Doing Your Homework Effectively

• Do math homework every day. Getting behind on your math homework is academic suicide!
• Choose a good time and a good place. Have all materials ready before you begin.
• Take regular breaks. Do not study more than one hour without a break. Learning decreases if you study for long periods of time.
• First reread the chapter(s) of your textbook relating to your homework. Work out any example problems given in the text. Do all margin exercises.
• Homework should be used to practice new material, NOT to understand new material.
• Study your class notes relating to your homework. Rework the examples from the lesson.
• Write down enough steps so you will be able to follow your thoughts when looking at the problem again later. Also writing down every step results in overlearning and will improve your memory.
• Make sure you understand the reason for each step. If a problem type is new, it might be helpful to write the reason for each step next to the step. Memorizing steps will not help you to solve similar problems.
• Writing neatly will help you to find the error if you did the problem wrong.
• Do only a few problems, then check the answers. If they are correct, continue solving problems of this type. Otherwise, review the textbook and your notes. Do not start on your homework assignment again until you understand how to solve that type of problems. Then do the first few problems again and check them.
• Finding a problem in the text similar to the homework problem and copying the steps is a waste of time. You will not learn how to do the problem. Remember: Homework should be used to practice new material, NOT to understand new material.
• If you are stuck on a problem
  • review the textbook and the notes, looking for a similar problem
  • check another text book
  • call your study buddy
  • take a break and try the problem at another time - you might just be tired
  • ask a tutor
  • ask your teacher
• Don't finish the homework with a problem you are stuck with. Work one of the easier problems to end your homework session on a positive note.
• In a separate notebook, on the last pages of your notebook, or on note cards, collect problems and concepts that were difficult for you. Review those on a regular basis.
• Review your study session and summarize what you have learned. Review important concepts and the different types of problems you practiced.
• Reward yourself.
• Getting behind in math homework is the fastest way to fail the course!