<p>some more musings - i saw in your other post that you just failed a trig test and your grade in your Bio class is a B-. Most of the time the root causes are not spending enough time studying and not knowing how to study. </p>
<p>In math/science classes good students find they often need to spend 6-10 hours per week outside of class reading the book, doing homework, doing extra problems. That’s right - extra. There is no reason to limit yourself to the assigned questions, and one of the stronger effects in learning is the effect of testing on learning. For example read [To</a> Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/science/21memory.html]To”>Test-Taking Cements Knowledge Better Than Studying, Researchers Say - The New York Times) Doing extra problems is self-testing of exactly the right kind. For many subjects there are workbooks such as the “Chemistry Problem Solver”. These are incredible tools and I don’t know why schools don’t pass them out along with the textbook. The chapters have worked problems, hundreds of them. Keep in mind that distributed practice is much more effecting that bunched; spending 2 hours 3x a week on studying is much better than a single Sunday afternoon session.</p>
<p>There are tons of websites you can visit for advice, and your college is likely to have a learning center as well. Two links to get you started are [On</a> Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/3zh9frh]On”>On Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student - Cal Newport) and [How</a> to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/aok5qn]How”>How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport) Read thru the story at [Teaching</a> linear algebra](<a href=“http://bentilly.blogspot.com/2009/09/teaching-linear-algebra.html]Teaching”>Random Observations: Teaching linear algebra) and see how that prof forced students to rehearse material with great results; the advice earlier focuses on doing that yourself. </p>
<p>The downfall of many students is confusing recognition with recall (won’t be a problem if you follow the advice above). When you do the homework you have the book right there and can thumb back to see how similar problems were solved. After a while the approaches become familiar, and then when you review the book before the test they may seem even more so, but as you’ve discovered once you face a test and can’t refer back you can’t recall what you need. Two academic links discussing this are [Why</a> Students Think They Understand—When They Don’t](<a href=“http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/winter0304/willingham.cfm]Why”>Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Why Students Think They Understand—When They Don't) and [Practice</a> Makes Perfect—but Only If You Practice Beyond the Point of Perfection](<a href=“http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/spring2004/willingham.cfm]Practice”>Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Practice Makes Perfect—But Only If You Practice beyond the Point of Perfection)</p>