Tozer Tutoring

1. Remove yourself from distractions. Sit where you are not checking out the opposite sex, listening to other people talk, watching TV or even listening to music. You need to make sure your study material has your full attention;
2. Do not become too comfortable. Sit upright at a table or desk. Do not recline or relax because with it comes the temptation to sleep or daydream. Studying needs to be active rather than passive;
3. Learn how to read a textbook (see the section below);
4. Pay particular attention to the learning objectives in the book.  Also, review class notes to see what your teacher or professor emphasizes the most;
5. Be able to express concepts in your own words;
6. Be able to explain concepts to other people;
   
7. Meet with a study group that will hold you accountable, but also leave plenty of time to study alone;
8. Devote time to your studies;
9. Meet with your professor or teacher on a fairly regular basis to go over any questions that you may have;
10. Get help from a tutor. A good tutor will make a major difference to your success.

The worst thing you can do is to open the chapter and start reading.  Follow these steps and you will get a lot more out of your reading.  These steps will help you see the "big picture" before you get lost in details.

1. First, flip through the chapter and only read the headings for each section.  This will help you to get a feel for how the chapter is organized and what the chapter is about.
   
2. Read the learning objectives at the beginning of the chapter and at the beginning of each section (if they exist in your textbook).  By the time you finish studying the chapter, you should have clear answers to the objectives.
3. Read the chapter summary and each section summary very slowly and carefully.  This is where the author will discuss the most important points of the entire chapter.  It's your job to understand what is most important.
4. Note how the learning objectives relate to the chapter summary.
5. Read the chapter carefully.  If anything in the chapter is also mentioned in the chapter summary, read the material twice to make sure you really know it.
6. If anything is not clear to you, write it down to ask your teacher or tutor.
7. Take notes, draw pictures, write timelines or do anything possible to make sure that you are understanding the material in the chapter.
8. Make sure that you truly understand what the author is trying to teach you. Be prepared to explain it to somebody else.

For the past 19 years, I've watched students struggle with word problems. A word problem is basically a problem where you need to apply your knowledge to a "real-life" type of situation.

Follow these steps and you will be solving these word problems without much trouble at all.

1. Read the problem.  Every word problem consists of two main parts: given information and a question that must be solved.  In the next two steps, you will need to clearly identify what is given and what you are being asked to solve.
2. Read the problem again.  This time, write down all the information the problem gives you. Usually, I write the word "Given:" and list everything out.
3. Read the problem again.  This time, write down the question that you need to answer.  After 19 years of working with students, I've seen hundreds of students go through a ton of of work without understanding what they're trying to solve.  It's like leaving for a trip without a destination.
4. Make sure you absolutely understand the problem. If drawing a picture helps you to understand, then by all means, draw a picture.  Do whatever it takes to make sure you completely understand the problem.  It's possible you don't have a clue how to solve it, but we will take care of that in some of the following steps.  The main point is that by now you should understand what is given to you and what you must solve.
5. Now, it's time to find a plan for solving the problem.  A great place to start is to ask yourself, "What is this chapter trying to teach me?"  If the chapter is about the Pythagorean theorem, then you can bet that you must use the Pythagorean theorem to solve the problem.
6. Ask yourself, "Does this problem resemble or remind me of any of the other problems in the chapter?" You can even ask yourself, "Does this problem remind me of another problem I have already solved?"
7. This step is called Mathematical Modeling.  Write an equation that represents your problem. Usually, your chapter will have enough examples to help you do this.
8. Solve the problem.
9. Check your work.  Does your answer make real life sense?
10. Express your answer in a meaningful way.  It's common for students to write something like, "x = 47."  It would be more meaningful to write, "In order to maximize fuel economy, the optimal highway speed of this vehicle would be 47 miles per hour."

A shorter way of remembering these steps is:

1. Read and understand the problem.
2. Come up with a plan for solving the problem.
3. Solve the problem.
4. Check your answer.
5. Express your answer.