Learning, Motivation, and Theory

As a student throughout elementary and high school, math came easily. I didn’t have to work very hard to get good grades and understand the concepts being taught. In late 2021 when COVID was still a big issue in my first semester of college, I had to take my first fully online math class, Calculus I, I assumed that because math just came naturally to me that this course would be easy if I just put in the bare minimum amount of effort into my homework and my studying. After my second midterm in that course, I was in for a rude awakening when I got 15%. I panicked as it was too late to drop the course, but I still had 4 other courses that needed attention. My study method of choice was watching youtube videos of people doing the questions but rarely attempting to do the questions myself. In the end, I failed that course with a 48%. It hurt me that the first course I had ever failed was something I had labelled myself as good at. As I am pursuing a math degree, that course was a prerequisite to many courses I needed to complete my degree. Eventually, I had to switch colleges and take this course in the summer before transferring to UVic. I had to get a C in this class to be allowed to attend UVic in the fall, so the pressure was on. I got a B+ in that class and made it to Victoria in the fall. Some of the strategies I used to help me succeed that second time around include being present in class, not being afraid to ask questions, and finding a method of studying that worked better for me. This class was in-person, so I needed to show my teacher I was serious about this course by being there every day, even though the teacher probably did not care. Additionally, I started asking my teacher questions on assignments that I didn’t understand; even though that doesn’t seem like a big deal, I never used to ask questions because I was so scared that people would think that I was dumb for not understanding the material. And finally, when it came time to study for the final exam, I learned a better way to study that helped me get the material in my head. First, I made a studying progress tracker, and when I reached certain milestones, I got small rewards which helped keep me motivated to keep going. I also used youtube videos to help me study, but I would take the time to pause and try the question entirely on my own before continuing the video and seeing the answer. As inconvenient as taking Calculus I for a second time, I am somewhat thankful for the study habits it led me to that I can use now.