> Doing Math Homework> Instructor has us practicing new stuff we haven't learned in class yet> Stuck on a problem, getting it wrong over and over again> The explainer video is useless, because the concept doesn't translate to what I'm doing.Man, fuck t...
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> Doing Math Homework
> Instructor has us practicing new stuff we haven't learned in class yet
> Stuck on a problem, getting it wrong over and over again
> The explainer video is useless, because the concept doesn't translate to what I'm doing.
Man, fuck this class. -
As a bonus, the correct answer was “DNE”, meaning the problem I was trying to understand does not actually resolve into anything. But, this was the fourth alternate question I failed to get right, meaning it verified a little bit that I was on the right track.
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Sean Tilleyreplied to Sean Tilley last edited by [email protected]
So, these are the problems I got stuck on. When you fail it, you can try a similar problem, but they’re all structured in a way that if you struggled the first time, you’re going to struggle on the exact same things.
Normally, I’m pretty good at these, but this is a newer concept for me, and the help video does a terrible job of explaining what to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Tdfzt40Bc
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The problem is that the video only explains a process for making things even out using a Least Common Denominator. Which is fine, if you have two fractions with denominators that don’t match. But, if you’re trying to solve for what a variable in the denominator is, then only part of the explanation is actually useful, and it’s obfuscated under a lot of extra bullshit the guy is doing!
If you’re brand new to the concept and struggling through the steps of what to do, this makes for an extremely bad time. It is not fun.
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It's amazing what a difference a good, or a bad instructor can make.
For someone like me who has learning disabilities, it's that much worse, because an instructor can simply not understand why someone can get some things and not others, and how some methods of learning don't help.
I don't know the math you're working through, or if I do, it's been too many decades since I remember it, but I feel these posts so hard.
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Serge from Babkareplied to Serge from Babka last edited by
And I've had literal panic attacks during tests, including nearly hyperventilating and tunnel vision.
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Sean Tilleyreplied to Serge from Babka last edited by [email protected]
@serge To be fair, she’s really good at breaking down the concepts in the classroom. This is probably the furthest I’ve had success with algebra in adulthood, and I’m actually enjoying the work itself. I try to treat it all like a game or a logic puzzle, and do pretty well for myself.
It’s just a lot to learn, the instructor has low empathy and is kind of hostile, and I’m balancing my own cocktail of weird brain chemicals. Usually, my method of forcing myself to work through misunderstanding until I get it right works great, but I took too long on this question, and failed to meet the completion deadline. To be fair, I procrastinated until the last minute, a winning strategy.
Another thought is that I still have mixed feelings on how college adopts a digital classroom. The closest thing we have to a textbook is some OpenStax PDF that nobody reads, and we never use, and everything is done through an online system. All of the work is done through the Internet, but somehow that translates to needing to physically come to class every day?
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@serge I’m not convinced that the cycle of studying, rote memorization, regurgitation, and testing is an ideal way for anybody to learn. I hate tests, with a burning passion, but realistically the education system doesn’t allow for individualized leaning.
I think my course does a good job of stacking concepts together, towards harder and harder things, but it feels like I’ve hit the inflection point on the hockey stick of difficulty.
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@deadsuperhero Can’t you pass the right denominator to the left side of the equation as multiplier for both the fraction and the integer?
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@tagomago yes, that’s the basic gist of what you’re supposed to do: find the LCD, use it to get rid of the fractions, then kind of…whittle down what’s left until you only have the variable.
Not the hardest thing in the world, but when you’re trying to figure out how to make it work without clear guidance, it’s a lot of trial and error.