Fall 2009

My suggestions:

Before lecture of new material, read the appropriate sections in your text.

After lecture, go through your lecture notes and the appropriate parts covered from the text book. Make sure you understand the Examples, and try the Section Exercises. Then try the Suggested Problems.

It's very important to go through Examples, Exercises and Problems because that's how the Exams will assess whether you understood the material.

If you have questions either about the material or how to solve the Suggested Problems, come by my office and ask.

Keep up with the material. Later topics build on earlier topics. Make sure you understand the previous material otherwise you'll struggle through the current material.

If you've been keeping up, then when exam time comes around you'll just need to review your notes, examples, problems you've tried. And if you like, you can try last year's exams (but take them with a grain of salt).

As you look through examples and problems, think about how the questions can be modified, and how you would solve the modified questions.

If you're struggling through the class (or not doing as well as you think you should be), I will probably ask you the following questions in order.
1. Did you understand what was going on in lecture?
2. Did you try the Suggested Problems after the lecture, before the next lecture?
3. Did you go over your lecture notes and the appropriate parts of the text shortly after we covered the topic in class?
I'm of course happy to help you grasp the material, but you also have to do your part in the learning process.