Best Practices for Students

Active Learning

When students learn mathematics by doing mathematics, and by exploring and discussing interesting problems, the results are understanding and clarity. The students not only know the basic procedures, but also know how to apply them to new situations. Research supports a math program that is balanced with practice of procedures and a thorough exploration of fewer concepts. This balance will give students a deep knowledge rather than a wide variety of concepts that are merely introduced.

Positive Attitude

Confidence matters in mathematics and must be nurtured and strategies developed so that students will persist with a problem until it is solved. The attitudes students form influence their thinking and performance. This confidence influences their decisions about studying and choosing careers in mathematics. Students are active individuals who construct, modify, and integrate ideas by interacting with materials, the world around them, and their peers. Thus, the learning of mathematics must be an active process: exploring, justifying, representing, solving, constructing, debating, using, investigating, describing, developing, and predicting.