revision – Mathemafrica

On the place of struggle within Mathematics – how to truly get rid of distractions

I have had a lot of conversations with students over the last couple of weeks which made me want to write this post. I apologise in advance that it will be rather long.

It’s also important to state that this message doesn’t hold for everyone, but it is worth seriously thinking about.

Many students recently have asked me about how to go through tutorials, and how to revise. They are finding that while they are sitting down for a long time with their tutorials, the tests still feel really hard.

To an important extent, technologies have changed the way we think and act over the last couple of decades. In many ways, things were easier in my day when we didn’t have so many technological distractions. Cellphones were rare when I was a student and smartphones were still over a decade away! There was no Facebook, or Youtube, or Instagram.…

First year resources – part 4: revision

This is a continuation of the previous posts, essentially collecting thoughts for first year students. I am asking you, the reader to suggest what might be wrong, or missing from this, and anything else which will be helpful for a new first year who is just arriving at university to study maths…

The following sections in the resource book are about mentors and the whiteboard workshop. They are really quite specific to the course, and more about the details than the philosophy of it, so I am not including them here.

The next section on the other hand is vital, as most students are never given much guidance in how best to revise, and it is one of the most important skills they can gain. I have written my thoughts from my own experience, but I am not trained specifically in education, so I am grateful for any additional thoughts.

How to revise

Revision is a bit like comedy: Timing is everything!

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