Hi there. In this education post I would like to talk about how sometimes math courses get difficult all of a sudden. This is something that I have observed in my students in the private education sector. I cover the possible reasons and factors where the math course can get difficult out of nowhere. The contents in this post can be extended to other subjects.
Contents in this post can extend to school courses outside of math. Courses in general can get difficult suddenly.
Harder Course Topics Near End Of Course
In a technical course like mathematics, computer science, programming, etc., the topics generally do build upon one another. Concepts in the early part of the course are needed to understand the later parts of the course. When it comes to math courses there are good handful of instances where the last unit of a math course can be toughest. It is either the concepts near the end of course require a high level of skill from the previous topics and/or the later topics are actually difficult.
Increased Test Difficulty
One thing I have learned the hard way in school from taking a bunch of math courses as a student is to never get too comfortable. Never let your guard down too. Tests can get really difficult where you least expect it. Difficult tests can one or a mixture of:
- Vaguely worded questions
- Annoying calculations and algebra
- Multi step problems
- An assumption requirement for the answer
- A topic never seen before in class
- Uncommon or weird numbers
- Abstract concepts
- Stuff not in homework.
Some could argue that difficult tests that appear out of nowhere or where you least expect it is kind of bull****. There are teachers and professors out there that administer difficult tests to test your mental fortitude on top of your knowledge, understanding, preparedness and test taking skills.
On the bright side there are cases where grades on adjusted on difficult tests. I would not count on it. Not all 25 students in the class fail or get close to failing a test, right???
Large Projects Near The End
There are courses out there that have a large assignment near the end of the course. These types of assignments are designed to have the students use what they have learned over the course in order to complete the assignment or provide a presentation to the class. Some instructors and/or courses may not think that testing is suitable for assessing concepts and skills learned. An assignment would be a better choice to see how students communicate and present their work.
In some cases this large assignment would replace a final exam test. It could be as much as 30% to 40% of the final grade in the course. With a weighting that large you cannot cram and do things last minute. It takes to put things together nicely and with thought.
Updates In Course Curriculum
I don't think this one happens often but updates in a course curriculum can affect the difficulty of courses. New updates can add more topics to a course or a course may be taught faster. I may have a separate post where I talk about how the Toronto math curriculum got tougher with the introduction of financial literacy and some programming concepts for younger students.
When it comes to new updates both the teachers and students have to adapt. From the student perspective any topic taught in a new course for a student would be new. From the teacher's side the new topics they have to be teach may be unfamiliar for them. This is not good as the teacher has to teach something that may not be knowledgeable in. If the teacher does not know something how can it be taught well to students? These types of cases makes it hard for students. As an example if a teacher has to teach the programming concepts to youngsters but has to learn it quickly before developing a lesson plan it is not likely that the lesson will be good.
