How to improve your maths - Tips from a Mathematician

Maths can be hard and sometimes it can feel impossible - but I believe that it is possible for maths to be accessible for everyone. As a mathematician and a maths teacher, here are my top tips that helped me to improve my maths skills:

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• Practice, Practice, Practice! My favourite thing to say is "the best way to get better at maths is by doing more maths!". It all good thinking that you understand a concept, but you don't truly know that you understand completely until you have solved various problems. Start with some basic questions that are just a direct application of the method, and then work up to some more challenging worded questions. The final part should be working on mixed sets of questions, so that you have to think about what method is applicable here.

• Don't be afraid to get things wrong! This is the best way to learn. Being a good mathematician doesn't mean getting everything right the first time. It is about problem solving, and trying new ways to solve the problem. If it takes you 5 mistakes, that's 5 mistakes that you won't make next time. 

• Look at different ways of solving problems. This will mean that when it comes to exams, you will have a whole set of methods that you can use! I find looking at solutions and mark schemes really helpful, as you can then compare your answer and see if you can make it better for next time.
  
  

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• Teach someone else what you are learning. This will show you if you really understand what you are doing, and give you a chance to break the process down and really think about what you are doing.
  
  
• Practice regularly so that you don't forget what you have learnt! Don't just do one topic at a time and then forget about it for months. Spread out and consistent practice will help you remember the method.
  
  
• Make it fun! Enjoying maths will make it much easier to spend time doing it. Maybe try playing online maths games, or read about how maths applies to something that you are interested in your life. You will be amazed to see how much maths is relevant to every single part of our lives, and hopefully how exciting and cool it can be!
  
  I hope these tips help!