Megan
How to get through a clas when the instructor doesn’t explain the content well
I recently started a remedial math class and that’s alright. I haven’t taken a math class in 12 years and math is already a difficult subject for me. I have spoken with my instructor and it hasn’t seemed to help. She doesn’t go out of the textbook either during her lecture which makes it a bit more confusing for me. I don’t have the funds to hire a tutor. What can I do? #math problems
2 answers
Douglas Lemmo, P.E.
Douglas’s Answer
I assume you are in college, if so many colleges have a tutor program, for free, in which other students, proficient in the subject will tutor students needing help. Or, since math is math, you could go to the library and get a math book, that covers the type of math you are having trouble with, which might explain the math you are studying differently. Lastly, if you are having problems with a specific math area, you might try Google and ask for help in a specific area. It is sometimes amazing what you can find.
Good luck, hope this helps.
Greg Roelofs
Greg’s Answer
In addition to the suggestions made by Douglas, you might talk to your fellow students and see if they're willing to meet periodically to work through difficult problems; progress is frequently faster when two or three people are bouncing ideas off of each other. There are also video tutorials online, both ad hoc ones on YouTube and ones that are more specifically learning-oriented like those at Khan Academy, MIT's OpenCourseware, and so on.
Greg recommends the following next steps: