Practice. Just like any other subject or skill in the world, it takes focused practice to get better. So what is focused practice? Well, focused practice involves having a lesson plan, or at least some kind of direction on learning new topics. For example, if I spent 2 hours everyday adding random whole numbers together, I’m not really improving my math capabilities. I might get really good at adding a couple of numbers, but that is about it. Instead, a (very simple) focused lesson plan for a young student could look like this:
1. Learn what addition is and do some practice adding various whole numbers.
2. Learn what subtraction is and do some practice subtracting whole numbers.
3. Learn what multiplication is and do some practice.
4. Learn what division is and do some practice.
5. Learn how these operations apply to fractions and do some practice.
In fact this is probably how most people learned these operations in elementary/middle school.
I believe that the hardest part of learning math (at least in the United States) is getting over the stigma that math is too hard to learn. Sure, the advanced topics in mathematics might take a lot of time and practice to learn, but what skill doesn’t require a lot of practice and effort to become advanced in it? If I were to pick up an instrument and start teaching myself how to play, I am not going to expect to perform at the level of a professional musician. I would expect that when I started, I would fumble with the instrument and make some pretty bad music. The same goes with math, don’t get discouraged if you cannot solve a question right away. People who are really good at something did not get there by getting everything right on their first try. Instead, it is because these people tried again and again.
Overall, math is like any other skill. It requires focused lessons and plenty of practice to become good. It is OK to make mistakes or to not understand something. The worst that can happen is if you don’t try.
mathandlogicfun 