How do you improve your skills in A-level Maths?

After teaching A level Maths for well over a decade I’ve seen 3 things that determine success from the hundreds of students that have crossed my path:

• Systems based study- developing a system where you stick to a routine of study and you make it second nature.

• Purposeful practice- not just highlighting and reading but actually practicing with a sense of purpose and planning.

• Proactive mindset- asking questions of your teacher and using resources to your benefit to help understanding (AI to some degree can help)

In order it is actually SPP (Systems, Purpose, Proactivity)

SYSTEMS

Example of study schedule

The transition from GCSE to A-level is very difficult for students who have coasted through Years 10-11 without much of a work ethic. At A-level the emphasis is on continuous and consistent work every week due to the sheer volume of content and workload involved. It is not possible to succeed at A-level with a mediocre GCSE mindset.

To make a system you need to first understand how well you study. In this aspect you need to consider:

• Times of the day you study well

• How long you are able to concentrate for

• Which environment you like to study in

Once you have analysed these points then you need to actually develop a system of practice by making a schedule. The aim of the schedule is to do 4-5 hours of A level Maths work every week!

You can make a simple weekly timetable and set certain days for Maths study. Each session has to be in the times of the day you study well in, for the duration you are able to study for and in a location of your choice. Distractions must be put to the side.

The system element is the foundation and often the hardest for teenagers to do as it means setting a schedule and sticking to it. This can also be difficult if you have a social life, a job or other commitments. I would argue however that short term pain will yield results.

A poor system/lack of system will lead to:

• Overwhelm

• Lack of retention as the course accelerates

• Too much left to do by the end of the course and too little time to revise it all

• Stress

• Poor interim test results as the difficulty increases

PURPOSEFUL PRACTICE

Table of effective study strategies

Students from GCSE often do not know how to study for A-level Maths. They come into the course with poor habits being formed and often think the following methods constitute effective study habits:

• Highlighting without purpose

• Reading notes without direction

• Mind maps without thought

• Flashcards for everything

• More reading!

These of course have their place but they are fairly low level study mechanisms that do not really take into account the resilience students need to build by doing effective practice at A-level.

Purposeful practice means you have your system set and you start each session with a purpose:

• What you intend to study in this period of time?

• What resources you have at your disposal?

• How confident do I feel in this topic?

• What study skills will I use?

The study skills I associate with student who exhibit purposeful practice are as follows:

• Reading notes initially to get a feel for the topic

• Highlighting key statements, formulas, concepts

• Flashcards being used with the intent to remember key formulas and concepts that are not in formula book

• Mind maps being used to show relevant subtopics within each topic

• Doing actual maths practice questions from the textbook and checking answers.

• Reflecting on incorrect answers and understanding why its incorrect.

• Finishing off mixed exercises at the end of textbook sections and trying to practice exam style questions (even better under time pressure).

I am not saying all of the above skills have to be done in one session but I am outlining what is higher level in terms of study skills. This combined with an effective system will improve retention of information over a longer period of time especially if you incorporate 'look back' study sessions where you recap a topic which you studied some days ago.

Students who don’t exhibit purposeful practice often struggle with understanding the deeper aspects of the course but also how topics link to each other. They also struggle with exam or problem solving questions as they hadn’t built up resilience through sustained practice. This will invariably lead to consistently poor performance through the course.

PROACTIVITY

If you are not proactive as a student then it does not matter about systems or productive practice as you will not be dynamic enough to face the challenges the course presents.

Proactivity in a nutshell encompasses these aspects:

• Turning up to your study session with the correct equipment

• Making questions around your notes to ask your teacher

• Asking your teacher for clarity on issues sooner rather than later

• Being organised with your folder of notes and textbook questions

• Using online resources to further stretch your abilities

• Asking your teacher for feedback after a test/mock and developing a plan to improve

Role of AI

The rise in AI tools have definitely provided a boon to students regardless of subject. My advice would be to not use AI as a crutch but instead as a study buddy to help you in your learning journey. I’ve seen many students using AI to do their homework, check answers for a practice paper and even reteach a whole topic. Such practices are fraught with danger as such tools are known to hallucinate and give incorrect answers. Not only that but you are essentially acting in cognitive sabotage as you are not thinking for yourself to persevere through a problem.

Use AI instead to help define terminology or come up with simple explanations to concepts with examples. You can use AI to help plan your study schedule or critique your study methods and outputs.

In conclusion there are many characteristics I look at with proactivity, its the willingness to park your ego, pride and sometimes laziness to make strides in your progress. Its the tenacity to see through challenges and accepting help and feedback along the way.

A-level Maths is generally accepted to be a difficult course to study and without a proper system, without purposeful practice and without a proactive mindset it is not possible to do well as the speed, breadth and complexity of the course warrants a disciplined approach.