Success in Math 112

Success Strategies for College Algebra (Math 112):

Whether you are retaking a calculus course for GRO, or aiming to get an A in the class on your first try, the key to success is the same: thoughtful completion of the online homework, both online and written homework.

Step 1: Strategic approach to homework.

Whether it is online or written homework, be sure to start your homework early enough to leave time to ask questions before the assignment is due. Ideally, you should look over the assignment before your instructor starts that section in class, and start working on the homework the same day it is covered in class. Minimally you should begin the assignment before your next class meeting. Note: If you are retaking the course, you should be attempting the homework before it is covered in class. This is a great way to see the extent of your understanding for that section, and then you may ask directed questions in class on the material for which you are still having trouble.

Online Homework

Online homework has the benefit of giving you immediate feedback, but without proper organization, it can do more harm than good. Very often students just use scratch paper, and never clearly write out their solutions. Then, they are so happy to arrive at a solution that they gladly submit it in ALEKS and rely on the computer to tell them if it is correct or not. This does not help the student prepare for exams or prepare them for their next math class.

A common misconception is that homework is merely busywork. The role of homework is truly an opportunity for students to work through problems, learn the process, and practice the material before exams. Students who complete homework only for the points are doing themselves an injustice. Homework is worth at most 10-20% of your final grade. Use it as a tool to learn and master the material for the other 80%+ of your grade in the form of exams. Here’s how:

  • Save and organize all your supporting work. Keep a notebook of all of your ALEKS work. Don’t treat it as scratch paper. Think of it as your study materials for a test: do you want a book that is organized like the ALEKS pie chart or a pile of random scribblings?
    • Use one sheet of paper (minimally) per topic in ALEKS. Write the topic name clearly at the top of the page. Write out a sample problem or two, with the solution worked out. If you clicked on the explanation, copy the explanation and sample problem to your notes (or print out).
    • Organize these pages in a way that makes sense to you. One possible way is to make dividers for each objective in ALEKS.
  • Before submitting your answers into ALEKS, check your work. Because ALEKS has unlimited attempts, there is a tendency to submit answers without thought. For various reasons, students make mistakes that should definitely be caught before submitting: misreading the question, making assumptions about what the question is asking, or just blindly going through the motions. This isn't so bad when you get it wrong--ALEKS will tell you that you need to go back and look closer at your work (adding a few more required attempts in the process--a huge time sink!). However, if you are just blindly going through the motions without understanding and you happen to get the answer right, this is disastrous! You have no indication that you need to review this for deeper understanding. Further, without thinking about your answer before submitting, you are relying on the computer telling you if your solution is correct or incorrect. How will you manage this on an exam, where you have one chance? Go into ALEKS with more of an exam-mindset. Beyond reworking the problem, how could you use a different approach or your calculator to verify your answer is reasonable? Don’t know how to check your work? Ask your instructor or tutor for tips. If you get really good at checking your work and catching mistakes before submission, you will only need to answer 2-3 problems per topic to complete your homework.
  • Submit your answer into ALEKS. If it is marked incorrect,look back at your work.
    • Can you find your mistake? If you think you did, correct your work, check your work again, and submit the new answer.
    • Can’t find a mistake? Click on the explanation, take notes, and try it again.
    • If you get the problem wrong twice, either come back to it later, or mark this question to ask for help.
    • Maintain a page in your notebook titled, "Topics I need to talk to a human about." ALEKS explanations are usually good and thorough, but sometimes you just need to talk to someone about a problem. If you keep this page in your notes and write down the topic name and a sample problem, you will know exactly what topics to work on with your instructor or tutor.
  • Try not to leave any topics in previous objectives unmastered. ALEKS is set up to focus your efforts on the objective that is due next. Once you complete the objective, then all other objectives are opened, past and future, until the objective's due date. This means you have a chance to clean up any objectives where you either didn't complete in time, or you lost some topics on a recent ALEKS knowledge check.

Written Homework

Your instructors are not assigning 30 problems of written work every night. Although that practice would be helpful, it is not practical. Your teacher would not be able to grade all of that in a timely fashion, and you would have a hard time completing it with your other coursework. That said, there is true value in the written assignments. Whereas ALEKS practices the mechanics of algebra, the written homework is practicing the problem-solving skills and communication skills. You are assigned very few problems (opting for quality over quantity), so the expectation is that you are submitting a final draft of your work. Often you will have about a week to complete the written assignment. Make the most of that time:

  • Print out the homework template.
  • Start your work on a separate sheet of paper—the template is for your final draft only. Use a whiteboard if you are one that hates to make mistakes on paper.
  • Check your work: is there another way you can approach the problem? Is there a way to check your work in your calculator?
  • Write up your final draft, showing all steps, and answering every question in complete sentences. Homework is not busy work—think of this as a take-home quiz. Are you demonstrating your complete understanding?

Have you ever turned in a written math assignment leaving some questions blank, or did you simply write "?" as an answer? If you cannot find a solution to a problem when you have a week to do it, and all the resources at your fingertips, how would you expect to answer a similar problem on a test? This is your time to learn the material--take advantage of that!

Step 2: Analyze your work.

Your ALEKS due date has passed and/or your written homework is now graded in Gradescope, and you’ve earned as many points as you can. Now what?

  • Make sure you are going back to Gradescope to view your graded work - there is a lot of feedback there. Don’t just submit and forget about it. If you have questions about the grading, ask!
  • Review your ALEKS notebook and Gradescope assignments before each exam—good thing you have them organized in a neat notebook!
  • You may have had to refer to notes, asked a friend, watched a video, or asked the instructor/tutor a question while completing the homework--that’s a natural part of the learning process. Now ask yourself: if your teacher quizzed you on these problems/concepts in class, would you be able to rework the problem without help? What are the trouble spots? What questions do you need to ask to fully understand it? Remember, these problems are designed to be solved with only the resources you would have available on an exam.
  • Let’s say you got a 90% on the assignment. That’s a great homework score! But that also means that there is 10% of the material that you did not master on that assignment. Don’t let that slip by--ask questions and make sure you understand what you missed before the next exam or quiz. Unless you got 100%, there is some percent of the assignment you failed to master. This was on an assignment where you had all the resources available to you (time, notes, readings, videos, tutoring, etc.). How will this translate to a 50-minute exam where you have only your calculator?


The bottom line is that you need to approaching your homework with an exam mindset:

  • If you got a problem correct on the homework (no matter which attempt), would you be able to reproduce it under exam conditions?
  • If you were never able to complete an ALEKS objective or find the correct solutions before submitting the written work to Gradescope, this should be a red flag as you prepare for the exam. Without extra studying of this problem, you can only expect your performance on that type of problem to go down under exam conditions. Take the ALEKS and Gradescope results as feedback into what areas you need to be studying.