Suggestions for Approach to Understanding the Material in an Online Mathematics Course

Just reading the book and then attempting the homework is usually not sufficient for most students to gain a working understanding of the mathematics concepts.

Because of the nature of online courses, you will need to seek out the information and activities for instructional purposes. The good news is that all of that is provided within CourseCompass.

If you feel you are not being as successful in understanding the mathematics as you should, I would like to suggest an approach for gaining an understanding of the material so that you can successfully demonstrate your understanding on graded homework, quizzes, projects and exams.

1. Read the chapter in the textbook (use the actual textbook OR the electronic version found in CourseCompass under the e-book button).
2. To help you summarize the chapter, access any Activstats Activities and/or Vidoes provided to you in CourseCompass under the Cc Video Lessons button.  You must select your chapter and click the Activstats and Video boxes to see a list of available items.  
3. Complete the practice problems (keep an organized notebook of these problems) identified for you to complete in your textbook. If you are successful here, move onto the next item. If you are not, repeat steps 1 & 2.  For problems in which you have difficulty, contact the HW Hotline by phone or chat room for assistance. 
4. Complete the online Study Plan problems in CourseCompass for the chapter in which you are working.. 
5. Now work on the graded online homework . If you are successful here, move to the next step. If not repeat steps 1 - 4.
6. Next make sure you have a copy of the formula card and your calculator available and attempt an online quiz for the first time.  It is best to take this quiz in a exam environment (quiet, no books or notes)
7. Now attempt your online quiz again for a better grade (you get 2 attempts for each online quiz).

An online statistics course is challenging, time consuming and requires a great deal of tenacity.

As you are studying the material, make sure that you prepare yourself for the exams.  Keep an organized notebook of the practice problems from the textbook that you complete.  Be sure to check the discussion board for the solutions to those problems to ensure you are working them properly.  It is helpful in preparing for an exam to select a few practice problems from the textbook and attempt them without using your book or notes.  This will give you a realistic measure of how well you understand the material & how well your understanding can be demonstrated in an exam setting. 

In a typical mathematics course, the time on task needed to understand the material is two to three hours of study time for each hour of instruction.  For an 8-week course, there are 5 hours of instruction per week.  So, IN ADDITION to the 5 hours, it is typical to spend 10 - 15 hours per week working on the material.  As you can see, you will need to schedule a minimum of 15 - 20hours per week during this term in order to expect to understand the statistical and mathematical concepts at the collegiate level.