Bad memory making math impossible

[Dasha]

I know I'm not stupid. If I have the book in front of me, I can work out any problems in the whole book. I have even found my own little tricks to make math easier in class. But yet, when it comes time to take a test, or do some work away from the book, I can't do it. I can only remember the most basic stuff. And its like this with anything to technical. Its really frustrating. I've taken Algebra like, four times. This is going to prevent me from graduating. Is not like I am failing at school, I am getting mostly A's. I just can't do math, and I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

[Jen]

Hi Dasha,
It's great that you are looking for tips as to how to make math easier for you! I think that everyone has different styles of learning and sometimes we all need various accommodations to help us learn best, Have you talked with your teachers and/or guidance counselors? They might be able to give you some accommodations that would make test-taking easier. Additionally, they might be able to help you ahead of time with some test-taking strategies!

Jen

[Dasha]

Its not just math, its everything in life. I have a really bad time remembering allot of things. A whole week can seem like three days because I can't remember anything that happened the rest of the week. Its not tests that are my problem. I can take tests easy on any other subject. Its getting myself to keep it in me brain that's the problem.

[Jen]

Have you talked to your teachers/guidance counselors? It sounds like you could really use a full evaluation to see if there are overall accommodations that could be helpful. Reach out to your teachers and guidance staff because a lot of things that they can do can be really helpful and make a big difference in school!

[Dasha]

Well. I am kind of already in college. The teachers don't really cut breaks and stuff. I'll try to see if I can meet one of the counselors in Tuesday though.

[wtp]

I'm not sure how to explain this but let me try...

You're sad in a comforting way knowing that you try your best but are still unable to succeeded. In this way of thinking you are literally preventing yourself from remembering. You say and think you want to remember, but you enjoy the feeling of sadness so much that it's preventing you from remembering.

[drowningangel]

Originally Posted by wtp

I'm not sure how to explain this but let me try...

You're sad in a comforting way knowing that you try your best but are still unable to succeeded. In this way of thinking you are literally preventing yourself from remembering. You say and think you want to remember, but you enjoy the feeling of sadness so much that it's preventing you from remembering.

This sounds pretty... judgemental. I wouldn't go so far as to say somebody enjoys being pitied or felt sorry for when none of us are medical professionals. I'd leave that for therapists...

I'm moving this to School and Careers, as you may get some more replies in this area than General.

As far as you being concerned about your grades, I'd consult with the guidance counselor as mentioned. They're placed in the schools to help with these very issues and they may be able to help you in where you need to go to get some help with all you're struggling with or point you in the direction to get your grades fixed.

[InSovietRussiaORGASMGotU]

Originally Posted by wtp

I'm not sure how to explain this but let me try...

You're sad in a comforting way knowing that you try your best but are still unable to succeeded. In this way of thinking you are literally preventing yourself from remembering. You say and think you want to remember, but you enjoy the feeling of sadness so much that it's preventing you from remembering.

And this kids is why you should leave things to professionals.

Dasha: I'll save giving you a lecture on memory, the various types, etc... . I'm not sure exactly how you're studying, however, some people study in better and different ways than others.

When you take the tests, are you stressed or stressed going into the test? Also, when you do the work from the textbook, try to simulate the test environment by setting a time limit on each question and gradually giving yourself less and less time. If it gets you stressed a bit, then good. Work through that stress, similar to how a test would be like. You said you remember the basic concepts, so is it that the harder concepts you are unsure of when you're not using the book, as in, applying or understanding it is difficult?

I'd say to avoid guidance counselors. From my experience, unless they teach mathematics or are very good at it, then it's not going to be too useful. Either talk to friends or classmates who are doing very well and see if they can help you out, or talk to the teacher.

The part that confuses me is this: you say you can do the questions in the book but when the book is away, you're unable to do the mathematics. Perhaps it's how you apply or think about it. I'm not sure I'm explaining this properly, but hopefully I can get my shit together: when doing a problem, look at multiple angles if it's from the book. When you simulate the test environment or when you actually do the test, hopefully you can recognize certain features of the problem, and use the various strategies you made beforehand.

(read here, it's where I got my shit together)
After a lecture or lab or tutorial is over, I try to think how can I apply what I learned. So, if it's for mathematics, I think "OK, using [name of theory/concept], how can I apply this to [thing]?". For example, in calculus, there's a fun method of calculating the volume and surface area of a 2-D graph by rotating it along its x or y axis and creating an object of revolution. So, if I saw, let's say a map of the floor at university, I'd look at part of the map, imagine that in the x,y plot and rotate it. In this sense, I apply the material to things outside the textbook. Hopefully, I don't screw it up, and since I go for the meaning and think of the concept in various ways, it gets ingrained in my memory more. Thus, when I go for a test, I think of those analogies or out-of-class examples I made for myself and how I worked it through. I then think how the textbook did it, then I look and see what does the question want, what am I given, etc... . This can be used for other things, such as microbiology (I imagine it as little cartoons sometimes with personalities to the proteins and other molecules).

[Dasha]

Originally Posted by wtp

I'm not sure how to explain this but let me try...

You're sad in a comforting way knowing that you try your best but are still unable to succeeded. In this way of thinking you are literally preventing yourself from remembering. You say and think you want to remember, but you enjoy the feeling of sadness so much that it's preventing you from remembering.

Yeah...that's fucking bullshit.

Originally Posted by YourNightmare

(read here, it's where I got my shit together)
After a lecture or lab or tutorial is over, I try to think how can I apply what I learned. So, if it's for mathematics, I think "OK, using [name of theory/concept], how can I apply this to [thing]?". For example, in calculus, there's a fun method of calculating the volume and surface area of a 2-D graph by rotating it along its x or y axis and creating an object of revolution. So, if I saw, let's say a map of the floor at university, I'd look at part of the map, imagine that in the x,y plot and rotate it. In this sense, I apply the material to things outside the textbook. Hopefully, I don't screw it up, and since I go for the meaning and think of the concept in various ways, it gets ingrained in my memory more. Thus, when I go for a test, I think of those analogies or out-of-class examples I made for myself and how I worked it through. I then think how the textbook did it, then I look and see what does the question want, what am I given, etc... . This can be used for other things, such as microbiology (I imagine it as little cartoons sometimes with personalities to the proteins and other molecules).

Its not just tests that are hard for me. I can't remember the stuff AT ALL, in any situation. Its like, I can understand the content of the book, math is really easy for me. Its just, once I walk away from it, I can't remember any of it anymore. So I can't remember it to apply it, hell I wont even be able to remember TO apply it.
Everyone thinks I am just lazy, but I honestly can't remember to do most things, its not that I don't want to. Its not just math that's affected by my bad memory, but everything. Math is the most pressing issue though, if I can't get this all straightened out, then I can't graduate.

[sushi_error]

Originally Posted by Dasha

I know I'm not stupid. If I have the book in front of me, I can work out any problems in the whole book. I have even found my own little tricks to make math easier in class. But yet, when it comes time to take a test, or do some work away from the book, I can't do it. I can only remember the most basic stuff. And its like this with anything to technical. Its really frustrating. I've taken Algebra like, four times. This is going to prevent me from graduating. Is not like I am failing at school, I am getting mostly A's. I just can't do math, and I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

From what you have said in your post, it sounds to me that you CAN do math.

Have you talked to your teachers and/or guidance counselor about this problem? Perhaps, they can offer you better advice and techniques. Second, can you think of some reasons why this happen? Could it be test anxiety?

Honestly, I am in somewhat of a similar boat as you. Math is my worst subject, but sometimes have trouble remembering the basics. I guess a lot of the time it is test anxiety, but some of the stuff I learned in previous years usually do not stick.

[her_beautiful_mistake]

Thing is that most people can do things when they have the instructions infront of them. Have you tried to make your own flash cards, then revise the flash cards, then try and do it? You need to try and move the information you hold from your short term memory into your long term memory, that means revising the things you find difficult every day until you get it, pretty much.

If you're still having trouble then you may want to see an educational psychologist or similar because memory problems that severe generally warrant special consideration and/or help.