope you found this helpful post. If you want to learn more about how to succeed in math, check out my playlist below or the next post I have for you here.
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