Summary of Advice on how to succeed in Calculus I

by Calculus I students from Fall 2002 and some previous terms

On the last day of classes of Fall, 2002, I asked my students to write advice for the students taking Calculus I next term on how to succeed in the class. Here is a summary of their responses. Some excerpts from the advice from last term and from previous terms are given below. For all of the actual responses, see actual responses.

  • Attend class. "It is a fast paced class; you can miss a lot in one day." "Try not to miss classes. If you do, you will probably fall behind." "Always go to class and take good notes." "I had 100% attendance, you should too."
  • Read each section in the text before it is covered in class. "Students should always read ahead in the text. ... At such a fast pace, getting a little extra jump on the information is beneficial." "Actually look over the chapter (sic) before or directly after class-that way you can understand or remember it better." "My advice for this course is to read the material before going over it in class. You will be lost and will not learn it if you can't follow the instructor." A student from a previous term gave the following recipe: "(1) Read the upcoming section. (2) Outline the section. (3) Try a few problems in the back of the chapter (section). (4) Write down whatever information the author conveys that was not comprehensible to you." Another student from a previous term gave a variation on reading ahead. "When starting a new chapter, go to the review section for that chapter and look over the problems. The ultimate goal by the time you finish the chapter is to be able to solve those problems." Another student suggested getting and examining a couple previous final exams for Calculus I at the beginning of the semester.
  • Do all of the homework, do it thoroughly, don't just copy it from a solutions manual, and don't fall behind with it. "Do your assignments while the material is fresh in your head." "Homework is crucial in learning concepts. I didn't learn tough concepts in class; I learned them while doing homework." "Do all the homework, and take it seriously." "When doing homework, write everything out and use this homework to help you study." "Don't ever fall behind because you won't get caught up. Make sure you do the homework the day is is assigned or you won't do it or you won't take the time needed to do it properly"
  • Join or form a study group. "Form a study group to go over homework or tests with. What you are confused on someone else may be able to teach you and vice versa." "Make friends with fellow students." One student from a previous term wrote, "I found that I would spend more time and effort if I was sitting with someone." Another from a previous term wrote, "Form a study group. Just talking about it makes it clearer. If you can teach someone else, you know it."
  • If you don't understand something, ask. Numerous students over several terms gave this item of advice, and some indicated that I make himself very available. You can ask questions of me, other professors, other students, or tutors at the Academic Skills Center. You can even ask questions using email (schmidt@oakland.edu). One student wrote, "Overall just stay ahead at all times, and if you set stuck, never ever ever wait to the last minute to ask."
  • Learn from your mistakes.
    • "Go over tests and look at solutions until you know what you did wrong and understand the solution." "Do all the homework and review homework after you get it back."
  • Figure everything out rather than memorizing. "Learn why things are the way they are rather than just memorizing how they are used. Memorize the derivative and integral tables. Better yet, learn how to derive them." "Try to learn material on your own. Use class to ask questions not to learn material."
  • Make time for the class. "Make sure your schedule leaves ample time for calculus! Don't underestimate how much time calculus can take." One student from a previous term recommended that on the day of class, you never leave campus until you go to the library or some other place and go over your notes from class, get a serious start on the homework, and scan the material for the next class.
  • Use all of the resources that the university makes available. "Go to the Academic Skills Center. You've paid for it after all." "Use the ASC to look over old exams. They help a lot." "Attend the week in review."
    •

    Other excerpts:

    "To do well, you must not fall behind and not take things lightly. The course got tougher as time went along."

    "Learn to read graphs. Learn to live without your calculator."

    One student from a previous semester shared the following remark: "If you are repeating this course, put some thought into what you will do differently this term. If you do everything the same as before, you can expect to make the same grade."

    A student from a previous term wrote, "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever fall behind in this class!"

    "GROUP HOMEWORK: Make sure you start it as soon as possible. Get your group members' (names), phone numbers, and email addresses. Make sure you leave a day to check over your entire project (don't wait until the last minute)."

    Darrell Schmidt (schmidt@oakland.edu) / December 30, 2002