School of Electronics and Physical Sciences

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

"Help Yourself to Learning"

Study Skills for Mathematical Studies Students

Prepared by Hilary Kimber Based on Development Work by Sheila Dickens

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Help Yourself to Learning Study Skills for Mathematics Students

Introduction
Objectives
To find the ways of studying which suit you best, so that you can be in charge of your own learning you can use your brain effectively you can achieve your full potential you still have plenty of time to socialise!

Lecture(r)s and Learning

University lecturers are not primarily teachers (although many are very good teachers). They are usually appointed because of their excellence in research, and the try to transmit to you their enthusiasm and insight into their specialist areas as well as the more standard mathematical knowledge common to many syllabuses. Thus, although attending lectures and tutorials is a fundamental first step in gathering information towards understanding, you will find that you also need to use textbooks, library resources, laboratory sessions, etc. in order actually to build up your knowledge. Also, never underestimate the value of informal discussions with staff (if you really dont understand something, you could always try going to see the lecturer), and discussing work with other students on your course.

To summarise: Lecturers stimulate students to learn, but learning is a student responsibility and student activity is the key. Nobody can learn on your behalf, so the emphasis is on YOU!

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1. Making the most of your time

Finding Time to Study
At university you will find that you are totally in control of your own time discipline. It may be the first time that you have been in this position. In order to help, you may like to think of time in the day being divided into essential work time (lectures, tutorials, computing labs etc) essential living time (eating, sleeping, shopping, laundry etc) flexible time (studying, music, socialising, sport etc)

A good first step is to identify what you regard as your flexible time, and to estimate how much of this you will need to use for private study. Although we refer to this as private study, it could perhaps include brainstorming sessions with other students about difficult coursework, unsupervised time using computing facilities etc, so dont think of it as time spent cooped up alone with pencil and paper or hunched over a computer terminal. Despite what you may think, nobody (not even the lecturer!) expects you to spend all your flexible time studying. Socialising is a very important aspect of university life, but to maximise your leisure time you will need to make efficient use of your private study time.

A Students Rough Guide to Study Time

Roughly speaking, for 10 credits you should in all spend approximately 100 hours of effort. At level one about 36 hours of this would be contact time (lectures, tutorials etc.), leaving 64 hours of private study. By level 3 you might only have 20 contact hours, thereby requiring 80 hours of private study. You may like to use the timetable provided at the end of this chapter to plan out how you time may be spent. You could, perhaps, fill in your timetable first (the essential work time) and try to plan your weekly schedule around this. You will, however, need to be flexible so that if this scheme doesnt work well you can make the necessary changes. However, if you make changes, make sure that you are not swapping study time for more leisure time! Above all, be realistic! To Summarise

Socialising is an important part of university life. In order to socialise and succeed you need to plan your study time effectively. Too much leisure time instead of study time could lead to a rather short one year course!

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When Would be the Best Time for me to Study?

Only you can answer this question, as we all have different work patterns. The following questions may help you to divide up the flexible time on your timetable in the most effective way: 1. What time of day do I work best? Are you an early bird or do you work best with black coffee at midnight? By choosing your best working times, you may be able to get a piece of coursework done in half the time! 2. How long should I work at a time? Some people find that several half-hour sessions with 5 minute breaks work best, some work better in lecture slots of 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks, others get absorbed for 2 or 3 hours at a time. You may need to plan a mixture of longer and shorter sessions. If you are not sure, then experiment to find what you are most comfortable with. It is a good idea, at least for the first few weeks, to keep a record of your weekly study times to that you can see if you are working for about the right amount of time overall. 3. What about short time slots? Using the odd 15 minutes here and there for organising or looking through notes can pay dividends for future longer study sessions. 4. What about a reward? Socialising after a good study session is often more enjoyable that leisure time taken before going off the study. Most people also find it more difficult to tear themselves away from leisure activities than from study sessions! A useful ploy may be to promise yourself Ill just finish off this piece of coursework, then Ill go down to the Union. Beware! the following entries in a student (anon) diary: 6pm 6.15 6.20 Ive got loads of work to do so Ill work through to midnight tonight prepare desk for work Ive just remembered I didnt finish that report for the Film Sock that I started in the Maths lecture this morning 6.30 Found the TV mag. Ill take a break at 8.30 as a reward. However, there is something interesting on at 7pm .... 7.45 Back at desk. Whoops - should have rung Don, itll only take 5 mins 8.00 Back at desk again. Feel hungry, time for a little something as Pooh would say 9.00 Feel drowsy with a full stomach. First few sentences are difficult to concentrate on. Ill just watch TV while it goes down - Ill feel less sleepy then. 10.00 Im really ready to start now. Perhaps Ill just see first if Emma wants a coffee ... We can be incredibly inventive when it comes to finding reasons for not doing things!

Government Health Warning Too many sessions like that above can seriously damage your self-esteem.

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Getting Started timetable Time 12-1am 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12 12-1pm 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12 Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

Your private study time per week estimate

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2. Studying Effectively
Conditions and Concentration
Having decided when you are going to study, you now need to consider where to study. Obvious possibilities are your study bedroom or the library. On the other hand, if you want to complete some coursework while it is fresh in your mind you might be able to find an empty classroom in the department or use the departmental library. Whatever your choice, ideally you should have a chair and desk or table comfortable temperature quiet good light fresh air

Some students like to work with music in the background. However, this can act a built-in distraction, as your brain has extra work to do in screening out the noise. Whatever conditions you have worked in previously, you are now starting afresh in a new environment, so it may be a good idea to review what works best for you. Bear in mind also that when you leave university and get a job, you may need to concentrate under a whole variety of conditions. Concentration means focusing all your attention on the task in hand. You need to practise it so that you can concentrate whatever the conditions. Effective concentration may be the key to getting the job done better and in a shorter time.

Setting Objectives
Setting achievable goals for your study sessions can make the sessions more effective and satisfying and promote a feels good factor. 1. Set yourself a list of achievable objectives for the session. You will feel more motivated as you gradually cross them off 2. Write down a time allocation for each item at the beginning 3. Record the actual time taken for each item You can use the information in steps 2 and 3 to adjust future timetables, so that your session objectives are always achievable. There is nothing more demoralising than never getting to the end of what you hoped to achieve, so be realistic and keep reviewing. You have to find a balance between your best performance at a particular task and spending a reasonable amount of time on that task. If one particular task is taking too long, leave it and perhaps come back to it at the end if you have time (or discuss it with another student first to get a different perspective on it). Beware of unproductive time where you are going round in mental circles: leave yourself enough time to keep up with everything else.

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Being Organised
There is often social pressure in schools, colleges and halls of residence to give an outward appearance of incompetence and total disorganisation. Yet the people giving this impression will usually have worked very hard to get where they are, and some will even end up with first class degrees! Below you will find a list of typical statements which you may hear. 17 of them are negative in outlook, and only 3 are positive. Which do you identify with?

To Summarise Work to improve your concentration so that you can achieve the objectives of your study sessions, but be realistic in setting those objectives. Statements: you may like to tick those that you think apply to you
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. I bet everyone here is cleverer than me I dont think I work as hard as I could I couldnt tell you how many hours I put in last week I often seem to leave things like coursework till the last minute I find it hard to get down to work and really get going I dont seem to be able to stick at a task for very long I think that others do more than me I dont find it easy to talk to others openly about how much work I am doing Im never quite sure what Ive got to do next Im not sure whether Im doing enough or not I tend to flit from one task to the other I seem to work in some places better than others I work rather irregularly, putting in lots of work one week and practically nothing the next Im generally behind, sometimes several weeks behind schedule There is no way I could do all the work Im expected to Im not sure I do the most important things first Im not sure I can keep going right to the end of this course And now for the positive ones: 18. 19. 20. Deadlines help me to get down things I get a real kick out of finishing things Im determined to get the best degree I can

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3. Lectures and Lecture Notes

Lectures
You will find outline syllabuses for each of the modules you are taking this year in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics Level 1 Handbook. For most modules, lectures are the most important guide and source of information. Most will cover the syllabus pretty closely, and the depth of study will be directly relevant to any end-of-module examinations. There is a lot of ground to cover in most modules. The lecturers know this, and you need to appreciate that the lecturers aims are to cover the material so that you understand it and can complete your course successfully. Yes, lecturers actually want you to succeed! It reflects well on both you and them if you do, so lectures are conducted with this in mind. But you are most likely to succeed if you are actively involved in the lecture. To make the best use of a lecture session you need to: get there on time take writing equipment, calculator and notes from the last lecture listen concentrate take notes dont expect to understand everything straight away ask questions

Lecturing Methods
Mathematics lecturers can adopt different methods of lecturing: Lecturer A: lectures and writes up the odd phrase on the board. The lecturer does not give lecture notes so you have to decide how much to write. Assume that if something is included, then the lecturer considers it important. So your only real option is to take notes and use them with other resources to make your own course notes in your private study time. lectures broadly on the topic, but writes well-prepared, concise notes on the board. You need to take these down and add any extra notes you require. If the lecturer expresses and idea in an alternative way which immediately clicks, write it down before you forget! provides complete course notes. The lecturer sometimes expects the student to read through work in preparation for the next session. Are you mature enough to cope with this? gives references for material to be studied before the next session then discusses and expands the topic in the lecture, hopefully with student input.

Lecturer B:

Lecturer C:

Lecturer D:

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This is not an exhaustive list: there will be Lecturers E, F, G .... all with their own variations. You will probably meet them all. Some will lecture with style, others will just lecture. You need the CONTENT, so go and get it!

Lecture Notes
It is useful to begin here by identifying WHY you are taking notes. What are your objectives when you take lecture notes? For most students, the answer is to provide a summary of the module content to refer to when doing coursework or to use for examination revision. So your lecture notes are intended for your own use only. Most people seem to work best from well structured notes with headings and subheadings, so develop a structure that suits you. Consider leaving spaces to add your own additional notes here and there.

Taking Lecture Notes for a Particular Module

Most students use A4 paper in ring binders or lever-arch files. It can work well, but needs discipline to prevent it becoming a heap of illegible notes in a disordered muddle. If you know that you are disorganised, you might like to think about using separate exercise books for each course instead. These have advantages that they are smaller to carry around, pages cannot get into a muddle and you have previous lecture notes on hand to refer to. If you are going to use an A4 paper/ring binder system, here are some suggestions: 1. Put a photocopy of the module syllabus in the front of the file 2. To avoid muddled sheets always date your notes, number the pages for each module and identify the module (with your own abbreviation) on each page. 3. Find the writing implements that suit you best. You will generally have time to underline using a ruler but highlighting, etc can use up precious seconds when you could be listening. Perhaps do this after the lecture (see also the section on Making Revision Notes)

Storing Lecture Notes - Some Suggestions

1. Most of your notes are likely to be stored in ordered files in your room. They will become too heavy and are far too valuable to carry around with you all day. 2. If you opt for exercise books for your notes, you must ensure that these are kept safe. Nobody else can replace your own notes if they are lost. 3. A single Current lecture note file with dividers can be taken to lecturers with a good supply of A4 paper. You will probably find that it helps to have the last one or two lectures in this file to refer to, so that you will be ready if the lecturer refers back. Some students find it useful to move notes from this file to the storage file(s) each week.

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Making Revision Notes

Reviewing your notes to make revision notes can be done at any time. Some students prefer to highlight lecture notes as they go along, if not in the lecture then very soon afterwards while they can remember the most important points. Others prefer to wait until the end of a complete module before reviewing and condensing. Whichever option you choose, you need to ensure that your revision notes are in a form which helps you revise. Beware other peoples lecture notes! Copying up someone elses notes is never as good as making your own. They are written in a manner which (hopefully!) makes sense to the writer, but will not necessarily do so to other readers.

To Summarise: Lecturers are there to help you to succeed. You are much more likely to be successful if you can become actively involved in the lecture process, and take effective, well-organised notes of your own. Try to remember this when you are tempted to stay in bed rather than get up for a 9 oclock lecture!

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4. How to Get the Most Out of Tutorials

To be successful in learning mathematics you need to understand the subject matter. You can continually test your understanding by applying what you have learnt to the example sheets and/or coursework assignments. The tutorial provides vital support to lectures. It gives you a chance to work on problems with direct access to help in the form of a lecturer. The tutorial could be: a large group tutorial run by the lecturer. Some modules are scheduled as (say) two lectures (each 50 minutes) and one tutorial (50 minutes) per week, whilst other modules may fit in tutorials at appropriate points at the lecturers discretion. a small group tutorial with about four students working with their personal tutor

Be Prepared!
To get the maximum benefit from a tutorial you need to go prepared. Many students undervalue tutorials. They feel that they do not get much out of them, and it is certainly true that if you want to get the maximum benefit, you need to put in some preparatory work. Before you go to a tutorial try to do at least some of the following: 1. Go through your lecture notes and identify the bits you do not understand 2. Try and sort out the problem yourself using textbooks or possibly by discussing with other students on your course. You will often find that they are having trouble with the same material as you, which will make you feel less dim! 3. Be clear about what you do not know so that you can go to the tutorial ready to get help. 4. Do all that you can of the relevant exercises BEFORE you go to the tutorial, so that you can start immediately on the bits you cant do while help is available. 5. A partially successful attempt on a problem is often followed by subconscious thinking time, and this can be useful when you get to the tutorial in giving you new ideas of your own. So dont leave the problems until the last minute. You are unlikely to be an ideal student all of the time. If you havent done some of the above, then still go to the tutorial, because at the very least it will give you time to attempt the outstanding problems and you will hear the lecturers pearls of wisdom on the problems! There is nothing a lecturer likes more than being busy helping students in a tutorial, as it means that the students have been motivated enough to prepare for the tutorial well in advance.

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To Summarise: If you really want to succeed on a mathematics course then attending lectures and tutorials has to be given top priority.

A recent graduate made the following comments:

1. Go to the lectures and take your own lecture notes 2. Make good use of the tutorials and example classes by going and actively participating in them and use them to sort out your problems 3. Getting a degree will be many times harder than it need be if you dont!

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5. Playing the Coursework Game to Win

Student performance in a course module is assessed by coursework assessment and/or examination. Most modules involve some coursework component, which may count anything from 25% to 100% of the overall module mark. More details are available for particular modules in your Level 1 Handbook.

An Opportunity!
As student performance in continuous assessment tends to be better than in examinations, you have a real opportunity to accumulate marks through the module. This may be specially important to you if you already know that you find taking examinations difficult.

Continuous Assessment of Coursework

For any piece of assessed coursework you must clearly know/understand: who has set the work and will mark it - this gives you a target audience what is required - topic, depth, length the completion date ie your deadline

It can be very difficult to judge how much time and effort should be given to a particular piece of coursework, so if you are not sure it is very important that you get this information from the lecturer. It is not a good idea to try and guess!

Time Management and Deadlines

Students seem to have a love/hate relationship with assessment deadlines. On the one hand: Deadlines help me get down to work but on the other hand: Help! Its Monday and this assessment has to be in tomorrow! When you eventually get a job you will be expected to meet deadlines all the time, so NOW is a good time to get in some practice. Make sure that you record deadline dates (and possibly even times) carefully. Then try to start work on the assignment as soon as possible. This way, you will have time to sort out any problems you may encounter in a less frantic manner, and if you require special facilities such as computing you will not be queuing up for these and missing other lectures as a result. If you leave the coursework until the last minute you will be too busy panicking to be able to think problems through clearly, and you may find yourself having to get up literally in the middle of the night to get access to the facilities you require. In general, the students who achieve the highest coursework marks are those who get organised.

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Discussion or Collusion?
If you get started on your coursework in good time and encounter problems, then you will probably find it useful to talk to other students on your course about these, and you may be able to solve the problems together. Most lecturers would regard such discussions as being valuable, and certainly teamwork is much prized in the working environment. However, once you have solved the problem together, it is a good idea to go away and write up the work in your own words. This will have the benefit that you can ensure that you really do understand what you discussed. Also many lecturers do not take kindly to marking several identical pieces of work; they may decide that as you shared the work you should also share the marks (or even you may get no marks at all!). So beware! See the Student Handbook for a discussion of plagiarism.

What to do if you get Behind

If you begin to miss deadlines it will not go unnoticed for long. The lecturer of your module, and probably also your personal tutor and director of undergraduate studies will be aware of assignments which have not been given in. It would be best to go and find them before they find you! If you are behind because of illness, etc then it is best to go and see the lecturer(s) concerned, apologise and either take the work with you or ask if an extension would be possible. It is better, although not essential for short illnesses, if you can produce some medical evidence. See the Student Handbook for details of what to do if you are ill. If you are behind for other reasons you could try the same tactics as above, but preferably before the submission date which you are going to miss. You may or may not find the lecturer sympathetic!

To Summarise: Remember that coursework marks really do count. Make sure that you know exactly when coursework deadlines are, and do not leave all the work until the last possible moment. Ensure that you are giving in your work and not somebody elses!

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6. Help, Im Still Having Problems!

Few students will sail through their degree course without ever having study problems. The reasons underlying individual problems can be simple but quite often they are numerous and complex. If you think you have a study problem, ask yourself the following questions: can I get by without addressing the problem? Am I going to achieve my potential if I ignore the problem?

If you answer NO to either of the above questions then the problem needs to be addressed.

What can you do?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Recognise a problem exists Identify the problem Think about the reasons underlying the problem Try to solve the problem yourself by producing a list of options or alternatives TALK TO SOMEONE BEFORE IT ALL GETS OUT OF HAND If the problems is already out of hand, then it is even more urgent that you talk it through with someone.

Who will Listen?

Talking through problems with friends or other students on your course can be helpful but if your work is being seriously affected you need to discuss the problem with someone in the department. You can raise a study problem with: your personal tutor the director of undergraduate studies one of the module lecturers anyone else in the department who you feel you can talk to

The undergraduate office staff will help you contact your personal tutor etc. if you have problems finding them.

YOU MUST GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO LISTEN AND SEE IF THEY CAN HELP YOU RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. The Student Counselling Service
Personal or emotional problems can affect your ability to study effectively. Talking through problems with one of the student counsellors is another option. It is a confidential service. Appointments can be made via the Health Centre Reception, phone extension 9498.

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While at University you might have the following objectives: to have an interesting and enjoyable time to get a (good) degree to get a (good) job

We hope that this booklet has been useful and wish you every success!

If you have any comments about this booklet, please give them to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
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