My name is Darius Lorens. I have completed the IGCSE CIE Extended and Additional Maths course in my Grade 9 and 10 Year. I associate frustration with maths because I think that to be able to think through questions can be challenging and requires a level of perseverance and diligence to do. Often times, especially when learning something new, it can be quite hard to figure it out the first few times. But also I find math to be quite exciting, and there’s almost a sense of accomplishment when I am able to solve something I previously could not which I do certainly enjoy.
I think that when learning maths I like to have it explained to me first, then try it on my own. This is because I then can try and imitate the steps and develop my own understandings over the said steps explained beforehand. But I also understand that being a critical thinker and attempting them on my own is also a valuable way to learn.
Usually, when I am stuck with a math question, it is when I have attempted the question multiple times. If I can, I ask another peer for help and if they also cannot guide me I ask the teacher. If I am doing it alone, I refer to google and youtube tutorials…
I think my biggest strength regarding maths is that I try to stay as open-minded as possible and am willing to try any suggestions and take on new concepts. But one thing I definitely want to focus on is my diligence in self-managing my learning. This to me means developing the good habit of regularly practicing maths and reviewing material I might struggle with.
Thoughtful comments, I agree you need to keep balance and make sure you ‘try’ problems alone consistently every week and the connections will fall into place. 🙂