Managing your studies

It is likely that you are used to having the structure of your studies determined largely by the school or college where you study. You attend classes or lectures at pre-set times, several times each week, and have frequent face-to-face contact with your teachers. Studying through the Further Mathematics Support Programme is less closely-managed than this and more responsibility is placed upon you to manage your own studies. This may take some getting used to, but it is excellent preparation for the type of studying you will need to do at university and/or in your future career.

When filling out your UCAS application, or applying for a job, be sure to mention that you have developed your independent learning skills by studying through the Further Mathematics Network. It will impress!

Q How much work do I need to do?

One of the most common student questions is: ‘How much studying do I need to do?’ Students usually expect an answer in terms of time, but that is not really very useful. Different people learn different things at different rates. The crucial thing is how much you need to learn each week, not how long you should spend doing it.

The website resources have been structured into study sections. Your tutors will agree a schedule with you that will ensure your studies meet the necessary timetable for module exams.

As a rough guide you should usually expect to do between 2 and 4 hours of Further Mathematics study each week, in addition to the time you spend in class.

Q How do I know if I am doing enough?

Your tutors will help you to manage your studies in more detail and will agree an individual work plan with you. You should agree a date to submit each assessment. Work submitted to your tutors will normally be marked and returned within a week.

For each section of work there is a list of textbook questions on the website, together with hints and worked solutions. Your tutors will tell you which of these questions you should do. It is important that you work on the questions properly, rather than just looking at the hints and worked solutions. Always attempt a question without using any hints or solutions initially and only look at the hints if you get stuck.

If you are not honest with yourself about whether or not you have done enough work, the section test and assessment will find you out!

Your tutors will constantly monitor your progress and will quickly intervene to help if you seem to be getting behind. It is essential that you communicate with your tutors regularly – at least once each week – to discuss your progress and address any problems.

Q When should I do my work?

It is a very good idea to set aside specific periods of time each week when you will do your Further Mathematics study. Treat it as if it were part of your timetable. Different people work most effectively at different times. Some work early in the mornings, some burn the midnight oil, some structure their working days very strictly and get everything done between 9am and 5pm. You must do what suits you best, but you must discipline yourself to work consistently each week. If you have the opportunity, it is a very good idea to meet regularly with other students studying the same modules. If you cannot do this physically because you have no direct access to other Further Mathematics students, try contacting other students via e-mail. Your tutors can help with this.

Q What study techniques are most effective?

This is likely to depend on you as an individual. See Study skills for more detailed information about study skills.  However, the next question is important.

Q Should I concentrate on learning techniques from my notes and textbook, or on doing questions?

It is a common mistake for students to think they can learn mathematics just by reading through their notes or textbook many times and committing large amounts of information to memory. This is not an effective study technique for learning mathematics. 

The best way to get better at solving mathematics problems is by doing them. In this sense mathematics is a practical subject. Mathematics exams don’t ask you to write down everything you know about a particular topic, they ask you to solve problems.  Once you have learned a new technique it is vital that you practise applying it by doing textbook questions and the multiple-choice questions in the section tests. The assessments will provide you and your tutors with clear evidence of how effectively you have learned each topic.

Q What should I do if I get stuck?

Learning mathematics is not a linear process. Sometimes you will feel you have not made much progress, at other times ideas will ‘click’ rapidly and you will cover large amounts of material in a short time. ‘Steps to help you to solve a maths problem’ (see Study skills) can often help to overcome a problem and form a good general strategy for solving mathematics problems.

Staying power is very important when studying mathematics.  Don’t become discouraged and give up. If you are stuck, you will often need someone to help you.  Contact other students on the same course or use Ask NRICH. If this doesn’t solve your problem, contact your tutors.

Q Isn’t it cheating to ask other students?

Just copying the work of other students is cheating and will not help you in the long term. However, learning from other students is certainly not cheating; it is a very effective way to learn. Other students can learn from you too. Many people have the idea that mathematics is a solitary subject.  It really isn’t. Professional mathematicians and other academics and professionals spend a lot of time discussing problems with other people in the same field.

If you help another student, or another student helps you, both of you benefit. By explaining something to someone else you can really help to clarify your own understanding.

Learning how to work with other people in this way will also be of great help to you at university and/or in employment.

However, assessments and tests should be done without help from others, to enable you and your tutors to assess your progress reliably.