Maths Exam Tips

[Andy Black]

I've been doing Maths grinds to help local youngsters with their "leaving school" Maths.

If it helps them pass, then I consider it an incredible ROI on my time.

I'm going to do some videos for them of stuff we've already covered, so they can review them and we can keep moving forward to new topics.

I'll drop the videos in here in case any of you have Maths exams coming up, or know someone with Maths exams coming up.

 

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[Andy Black]

Video 1 - 3 Maths Exam Tips (2 mins)

Here's the URL if you want to share it:

https://youtu.be/f0gN2uP-MOI

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Have you seen Khan Academy? It's free and the videos are incredibly good.

http://khanacademy.org

https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy

 

[Andy Black]

Have you seen Khan Academy? It's free and the videos are incredibly good.

http://khanacademy.org

https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy

Yeah... I've seen some of those. I'll check them out again thanks.

I just happen to be doing these grinds at the moment, and told the 3 youngsters I'm helping that I'd create some videos of what we've covered so they can keep going through them in their own time.

I'm also photographing some questions and texting the photo to them. They're to write out their answers and send me photos back.

The next videos will be the actual questions we've covered in past papers, which makes it better for any Irish school leavers.

 

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[TonyStark]

I don't mean to derail your thread, I'm just curious:

What is the point of advanced mathematics? I know it can be very technical, but speaking from the Fastlane, do you ever use most of the advanced mathematics? Or is it just basic algebra, geometry, etc.

In other words, will someone in the Fastlane ever need to know calculus?

 

[Aaron W]

I would have died for this back when I was doing math at school.

I would always look for videos trying to easily explain the solution to equations.
However, it wasn't always so easy to find them.

You sir are a hero.

 

[Andy Black]

I don't mean to derail your thread, I'm just curious:

What is the point of advanced mathematics? I know it can be very technical, but speaking from the Fastlane, do you ever use most of the advanced mathematics? Or is it just basic algebra, geometry, etc.

In other words, will someone in the Fastlane ever need to know calculus?

Speaking as someone:

...with a degree in Maths

...who spent 15 years in IT as a Database Administrator / Datawarehousing guy

...who spent the last 6 years running AdWords campaigns (some spending over €120k a day)


I can say that I've not used calculus once after leaving University (other than to help kids pass their Calculus exams).



Probability is useful.

Basics stats is useful.

Being able to calculate whether you'll be profitable is extremely useful.

Other than that, unless your business involves number-crunching, I don't think you need any "advanced" Maths.


Some of the stuff I learned in University was very interesting, but they are more ways of thinking, and I'll write some of them up one day. There was no need for me to take 3 years to learn them...



What is the point of advanced Maths then? Well, if you're going on to do engineering, or sciences, or become an actuary... then it's highly relevant.

For late-developers like me, it was just a complex game that I liked playing. They give us rules. They give us scenarios. We have to creatively apply the rules to solve the scenarios.

Sure, it helped me think in a certain way (Google for "#AndyTalks Simple Explanations"), but I'd argue that I probably already thought that way and that was why I was attracted to Maths (and found it easy).


What galls me is that kids come out of school thinking they are poor at Maths, when they've just been taught wrong.

What also galls me is that Maths is supposed to instil skill and respect for the "argument" (aka Mathematical Proof), but I had to do that first video above to get students to even write the argument down neatly.

So they've blatantly not been taught the very basics on how to argue logically. Without that, I really am baffled as to why they even consider teaching advanced Maths.

To me, it's much like the rest of the education system. It's a series of tests designed to find and train the drones who'll do the work.

Unfortunately, a lot of the people who aren't going to be the drones, end up feeling worthless... and I really really don't like that.

 

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[John Clancy]

Great to see you doing this for Leaving Cert students Andy.

I took Higher Level Maths last year. Despite being pretty good at Maths, I only managed to come out with a C grade on the day (test anxiety, topics coming up I wasn't expecting, etc.). Resources like the ones you're providing now would have been a great help to me and my class.

I think the introduction of "Project Maths" style exams is potentially a step in the right direction... but there needs to be an overhaul in the way Maths is taught for students to reap the benefits.

Keep up the good work! My younger brother is taking his Junior Cert this year, so I'll be following along and seeing what I can apply to helping him.

Edit: came across these videos last year... maybe you'll find them useful in some way.
https://alison.com/courses/Project-Maths-Higher-Level

 

[Runum]

Good video Andy.

Most of our formal tests in the grade school level are multiple choice answers, at least in Texas. A test taker must still grind out the answer but the multiple choice questions make it easier to grade.

From your videos it sounds like your math tests are more old school and appropriate.

One hint I would like to give math learners, especially early math learners, is to never erase. Typically a student is grinding the math and showing work. Then they make an error. They erase the error and think they are going to correct it. Many times, after the erasure, they will make the same error again.

If the student would simply cross out his error then they could refer back to it if needed to prevent himself from repeating the error. I frequently require my math students to perform math calculations in ink so that I can see what their errors are before the erasing begins.

Older students may grow past this mistake, I am not sure, I don't teach about 12 years old typically.

I love to take a student that is "not good at math and reasoning" and show them they can do this and do it well.

 

[raden1]

Good video Andy.

Most of our formal tests in the grade school level are multiple choice answers, at least in Texas. A test taker must still grind out the answer but the multiple choice questions make it easier to grade.

From your videos it sounds like your math tests are more old school and appropriate.

One hint I would like to give math learners, especially early math learners, is to never erase. Typically a student is grinding the math and showing work. Then they make an error. They erase the error and think they are going to correct it. Many times, after the erasure, they will make the same error again.

If the student would simply cross out his error then they could refer back to it if needed to prevent himself from repeating the error. I frequently require my math students to perform math calculations in ink so that I can see what their errors are before the erasing begins.

Older students may grow past this mistake, I am not sure, I don't teach about 12 years old typically.

I love to take a student that is "not good at math and reasoning" and show them they can do this and do it well.

Mhmm... I only right in pen. I was/am one of those who thought that they were bad at math and that was that. Which killed me because I was always interested in math/physics/astronomy. It's one of those (I hate to just throw buzz words out but...) limiting beliefs that I've been getting over recently.

I sometimes can feel physical muscle knots in my shoulders form doing math. Getting over the emotional frustration of it is half the battle. It may sound like a dramatic reaction because they are only math problems. But sometimes when I see one I remember the years of frustration trying to go through school to figure this out. And I just sit there building up these negative thoughts and my thinking goes waaaayyyy past the math problem in front of me.

So now I've been breathing deeply and physically exercising after doing math. It takes repetition, patience and a clear head.

I also thought it was just formulas too. Plug in x to get y and so on. But really math is full of concepts that you can play with and adapt to different problems (err I think so?).

Anyway, I really like this thread. Keep the math tips commin!

 

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[Runum]

Another one of my teaching strategies:

Student makes an error during a calculation that I see but the student does not recognize..

I will encourage the student(s) to continue with the math problem to fully explore where it may lead.

My hope and plan is that the student becomes aware of their error through this exploration.

It is extremely rewarding and empowering when the student makes that recognition without me pointing it out.

I want to give them tools for logic and problem solving, not just formulas to learn and repeat.

 

[YoungPadawan]

Being able to calculate whether you'll be profitable is extremely useful.

I'm at somewhat of the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey and this is a lesson I'm currently learning. Are there any tricks or techniques you have learned to speed up the process when learning if something is profitable?

Edit:: Actually, I can probably figure this out on my own by taking some accounting lessons. Learning is all part of the PROCESS!

 

[nmalcolm92]

Mhmm... I only right in pen. I was/am one of those who thought that they were bad at math and that was that. Which killed me because I was always interested in math/physics/astronomy. It's one of those (I hate to just throw buzz words out but...) limiting beliefs that I've been getting over recently.

I sometimes can feel physical muscle knots in my shoulders form doing math. Getting over the emotional frustration of it is half the battle. It may sound like a dramatic reaction because they are only math problems. But sometimes when I see one I remember the years of frustration trying to go through school to figure this out. And I just sit there building up these negative thoughts and my thinking goes waaaayyyy past the math problem in front of me.

So now I've been breathing deeply and physically exercising after doing math. It takes repetition, patience and a clear head.

I also thought it was just formulas too. Plug in x to get y and so on. But really math is full of concepts that you can play with and adapt to different problems (err I think so?).

Anyway, I really like this thread. Keep the math tips commin!

F*ck dude, sounds like me. I literally had anxiety when I did math last semester.
Just relaxed breathing and stuff has been helping you?

 

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[Andy Black]

I'm at somewhat of the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey and this is a lesson I'm currently learning. Are there any tricks or techniques you have learned to speed up the process when learning if something is profitable?

Edit:: Actually, I can probably figure this out on my own by taking some accounting lessons. Learning is all part of the PROCESS!

These few posts might help you get profitable, and give you some of the Maths you need:

• Are you only buying traffic?
• The most important formula in business
• Online direct response metrics

 

[Ninjakid]

ANDY MAKE MORE OF THESE!!

I wish I saw this earlier lol. Whenever I right out the solutions, it looks like a vomited algebra all over the page
Going to try this for a week and see what changes

 

[raden1]

F*ck dude, sounds like me. I literally had anxiety when I did math last semester.
Just relaxed breathing and stuff has been helping you?

Well apparently us modern day people breathe in really shallow from the chest. So we are suppose to take longer breaths deep into the stomach. The shorter breaths release the panicky chemicals in the brain. Fight or flight stuff. So that is why (deep) breathing helps.

The other thing is I just accept it is going to suck and be confusing. I basically just give up before I start so there is no more "fighting" with it if you get what I'm saying. I also "forget" that I had any trouble with math before. It sounds stupid, really stupid actually. But I only "know" I am bad at math because I remember being bad at it. If I just let myself forget, it's a lot of emotional anxiety that just goes *poof*.

Basically, I found ways to trick myself into being present.

 

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[Ethan_Scott]

I've been doing Maths grinds to help local youngsters with their "leaving school" Maths.

If it helps them pass ias exam, then I consider it an incredible ROI on my time.

I'm going to do some videos for them of stuff we've already covered, so they can review them and we can keep moving forward to new topics.

I'll drop the videos in here in case any of you have Maths exams coming up, or know someone with Maths exams coming up.

Thanks a lot for these maths hacks. They have helped me improve my accuracy as well as speed. Please keep such good stuff coming

 

[Andy Black]

Bump. It’s that time of year again where some poor saps have to sit their Maths exams. If you know anyone this could help then please share with them.

 

[Andy Black]

Bump. It’s that time of year again where some poor saps have to sit their Maths exams. If you know anyone this could help then please share with them.

 

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[ZF Lee]

I don't mean to derail your thread, I'm just curious:

What is the point of advanced mathematics? I know it can be very technical, but speaking from the Fastlane, do you ever use most of the advanced mathematics? Or is it just basic algebra, geometry, etc.

In other words, will someone in the Fastlane ever need to know calculus?

I'm taking a few courses on business modelling this semester.

Now, the math aside...

We need a problem to solve, in order for math to matter.

And the problem for Fastlane businesses, is that we need to measure uncertainty.
Uncertainty in how many customers we can get next month, our financial and energy resources, and time consumption, etc.

So we need to quantify them, so that we can see whether our decisions are winning or losing, and whether we can make the next winning choice.

However, with CHOICES and DECISIONS...

You can only pick the BEST one out of many.

In other words, we have questions like...

'What is the best amount of marketing dollars to put to my Adwords?'

'What is the best amount of time to win a $1000 copywriting client?'

'How many SKUs do I need to reach for my Amazon store?'

So we use OPTIMISATION for that. This concept involves calculating the best amount of resources to give us the best amount of results.

And the math comes in for that. That's why you have calculus. And linear programming and all that stuff.

You won't need to directly calculate stuff, but for Excel, the knowledge on how to make the macros help.

And for programming, if you want to do anything related to efficiency apps, some knowledge does help.

I'll just leave one tip for the kids:

'Never, ever, depend 100% on the teacher to save your a$$, no matter how got she/he teaches'

See them as only your advisers. Allow them to do 10% of the work, but you complete the 90%.

Also, its fine to fail and flounder in the class tests, but build up the experience to score a home run in the final O-levels or A-levels.

Just like business!

 

[TonyStark]

I'm taking a few courses on business modelling this semester.

Now, the math aside...

We need a problem to solve, in order for math to matter.

And the problem for Fastlane businesses, is that we need to measure uncertainty.
Uncertainty in how many customers we can get next month, our financial and energy resources, and time consumption, etc.

So we need to quantify them, so that we can see whether our decisions are winning or losing, and whether we can make the next winning choice.

However, with CHOICES and DECISIONS...

You can only pick the BEST one out of many.

In other words, we have questions like...

'What is the best amount of marketing dollars to put to my Adwords?'

'What is the best amount of time to win a $1000 copywriting client?'

'How many SKUs do I need to reach for my Amazon store?'

So we use OPTIMISATION for that. This concept involves calculating the best amount of resources to give us the best amount of results.

And the math comes in for that. That's why you have calculus. And linear programming and all that stuff.

You won't need to directly calculate stuff, but for Excel, the knowledge on how to make the macros help.

And for programming, if you want to do anything related to efficiency apps, some knowledge does help.


I'll just leave one tip for the kids:

'Never, ever, depend 100% on the teacher to save your a$$, no matter how got she/he teaches'

See them as only your advisers. Allow them to do 10% of the work, but you complete the 90%.

Also, its fine to fail and flounder in the class tests, but build up the experience to score a home run in the final O-levels or A-levels.

Just like business!

I feel like I’ve been lied to all my life, I’ve rarely if ever used advanced mathematics to get through in business.

Engineering on the other hand....

 

[Andy Black]

Advanced Maths is about boiling a subject down to the first principles from which everything else derives.

For the last five years I’ve been in this forum I’ve been boiling down my ideas and thoughts until they get more succinct, and I find the centre from which (I feel) everything else derives.

Business seems a lot simpler to me today than it did 5 years ago:

“Focus on helping others. Everything else falls into place.”

I’ve been testing this when PMing folks. Most of the time the people tangled up are focused on themselves. Getting them to focus on others seems to help them untangle themselves.

For me, this is an example of advanced mathematical thinking being applied in real life.

It’s not about algebra and calculus. It’s about the logical argument.

Do you accept statement X?

You do? Great. Well, we know that X also means Y don’t we?

And that Y also means Z.

Which means A.

Still with me?

So then you accepting X must mean you accept A right?


I think this way. I write this way.

I start with one statement, and I follow where it goes. One statement leads into another statement, leads to a final conclusion.

And then I wrap it up with a nice bow.

Advanced maths taught me how to simplify business (and life!), and how to move forward relentlessly, even when I don’t know where I’ll end up.


Now go rewatch that 2 min video and have a think why that’s the video I link people to who are struggling with Maths.

Maths isn’t algebra, arithmetic, or calculus. It’s a way of thinking and disciplines to solve problems.

 

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