How to study math EFFECTIVELY?

---
Join my Cognitive Retraining Program:
Learn the end-to-end learning and time management system designed to enhance higher-order learning and deep processing:

Read the technical Report on Learning (with references):
---
JOIN THE PUBLIC DISCORD COMMUNITY
---
ABOUT DR JUSTIN SUNG
Justin is a former medical doctor, full-time learning coach and consultant, top 1% TEDx speaker, and educational author. He is invited to run workshops and courses on learning efficiency for Universities and organisations worldwide. Over the past decade, he has worked with over 10,000 learners from 120+ countries. He is the co-founder and head of learning at iCanStudy, an international cognitive retraining organisation for self-regulated higher-order learning. His area of expertise is in bridging the research-practice gap by equipping educators and learners with critical examinations of the latest research through a practical lens. He specialises in higher-order learning and thinking skills, self-regulated learning, deep processing, and growth mindsets.
---

[БулатПочанов]

it is completely true, that's how problem solvers think - find a way how to deal with problem before accounting for numbers

[kushagrakumar]

Now I found that my English is also weak😢

[JustinLietz]

I seriously respect my math and logic teacher professor because this is exactly the way he teaches. First he starts teaching how to problem solve in big terms, and your thought process through breaking down a problem and understanding what each part of your process is

[TaugTania-kulc]

My math skills improved significantly after I switched from attending school teachers maths class to coaching. Sometimes the problem is not you, it's the teacher.

[Stefabro]

agree 100% percent, studying math in university right now, and the only thing that helped build deeper understanding and spark motivation/curiosity, is to see it in action. personally for me, that meant spending hours on desmos playing with different equations and comparing them side by side. the visual component really reeled me in

[CindersVale]

In the mid-1990s, I tried taking the required algebra course at my university. I kept getting points taken off of my problem-solving. I met with the TA and asked why. She told me I needed to be using the current system of problem-solving. I asked her, 'Why does it matter how I get the right answer as long as I can prove how I got there?' The TA said that was how the class was set up. I looked at her, 'So, you're telling me that if Albert Einstein was in the class? You would take points off because he'd be using an older system?' The TA paused, then said, 'Yes.' I dropped the class.

[abdumhaa]

You sir just described my relationship with math, hated it thought I was bad at it all my life. Then suddenly took the time understood the story behind the formulas, what are they intended to do.. and voila I’m in love

[devopstech]

I know exactly what you mean. I discovered math was much easier to learn and retain when I had to use it in chemistry and physics because the concepts had context. Versus in school you are just taught here’s an equation and here are the procedures to “solve”. Part of my job now requires taking apart software to understand how things work and to do it effectively you have to understand the ecosystem the software operates in. You don’t retain much if you just read manuals, you need to observe and programmatically interact with components to gain a deep understanding. What’s happening here is that making multiple connections with a piece of information through experimentation helps to “connect the dots” and absorb the information which is what I believe wasn’t happening in the majority of my math classes lol. Not that I didn’t do well, but I believe I could have had an easier time if it things weren’t so bland.

[heythere]

Read the solved guide book. R.D Sharma has solved problems of different types. Understand how they came at the conclusion. Then try to solve questions

[klemenkovacic]

i agree with what you've said. Math is almost never thought in a way where people would even have a choice to choose from if they wanted to attend that class or where they want to stop chasing progression in math, espeically in highschool or unis.

It's easier for me to go back to school after dropping out of it because i know why im going back, and with better understanding and interest behind it all.

if you treat math like a language where you also need to practice it to retain it, you already know where and how and why you gonna use it and study it, nobody in school will force you to learn japanese, or german, or french, unless you are from those respective countries, and you can choose them as a side subject, you can't do that with math. and it's frustrating for those who do not want it and disrespectful to those who want to know more about it and advance faster.

[Kawaii_Imani]

I remember when I transferred from a local uni to one of the top uni’s in the country and this exact idea was the distinction between the two. When I was being asked conceptual questions I was dumbfounded since I was only taught how to do algorithms without even applying it to word problems until I transferred it was overwhelming.

[Threestarsdara]

Yesss, that is right. I really struggle with math but once I understand the purpose of solving the problem that is when everything starts to make sense. There I am able to solve it correctly.

[CulchieRevived]

Yes to much focus on student “plugging and chugging” numbers into formulas instead of understanding the process of the formula. Once one aspect of the formula changes them they are struggling to understand the way it works overall

[Bubs.]

*By actually doing math

Edit:
Approaching it conceptually definitely is important. For calculus, realizing the significance of dx, dy or dtheta was big. dx means the change in x. For dy, dz or d anything, swap the out the x for whatever variable you’re solving for.

Integrating dx, you’re taking the area along the x axis from x0 to x1. Integrating dy, you’re taking the area from y0 to y1. Integrating with respect to theta, you’re taking the area from angle 1 to angle 2, so like a slice.
Of course there’s underlying theory you need to know prior to this is if you don’t know any calculus but this is something that really helped integrals click and understand how to set them up.

[CobbyLouis]

Very true... First step to solving a problem is understanding the problem

[dbujvcs]

The problem lies when to understand a problem, you first need to understand how its done to understand why.

[SabrinaMarquez-rwxb]

I know that when I started learning proof writing my skills with math increased a lot. When you have to sit down and prove the mathematics you use in calculations and would otherwise take for granted it makes it stick in your brain for a lot LONGER.

[mymyloseit]

Omg I tried this today, and damn its a game changer!!! THANK YOU SO VERY

[qkwnwp]

EXACTLY! EXACTLY! NO INE TOLD ME THAT BEFORE! I THOUGHT I WAS A DUMBASS BUT NO! After I figured it out myself my literally READING maths textbooks and started reading equations my life has become sooo easy~~~so easy that I am doing physics in grad school which I have never ever dreamt even in my wildest dream😂

[ahlanmalik]

the subject known as math relies on procedural and conditional aspects (idk what it means)
• _in cheap language_, learn the definitions and its importance, and gain a deep understanding of the concepts from there.
• utilise interleaved retrieval to master the procedural component
• teaching methods mightn't address some declarative aspects, so personal and practical effort is necessary to fill the void
• aim to approach a problem using concepts in the beginning almost intuitively, than trying to use formulas, which is cheap.
-> Prioritize understanding the concepts behind equations and formulas before memorizing procedures.