The Importance of Practice Math Problems in Learning

You can use this module to practice more than 400+ different topics for Statistics, Calculus, Algebra, Finance and Operations Management, as many times as you want.

In Math, Statistics and any academic subject really, practice is what will bridge and seal the gap between what you get taught in class and what you are able to do when taking a test or exam, either presentially or online.

Lots of research seem to indicate that one of the most powerful learning tools is repeated practice and application of learned constructs, by passing from an abstraction to a concrete process via repetition and mechanization.

Common Challenging Math Problems Students Face

One common situation faced by students in Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and other subjects is that is hard for them to concretize math concepts, and things became a lot easier after they familiarized with the mechanics of solving problems.

It is a recurrent theme to hear that "if I only had practiced this a bit more I would have done a lot better in the test". And there is a lot of truth to that.

When you know precisely what to do in a test, things start looking quite differently, and hence the importance of having good problem-solving skills in math acquired through practice.

For one, practicing is not the only vehicle that can be used to acquire familiarity and confidence to tackle math problems, as there are gifted student that have that confidence out of the box. But practicing is out of the question the sure shot to it.

Techniques and strategies to Use when Solving Difficult Math Problems

Dealing with math concepts is not always as easy as we would like. There are several strategies that can be used to hone your math skills, but the most commonly used are:

• Technique 1. Practice is your friend: the more you practice solving sample questions to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of it, the better and more confident you will feel during a test, and the better your chances to do well


• Technique 2. Use a gradual approach: Start with the easier problems to become familiar with the basics, and try slowly to increase the difficulty of problems you attempt to tackle


• Technique 3. Having step-by-step solutions available can become your model to get started, by following the blueprint presented by those solutions.


• Technique 4. You should know that there only so many types of questions in a test, and the more you practice, the better your chances to become familiar with ALL types of questions to be found on a test.


• Technique 5. Break down harder questions into parts: If you don't know what to do in a specific problem, try to break it down in parts, and start with those parts you do know how to do .


• Technique 6. Use visual aids and chart: Your brain can be greatly aided if you give yourself schematics and diagrams of what you are trying to do. The brain is best a joining the dots, so if you use external visual aids to visualize elements, your brain is likely to focus better on finding the connections.


• Technique 7. Focus on what matters: Often times problems come on purpose with distractions, so you make sure to figure out at the beginning what information is important and which is is irrelevant (if any), so to only pay attention to the needed elements and nothing else.


• Technique 8. Working backwards: In Math it is usually very productive to work backwards and start with what you need to arrive to, and see backwards what is needed to get there.

These math question tool allows you precisely that, to have a way to repeatedly practice math problems as many times as you need, with the step-by-step solutions available if you need to check your work, or if you happen to be lost, to see how the question is tackled.

How to Solve Math problems

There is no one technique that will help you solve all math problems. The required cognitive skills needed to tackle math problems can be acquired with training. Math is a language, with basic objects and math operations that act as building blocks.

Critical thinking is something that can come easier to some, without a doubt, but critical thinking is trainable, same as logical reasoning and pattern recognition.

Here are some universal strategies you can use to tackle math problems successfully.

• Strategy 1. Try to look for patterns and trends: Find similarities to other problems solved, which is where lots of practice comes in handy


• Strategy 2. Use logic and reasoning: Do not be afraid to apply rules of logic, starting from the beginning and seeing where it takes you, step-by-step. Or go backwards starting from what you need, and see what is needed to get there.


• Strategy 3. Substitute values: Substitute what you have by simple values so to better understand the problem


• Strategy 4. Consider all possibilities: Try to found the boundaries of what you are analyzing. You need to think through all the different options, in a methodical fashion


• Strategy 5. Check your solutions: Always, always double check your answers so to make sure ensure that they are indeed they satisfy the requirements of the original problem


• Strategy 6. Reflect on your progress: Identify those techniques that worked and those that did not, and try to find out why they did not work out.

Choosing a Learning Approach

Summarizing, there is a lot you can do to improve your performance in Math and to improve your grades. First, know that there is not one approach that is best for everyone. You need to use that is best for you, and that may not be what is best for the next person.

There are several universal strategies that are proven to work, and those you should become acquainted with. Consistent practice is perhaps is your last and strongest defense, your surest bet.

With lots of practice it will become second nature to apply the techniques and strategies presented above. Likely you will use only few of them, or perhaps you will use them without knowing you are using them.

But that is the magic of working on lots of practice math problems, that it will give you the confidence you need to be acquired the necessary cognitive skills, without even realizing that you are.