by Akena Douglas
Are you struggling with Maths? Are your scores below average? Can’t seem to get it, think it is hard and not for you? Don’t worry. Help is here. Here are 8 ways to improve your marks in Maths.
Make sure you check it out because Maths is pretty important for us in all aspects of life.
Know the Techniques, Methods, and Formulae
OK, this might seem painfully obvious, but making sure that you’re well acquainted with the techniques, methods, and formulae is already a huge help.
The better you know the basics, the less work you have to try and figure out when you’re struggling with a specific problem – even when you don’t know exactly what to do. If you can apply the formula, you’re halfway there. Feeling confident with this also helps you to prevent the notorious ‘blanks’ that tend to hit on test day.
Make Friends with Maths
Approaching your work with a positive attitude can make a world of difference in your performance in the subject.
If you open your Maths book in a good headspace every time you study, you’re going to be far more productive. Make the conscious decision to learn and understand the work properly (as opposed to just learning it to pass the test). You never know, you might even surprise yourself and end up liking Maths.
Keep Up with the Syllabus
Make sure you always know what’s going on in class and you understand the work. That’s not to say you have to understand it the first time. If you’re struggling with a concept, go home and go over it until you understand it.
You never want to be playing the catch-up game the day before the test. Revising for tests should be just that, revising, not re-learning work you only half-understood when you learned it the first time.
Homework is a very useful way to check that you’re comfortable with the concepts you have been covering in class and to establish a more permanent foundation for these concepts in your brain.
Ask for help – Not Only From Your Teacher
In Maths, there are so many different ways to explain different concepts. Some ways will make more sense to you than others. So who do you ask, if not your teacher?
Ask your peers. There’s someone in your class who seems to be getting the work really easily. Ask them what they do or what techniques they use to understand the work.
You can also ask other Maths teachers at your school, as they might have a different way of explaining a concept that you’re struggling with.
Practice, Practice, Practice
This is the single advice every one of our Maths teachers gives us – and they’re right. Every Maths test you write is practical, so parrot-learning the theory isn’t the best strategy if you want to get higher marks.
With more practice, the concepts will become concretized in your head, and you will be more confident with the work. You will avoid making ‘silly mistakes’ as you become better at identifying where you’re making these errors.
Take Extra Lessons
Often, you have to spend a lot of time doing Maths to understand the work and be able to apply it confidently. And it’s not always easy to find the motivation to do this by yourself.
If your school offers extra lessons, then go to them. Having a dedicated hour or two a week to practice your Maths (and maybe pick up a few tricks or hints that the teacher shares in these lessons) can make a huge difference to your performance and to your confidence in the subject.
If your school doesn’t offer extra lessons, try to make individual arrangements with your teacher or find a private tutor. One-on-one lessons can be extremely useful because whoever is going over the work with you might be able to identify which concepts you are struggling with in particular and explain them to you in a way that you understand.
Do Past Papers
This is one of the best ways to be successful in Maths. Once you have studied your syllabus and know the concepts well, do as many Maths past exam papers as possible.
Teachers like to test the same work year after year, so if you’re performing well in past papers then it is likely that you will do well in your exam. The important thing to remember when using past papers is to always do them under exam conditions – time yourself and don’t look at your notes or the memorandum assuming,
“Oh, of course, I’ll definitely figure that out in the exam.”
This is the easiest way to give yourself a false sense of confidence before the test. Keep practicing until you’re no longer making the mistakes you consider ‘silly’. This is the best way to know that you’re well-prepared for the exam.
Akena Douglas is a teacher of Mathematics with long-standing experience of more than 14 years in several schools. He has held several administrative positions in schools like Head of Department Mathematics, Director of Studies, Deputy Headteacher and Headteacher. He is currently the Deputy Headteacher at Entebbe Christian School and is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Education at UNIK specializing in Mathematics.
Douglas is also an active church minister in youth and men’s ministry. You can reach him at +256777200814, +256751800214, or douglason214@gmail.com
