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Math Tips

Tips for Graduate Students

In my experience with graduate level mathematics, it can be hard to juggle everything that is required of you. More than likely, you will have recitations to maintain, tests to proctor, your own homework and tests, and more and that is not including your own personal matters! So, here are some tips that I hope will help you keep your stress levels low and keep yourself moving along on your goal to your degree. Also, a little stress in this situation is a good indicator that you care about what you are doing.

It is ok to feel stressed

The first thing is to convince yourself that you will be stressed in your Phd or Master’s Program or any other degree program. Why? These programs are meant to challenge and stimulate you. This will inevitably lead to stress from the challenge. So, go ahead, take a deep breath and relax.

If you feel like you need help managing your stress, your university should have a place where you can go to talk to a psychiatrist or someone similar. Remember: don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Remember to use logic to your advantage

One of the nice things about math is that it builds upon itself. Normally, when you are given a homework assignment, you have everything that you need to do that homework. If you are having trouble proving something, look up every word within the statement that you don’t fully understand. Then, if there are words in those definitions that you don’t fully understand, look them up and repeat until you come to definitions that you know well. Also, scan the section for theorems, lemmas, postulates, and so on that pertain to what you are working on. It may be that you need to use one of these in your proof.

Under normal circumstances, you will use everything that the statement gives you.

Grading

You may or may not have to worrying about keeping track of student’s grades but, if you do, here are some ways that may help you out:

  1. Scoring a student’s performance

    • Using Points

      One of the most simplest ways to grade students is to allot points to each assignment and test. The student will then earn points by doing the assignment. The student’s average can be found by adding up all the points earned from all the assignments and dividing it by the total number of points of each assignment.

      This way of grading is nice since it is intuitive, allowing students to calculate their grades and have a understanding of why they have the grade that they do. It is, also, easy for you to add assignments and give extra credit if you wanted.

    • Weighted Grades

      This method of grading allows you to assign how much each assignment contributes to the total grade of the student. For example, you may want exams to be 25% of their grade, homework to be 35%, quizzes to be 30%, and attendance to be the remaining 10%. The formula for calculating the grade would be:

      Weighted Average = \frac{(\frac{b_1}{c_1})*a_1 + (\frac{b_2}{c_2})*a_2 + \cdots + (\frac{b_n}{c_n})*a_n}{100-f}
      where \sum ^n _{i=1} a_i = 100 and each ai is the weight to the ith assignment. Each bi is the points earned by the student in the ith assignment. The ci‘s are the total points in the ith assignment. f is equal to the sum of all the ai‘s that are not used in the calculation of the weighted grade.

      So, the grading is still based on points but, instead of using the points to make the grade, the students ratio of points earned to total points will reduce the points for that assignments weight. This way of grading is handy for you since you have the power to set how much influence each assignment can have on a student’s grade. However, the drawback is that it normally isn’t intuitive for the student to understand why they have the grade that they have. When they see that they have made 100s on all the homework but a 60 on an exam and the exam has more weight than homework. The exam will have more influence on the grade and will make it drop lower than the student may expect.

  2. Grading Homework and Exams

    It is best to grade consistently. So, in order to do that, it is best to have a key. A key could be as simple as having the correct letters for multiple choice answers to breaking down each problem and assigning points for each step completed correctly. Also, always have a reason as to how and why you are grading what you are. Students can be defensive about their grades, as they should be, so be prepared to explain why you graded the way you did.

Take care of yourself

  1. Get the right amount of rest.

    I know it is really macho to brag about how last night you “pulled an all-nighter” but in the long run it is best to be fresh and in your prime. Your body can function correctly on 7 hours of sleep but anything less and you are pushing it. It is recommended that you get 8 hours of sleep. It will be much easier for you to process information with the adequate amount of rest.

    Sure, by now, some of you are rolling your eyes and saying to yourselves, “I don’t do 8 hours. X hours is all I need!” Yeah. I have seen people study all night for an exam and take the test the next day and pass with flying colors but I can’t help but think of how much better they would have retained what they knew or how much better they would have done if they would have had the proper rest. Do your favorite webmaster a favor (that’s me, of course ^_^): try, for a week, to get 8 hours of sleep per night and note the differences that you feel. If you don’t like it, you can always go back…

  2. Exercise… nope, not kidding

    With your busy schedule, it is hard to do anything but your school work. On the other hand, I would recommend exercising a little each day. Studies have shown that 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise will do wonders for your mood, focus, and your overall general health. It will, also, help you to clear your mind and help to fight against burn out. An optimal body will house an optimal mind.

You only get one body in your life time: take care of it.

Organize your time

Time organization takes some skill. It makes you evaluate yourself: your habits, your feelings, … Here is a list of things that I go through when I am trying to organize my time:

  1. Determine what you need to do and list them out. Each item should have what it is and when it is due.
  2. Next, order them so that the closest due date is first and ending with the due date that is farthest away. Now, you should have a nicely ordered list of things that you need to do.
  3. Look at the items at the top of your list. Are there any that are grouped within a day? If so, do the one that you believe will be the quickest to do. When you finish that move on to the next item that will be the quickest for you to do. Then work your way down your list in the same manner.
  4. Don’t forget to take a break every now and then.

Don’t be afraid to get help when you need it

For some people, it is hard to reach out to anyone when they need help. They may feel like it degrades them or it is just too big of a hit to their ego that they will go to great lengths to not seek out help when they are having trouble. However, to save yourself time and effort, if you are truly in the dark about a subject, ask someone about it since the chances of someone else having the same trouble is pretty high. Also, you can always ask your professor for the course for their help. I mean you are paying them after all. Get your money’s worth!

Also, as I said before, if you feel like you are having trouble coping with graduate school in general or with test taking or something similar, it would be a good idea to go to your school’s guidance councillor or psychiatrist. They have a lot of experience with helping people with problems just like yours. They may be able to give you helpful techniques to handle your specific needs. Remember: don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Managing your recitations and your TA duties

I have ran many recitations and labs in my math career while being a full-time student. Some times the person that you work for will let you have free reign over your recitation while others have a rigid set of rules that you have to go by. Since they are like your boss in any other job, it is best to run the class as they wish. However, there are some things that you can do that can help you keep a well ordered class.

  1. Be prepared

    Students will look up to you as their teacher. Some will even feel more comfortable coming to you than with the lecturer… about everything. It is normal for students to email you with questions about the subject you are going over and technical questions about any software that you may be using.

    Being able to fit in this role requires you to be prepared. Look over the material before class. Try to look at it as they do: this is all new to them. They will stress about this class just as you are stressing about your classes! Remember : be polite and answer any subject related question that they have–no matter how rudimentary, elementary, or, just plain easy, you think it is.

  2. Maintain a student/teacher relationship with your students

    In their eyes, you are their teacher. There needs to be an unseen, or spoken of, feel about you that puts you as the teacher in the classroom. There are some ways to help foster this relationship. Here are a few:

    1. Wear clothes that are just a little more formal than your students

      This is a physical confirmation that you are their teacher. You are there to work and you look the part. Of course, you shouldn’t try to get tuxedos or anything too fancy but polo shirts, collared shirts, dress pants, dress shoes, long skirts, blouses, and so forth are good options. You can also find these things on sale if you are lucky.

    2. Be respectful at all times.

      You are not their friend but you should be friendly. As noted before, students will ask you questions that seem so base and easy to you that you feel like they could not possibly not get this. See? You were so struck that you started thinking in double negatives ;-). Calmly answer their question without any finger pointing.

      If you ever feel like you are about to “blow up” on a student, STOP YOUR SELF IMMEDIATELY. Do whatever you have to do: leave the room, count to 10 in your head, zone out for a second, center your self, anything. Why? This can cause you to loose the respect of your students and it is something that you most likely won’t get back. It will linger in your room for the remainder of the semester. Also, it just isn’t professional.

    3. Be careful with social media

      Technology brings us closer and closer together every day. Sites like FaceBook and Twitter allow people to share their worlds with everyone… and there can lie a problem. Unless your privacy settings are setup, your students can look at your accounts and believe me they will. How do you think you would feel if one of your students saw photos of you last night in a drinking contest? Or worse? This can destroy the student/teacher bond. Moral of the story? It is best to keep your accounts private.

    4. Do not date your students

      It is not unheard of for TAs and recitation leaders to develop feelings for their students. My only suggestion is to wait until after the class is over before pursuing someone for a boy or girl friend. Having them as such will cause some unintended favoritism which leads to jealously and unfairness in your classroom. Two emotions that you want to stay far away from when you are trying to make a learning environment.

  3. Make a syllabus and stick with what is in it

    Your syllabus should be your guide for the entire class. Students should rely on it just as they rely on what you say. They should learn to depend on what it says when they have questions. For example, you will be tempted to allow late homework assignments for your students even though it states clearly in your syllabus, no homework is accepted after the dead line. If you allow them to turn in that homework, you not only hurt the credibility of your syllabus but it could possible bring about a storm of other things that they want modified in the class. Their constant nagging will get old fast, making you want to lash out at them for their constant trying of what is written.

    Easiest solution? Spend a great deal of time organizing your syllabus. Include everything that pertains to your class: homework due dates, test dates, policies on late work, policies on plagiarism, policy on being absent and make up work, what to do if a test is missed, attendance policies, and so on. Then, once you have made a syllabus that could rival a mathematical proof for being so air tight, stick with it under every circumstance.

    On a final note, if you do happen to forget something or some unforseen issue arises that needs to be addressed, fix that issue the same way for everyone. Be consistent in everything that you do.

All of these things have one goal in mind: To make a safe environment where students learn at an optimal level.

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