Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

Success

Modeling Success

Success happens when you have the correct …

Beliefs

e.g. Mistake = Focused Learning

Mental Syntax

e.g. How do I think about this?

Physiology

e.g. Posture, Alertness, REM

Tony Robbins – Unlimited Power

Add your own

I’m not an expert

+ attitudes

+ History

Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

Gutterball►Have you ever gone bowling?

… and were doing well

… and would be happy with anything

… as long as it wasn’t a gutter ball?

►What happened?

Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

Gutterball

Learn about your brain …

Part of your brain thinks in pictures

This visualization is extremely powerful

But there are no “negations”

Picture a gutter ball … even thinking ‘NOT THIS’

Will frequently result in a gutter ball

So … positive pictures only PLEASE!

Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

No Spectators Allowed!

►Once upon a time there were 3 groups of mice

* the seniors got to go home with the researchers and play with the kids and the toys

* the juniors got to go home … but stayed in cages and watched all the playing

* the sophomores stayed in the lab

►Which mice were the smartest?

Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

No Spectators Allowed!

To Learn MathematicsIs to Re-Invent it YOURSELF

Very interesting experiment from the early 1950s

► Playing mice the smartest BY FAR

► The watching mice (with similar mental stimulation)

were slightly better off than lab mice

The moral: Learning (connections between neurons) happens when you are actively ‘engaged’

Marian Diamond – Learning Trees of the Mind

Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

Homework

expectations

and help!

A few comments - 1

► College classes typically …… meet 3-4 hours per week and … expect 2-3 hours of homework (really home study)

for each hour in classSO you owe me 5-6 hours a week!… Plan for it now, and see the effects of consistent effort

► ap-calc-08.wikispaces.com online learning community – join now (to post/edit)created by “me” so help me learn what you need

► there are a lot of links on the Internet. See the wiki for a set of links to try first. And if you find a good one, share it!

Pretty cheap training

© 2008-2009, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

Importance

A few comments - 2

► study teams strongly recommended … by students last year… by other teachers of AP Calculus… talking about YOUR understanding is a

great way to understand better

►http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/02.23/05-ap.htmlHarvard University study… AP courses are NOT a good predictor of college success… Best single predictor: mathematical fluency

(at least for sciences ….)

► exercises vs. problems – practice vs. learning

Pretty cheap training

© 2008, Bob Wilder

AP Calculus – Day 1

Homework

Homework

► two main uses for homework… show me how you are doing… useful for review

► Therefore … upper left: section in book; pages and problem numbers… center: how many points the homework is in total… upper right: name; date; periodNumber each problem, and write out question

- not necessarily verbatim- so that it is easy to review and study from

I won’t be entering a grade for each one, though

► I MUST SEE WORK“bald” answers will cause your homework to be rejected