- #1
brikayyy
- 15
- 0
Hi, I think this belongs in this thread?
I have a very weak math foundation stemming from high school. My Algebra II teacher was pretty bad, but it was my fault that I did not put the effort into learn and teach myself Algebra II. Then my geometry teacher was an easy A because she was new to the job. Precalculus was an absolute disaster where I would constantly not understand material because I slept through lectures (plus my high school had a pretty bad math faculty in general).
Now it's come to bite me in the butt in university. The only classes I've ever failed (two, to be exact) are math classes. I got an F in precalculus (and found it entirely useless in actual calculus) and I believe I have also failed Calc II--grades have not been curved yet, but I am very sure it's not passing. My Calc II course was a mistake for me to take because, instead of the normal quarter session of 10 weeks, I took it in summer school and it went at a faster pace since the session was only five weeks. I was too confident that I could pass.
I think my problems are:
1) I do not have much of a foundation for any higher math.
2) I stupidly jumped into calculus after not having taken math for two years and failing precalculus in high school.
3) I only memorize instead of applying conceptually.
I can put the effort into going to office hours and doing practice problems, but how do I get away from the mindset of memorizing to actually being able to apply it conceptually? Any help/resources would be nice and please be honest. :) Thanks!
P.S. To clarify, I did pass Calc I and Calculus classes are the only ones giving me problems. My professors teach physics algebraically.
I have a very weak math foundation stemming from high school. My Algebra II teacher was pretty bad, but it was my fault that I did not put the effort into learn and teach myself Algebra II. Then my geometry teacher was an easy A because she was new to the job. Precalculus was an absolute disaster where I would constantly not understand material because I slept through lectures (plus my high school had a pretty bad math faculty in general).
Now it's come to bite me in the butt in university. The only classes I've ever failed (two, to be exact) are math classes. I got an F in precalculus (and found it entirely useless in actual calculus) and I believe I have also failed Calc II--grades have not been curved yet, but I am very sure it's not passing. My Calc II course was a mistake for me to take because, instead of the normal quarter session of 10 weeks, I took it in summer school and it went at a faster pace since the session was only five weeks. I was too confident that I could pass.
I think my problems are:
1) I do not have much of a foundation for any higher math.
2) I stupidly jumped into calculus after not having taken math for two years and failing precalculus in high school.
3) I only memorize instead of applying conceptually.
I can put the effort into going to office hours and doing practice problems, but how do I get away from the mindset of memorizing to actually being able to apply it conceptually? Any help/resources would be nice and please be honest. :) Thanks!
P.S. To clarify, I did pass Calc I and Calculus classes are the only ones giving me problems. My professors teach physics algebraically.