You are in high school now. This is a major transition that may reveal gaps in your learning and a deficiency in study skills requiring more effort to improve. You may have been taught below your level, leaving you with the impression that a low standard is the standard. You are capable of more. We have a high standard, but it is attainable. These tenets will help you succeed if you embrace them.
Learning is hard. Complex learning that requires more time to master reaches long-term memory more readily than easy, surface-level learning. The rigor and challenge you will encounter in these classes are to promote deep learning.1
Learning must occur outside of class. Spend at least one hour outside of the class for each hour spent in the classroom (in college, it is at least double).
Mastery comes through practice. Doing and checking and not simply copying your assignments are prerequisites of success in any challenging course. Relying too heavily on the answer keys indicates a lack of understanding. You do not have to do every problem but do something. Remember that doing your homework is an essential condition of learning mathematics. Not doing your assignments is like trying to build muscles by watching someone else work out. Cheating on homework is like copying your friend’s workout journal after he or she finished exercising and saying you worked out. Both scenarios are similarly pointless.
Absences happen. You should do your best to make up work prior to returning to class.
Be pro-active, not re-active. Self-assess your learning and come in for tutorials prior to an assessment when you struggle with the material. Use your resources wisely.
Develop notetaking skills. Notetaking is not simply writing down every detail on the whiteboard or on a slideshow; it requires summarizing and paraphrasing. Work through in-class examples, attempting to anticipate the answer prior to the teacher. Do not be a sloth-speed copy machine.
Ask thoughtful and direct questions. Simply declaring “I don’t get it” avoids the reflection needed for deep learning. Often the process of identifying the source of your confusion leads to a solution to the problem.
Grow from assessment. If you want to bench 250 pounds, you will have to test yourself along the way to know where you stand. Find a balance between speed and accuracy. Sometimes a sense of perfectionism will prevent you from finishing an assessment, so don’t prioritize one problem at the expense of the rest of the quiz or test.
Participate and be engaged. Choose to stay off your phone during class lectures and activities.
Fail with honor rather than succeed by fraud. You will make mistakes. That is the best way to learn. Embrace your tears; they are brain sweat.
1 Brown, Peter C. et al. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Harvard University Press, 2014.
Common Questions/Support:
Honors/AP Math at Guyer High School has a goal to make all its students ready and proficient at Math when they reach college. The advanced math classes are purposefully challenging BUT we want to support your child to help them grow in the way they think about the subject AND in how they view success and achieve it through hard work and persistence.
Will my child get frustrated? For most students this will be, “Yes”, at various times.
How can I support them?
· Encourage them by letting them know that mastery will come through more time, practice and effort. Don’t give up!
· Let them know that they aren’t all alone. Other students also struggle.
· Struggle promotes deeper learning and increased intelligence. (see Tenet 1 and 10 above.)
· Remind them that we are here to help during our school tutorial times. Ensure they can arrive early/stay late for extra help.
· Help your student learn how to manage their time effectively. Don’t leave all the assignment to the night before it’s due! Break up large assignments into smaller, manageable chunks.
· Let their teacher know (or have your student do it) that they are struggling and want help.
· Remind them that WE, the teachers, want them to succeed too! We are their ally and not their adversary!
· Remind them to work on their summer assignments throughout the summer – not just the last week before school begins.
How much homework is typical?
· See Tenet 2 and 3 (above)
· On average, 45 minutes to 60 minutes per night. This includes checking solutions and self-assessing one’s own performance. Many times students will do half an assignment one evening and the other half the next evening.
Why do you provide the solutions, doesn’t that encourage copying? How can the solutions be utilized effectively? (see Tenet 3)
· We know some students can “cheat” themselves out of learning - they are responsible for their learning
o There will be an assessment that has no answer key to get the correct answer
· Students need timely immediate feedback so the solutions are provided
· Students should try the problem(s) BEFORE verifying their answer(s) with the solution(s) provided
· Students might need to feel lost and struggle for 5 to 10 minutes (or longer) and exhaust all the methods they can think of to arrive at a reasonable answer – this is mental exercise and makes you a better and more creative thinker
What is a reasonably expected grade for most students?
· Earning a “B” (80-89%) is an excellent grade in Honors Math classes
· Earning a “B”, using G.P.A. scoring, is like an “A” in an on-level Math class
· The amount of learning and developmental thinking to earn a “B”, in an Honors Math class at GHS, vastly exceeds an “A” in on-level Math classes. Effective thinking and communication of concepts (not just rote, recall) earns higher grades.
Isn’t tutoring for bad students? NO!
· ALL Honors Math students are expected to need some extra help periodically – we have flexible, free tutorial times at GHS
· EVERY Valedictorian at GHS came to tutorials at some point in their Math career while taking Honors Math at GHS
· It’s not punishment, it’s support! We like to have smaller group and one to one conversations with our students!
Why do you give summer assignments?
· In Math, everyone that learns new skills and knowledge will forget it over time without revisiting the ideas periodically. In educational research this is referred to as “the summer slide”.
· “Use it or lose it!” (At GHS, we’d prefer students to not “Lose it!”)
· Summer assignments are NOT designed to punish students but help them keep their repertoire of “math tools” sharp.
· Work on summer assignments THROUGHOUT the summer – not just the last week before school begins!
What MATH classes are offered through our Dual Enrollment program with TWU? NOTE: These offer students a chance to get college credits without an AP exam:
· Pre-Calculus Honors (Spring) à MATH1303 (Elementary Analysis I)
· Pre-Calculus Honors (Fall) à MATH1313 (Elementary Analysis II)
· AP Statistics (whole year) à MATH 1703 (Elementary Statistics 1)
· AP Calculus AB (whole year) à MATH 2014 (Calculus I)