How to Approach Math
On April 23, 2022, I had the honor of being invited by the Ateneo Mathematics Society (AMS) to give a talk on “How to Approach Math” for their annual project, Mathventure. This event was aimed at senior high school students who were interested in pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Initially, I found the task daunting. I wasn’t sure if I could inspire the participants and make a meaningful impact. Thankfully, with the support and guidance of some friends, I managed to gather enough content and deliver the talk in an engaging manner, even incorporating memes to connect better with the younger audience.
To inspire the students, I shared my own journey of becoming a math major. Many math majors, including myself, chose this path because they found high school math intriguing and had fond memories of participating in math contests. However, as I embarked on my college journey, I discovered that college math was a completely different challenge. To provide context, I compared high school math, contest math, and college math. I described college math as a middle ground between high school math and contest math. While college math (at Ateneo) involves some memorization like high school math, it also requires the ability to connect various theorems and properties to form new results, similar to contest math.
During the talk, I provided several tips for transitioning from high school to college math. These included reading reference materials, solving exercise problems, and reviewing past exams. I emphasized that while memorization has its place, truly understanding the fundamentals of math is far more effective. With a solid foundation, learning new topics becomes easier. Additionally, I offered practical advice on easing math anxiety to help students view math in a more positive light. My goal was to equip them with tools to tackle any math problems with confidence. I concluded with some random tips related to being a math major.
Overall, this was a new and exciting experience for me. Throughout the talk, I engaged with the participants through Pigeonhole, encouraging them to contribute to the discussion. Most of them seemed to resonate with what I presented. The post-event evaluations indicated that the participants found the talk valuable. I hope my talk inspired some of them to pursue a degree in mathematics in the future.
A recording of the talk has been provided by AMS below. Let me know your thoughts!
