Why is calculus difficult for some students?
Why is calculus difficult for some students?
Why is calculus difficult for some students? I think it is hard for some students for a variety of reasons. I had the pleasure of taking cal 1 twice both in high school and college. I aced cal 2, and taking cal 3 this fall, however I have already learned some of it on my own. I will break down the different types of people and reasons I have seen.
I need to clarify something, I am not judging these people in any way.
The person who just doesn’t care: This person may not care for a variety of reasons. This person is likely NOT a stem major. (ie their highest math in college they need to take is cal 1 or it’s a high school class and they don’t plan on going higher in math). I don’t really need to go much more in detail. If they don’t care, they won’t put forth the effort in properly learning the material. The same could be said about any class, but calculus is something you have to at least put some attention into.
Why is calculus difficult for some students?
The person who didn’t master Algebra in high school. It sucks to suck, but Calculus is like 90% algebra. You need to master high school level algebra to succeed at Calculus. I am not really gonna knock these people, but if algebra is hard for you (or you never put the effort in to master it), calculus will be extremely hard. This person will struggle more in calculus 2. In my experience, calculus 2 requires some much more tedious and difficult algebra. This is because a lot of times you have to manipulate the functions to get them into a form that’s easier to integrate.
The person who can’t think mathematically/analytically: I used to be mediocre at math, but one of my high school teachers had a different approach to math than any math teacher I had in high school. He taught us to think mathematically. I went from a C/D math student to Acing every test in less than 2 weeks. Most of the time, it is up to the individual to develop ways of approaching problems and thinking analytically. I had only 1 professor in college try to help people change their way of thinking to approach problems better. Honestly, I believe the high school and below math system has failed students, they are entering college unprepared.
Why is calculus considered to be difficult?
The person who thinks they are bad at math OR the person who gives excuses. I am tying both of these in together. This one ties in to the previous reason, but is distinct enough to be separate. This person 100% believes they are bad at math, and they will tell you. They will often say things like “people’s brains are wired differently, therefore I am just naturally bad at math”. Although that statement has some truth in it, these people simply accept they are bad and can’t improve despite being able to improve. They put in an effort, unlike the people who don’t care, but once they come to a stumbling block, these people tend not to keep moving forward. This person will look at a tough integral, and will not try anything because they are stumped, and just move on to another problem. How can you learn if you never try anything? Also, if it’s on an exam, never leave anything blank! Most professors at least give small partial credit if you try something remotely calculus related on the problem.
- I nearly failed calculus when I took it in high school despite having a nearly flawless history in my past math courses. I didn't let it deter me, I took it in university and aced it.
- I attribute my experience to poor instruction and a student - teacher relationship built on a lack of respect (from both parties by the end of the year).
- I moved to a new country over the summer, and since the teacher had never taught me before he wrongly assumed that I was in the incorrect class on the first day. I also spoke with a different accent (Canadian in Texas) and the teacher just started out with a low impression of me. I grew to dislike him from there and he lost my respect over the course of the year. I passed the course… barely and graduated happy to be done with the class.
The next year at university I was acing my calculus class, the difference was a good instructor was now in charge and the prof - student relationship was supportive and built on mutual respect.
I had to go back to my high school for some paperwork after the next year and ran into my first calculus teacher in the hallway. He remembered me (I guess I was the only Canadian he ever knew or something like that), he was surprised that I was doing well in mathematics and was studying engineering. He admitted to me that he must have been wrong about me and probably should have graded me more fairly.
Why is calculus so hard?
It may not be the case for all students, but there are teachers out there that have no business teaching calculus… or maybe teaching at all.
I still remember my first day of calc 1. It was a summer evening around 6:30pm. Professor Burger walked into the class and said: “good evening guys my name is professor Burger and I’m your calc instructor. Let me start the class by telling you a secret, if you fail calculus is not because of the calculus, it is because you can not do algebra”
Through my school years I have seen this story repeating over and over. People don’t struggle with the calculus, people struggle with the algebra.
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