Expert Tips on Precalculus & Trigonometry: An Interview with OM013 Peer Tutors
For the next article in the series of peer tutor interviews, SASS interviewed Precalculus peer tutors Alexander P and Albert S. We hope that this article will help current and future Precalculus students in their academic journey!
Q: What did you enjoy about this course?
Alexander: As a whole, I really enjoyed Honors Precalculus with Trigonometry, but my favorite part of the course was the openness and extensive participation in group discussions and the House Cup, where students had the opportunity to work together for the entire school year. I personally found the House Cup very motivating.
Albert: The thing I enjoyed most in this course was that my teacher was very engaging and the bulk of the discussion sections involved solving problems on the whiteboard.
Q: What challenged you the most in this course? How did you overcome those challenges?
Alexander: The amount (and difficulty) of material covered throughout the course, especially towards the end of the school year, was a challenge to me. By completing weekly assignments, participating as much as possible in weekly discussions, and reaching out to my teacher with any questions I had were how I overcame this difficulty. I would also like to add that there are opportunities for extra challenges (in the form of additional problem sets, for example) for students who ever feel that the material is too easy for them. As with most courses, the material gradually becomes more difficult.
Albert: Personally, my biggest challenge was note taking. It is my opinion that math and science courses may require a different style of note taking, one that emphasizes the formulas and solving strategies. Applications of these formulas are not learned through taking notes, but by solving problems. I made it a habit to devote a section of my notebook entirely to formulas so that upon finishing a lecture I will have extracted what I needed and placed it in an easily accessible place.
Q: What tips do you have that could be useful to students taking this course?
Alexander: One should stay on task and make sure they understand the material (if they don't, they should ask; no question is silly).
Albert: I would definitely try to stay on top of the lectures and listen to them at normal speed in order to understand how the example problem is worked out in the lecture. Looking ahead for exams can be a lifesaver. Even though exams occur once every two weeks, spending 10 minutes reviewing the sections that you know will be tested on helps a lot. If you keep getting a question or certain type of question wrong on the mymathlab, do not make the mistake of using your attempts to randomly guess the answer since this is of no benefit. Review the textbook section related to the homework, and if necessary contact your instructor or go to their office hours.
Q: About how much time a week did you spend working on assignments and preparing for discussion sessions in this course?
Alexander: I found that there was generally not too much course work involved, about 3-4 hours, but the midterm and final exam required more preparation.
Albert: These types of questions are always hard to answer since I did not keep an accurate count of how much time I spent on my courses. Making an estimate though, I would say I spent about the same amount of time for this course as my other courses which was about 8 hours total.
Q: What was your favorite topic covered in this course?
Alexander: Probably the trigonometry section, specifically its applications in Polar Equations and Graphs.
Albert: I would say arithmetic and geometric sequences was one of my favorite topics in the course because these simple concepts have such complicated applications. Besides, it is very satisfying to know what will happen to a sequence in the long run (something that would be too tedious to work out by simply adding each number with a calculator or by hand).
Q: What assignments did you enjoy doing in this course?
Alexander: The MyMathLab (MML) assignments, both those for before and after class, prepared me well and tested my understanding of the material learned in class. The class discussions were also enjoyable and useful while the various exams (unit, midterm, final) were an honest evaluation of how well I understood the material in the course.
Albert: mymathlab and exams were pretty much the only assignments we were required to do if I remember correctly. mymathlab can be fun at times, but sometimes it is also fun to go beyond the required. I enjoyed looking at the challenge problems that are at the end of each slide set when time permitted. It really made me feel good that I could solve these problems by myself with slightly less pressure since no one was watching me solve.
Q: Did you have any experiences with this course that could encourage those who are uncertain of the course to want to take it?
Albert: I had these experiences every day. The teacher was just so helpful with everything, and if at some point I felt that we were skipping over material too fast, I always had the option to go to the office hours. That way, the same amount of work was spread over more time. In math, you sometimes need to be bold. Some days, a person would have no idea how to do a problem yet would still raise their hand out of pure willingness to volunteer. The class and teacher then guided the person to the solution and right method of obtaining the solution. In the end, because of this person's boldness, the whole class learned which is why math is one of my favorite topics: it is so rewarding.
Q: Any other comments on this course?
Alexander: I just wanted to mention that my teacher was Ms. Fielder, and I highly recommend her.
Alexander and Albert can be scheduled as peer tutors through the Stanford OHS Writing and Tutoring Center.
