At the end of each year, I survey my students.  In June 2015, I asked the students "What advice would you give someone who is starting this course with me next fall? Or, What advice do you wish someone had given you at the beginning of this year?"  Here are their answers (unedited, I only chose the order to present them):

• Pay attention during the lectures and when you go home, spend time to review the material taught if you didn't fully understand everything. Do all your homework because doing it will show you that you understand the concepts taught during class and it will prepare you for the tests. If you did well in math last year and you don't feel as smart in this class, don't be discouraged. As long as you work hard and try your best, things will work out.

• I would advise a student starting this course to make sure they start the year out strong. I think understanding the basic concepts and fundamentals at the beginning of the year were invaluable for me to perform well throughout the year. The base I was able to establish at the start of the year paved my way to success for the rest of the year.

• Doing the homework every night is the best way to not fall behind. It piles up very quickly.

• Work with peers on homework!!! Talk through calculus. Concepts are very important, not just blind math procedures. You need to know what you're doing and why.

• Make sure to do the homework because it's really helpful and allows you to learn the material much more efficiently than just listening to lectures.

• Do all the homework because its worth a significant portion of your grade.

• Keep up with the work; everything you learn will be useful.

• Make sure you keep up with the class work/notes. Pay attention in class because it is easy to fall behind if you don't.

• Learn and review the material when you're supposed to, aka when she teaches it in class. Otherwise you're cramming or studying before the test and it's not fun and stressful. Just learn it when you're supposed to, make sure you understand everything at the end of each class or lesson, and you won't have to study hard before tests at all since you'll already have learned the material well.

• Spend time on notecards!!!!! They are soo helpful and they are the only thing I studied for the AP exam.

• Take those notes, and have a good time!

• Make sure you understand the topic you are learning now before moving on to the next one. Try to make connections from one topic to another, otherwise at the end you'll end up very confused.

• This course will almost certainly challenge you, even if you have gone through all the other math classes without struggling

• Have fun

• It's ok if the class is hard and you struggle. It should be difficult, and you might not always do as well as you had hoped. Stick with it, and appreciate how much you're learning, even if you're not always happy with every grade you get. It's worth it.

• I would tell them to say their prayers, and tell them that you can't get by in this class without really studying. Do a lot of practice problems. Start preparing for the AP much earlier than two days before the exam.

• Don't panic. I am not going to tell you that this course isn't going to be difficult. You will work hard and, at times, you will feel discouraged. But don't give up on yourself. If you are here, you are able, and at the end of the year you will find that you will have learned not only lots of calculus, but also learned about yourself as a student and person. I believe in you!

• Don't be scared just because it is calculus. This is the next level and you can do it!!! Studying for tests is also very important.

• Do not be frustrated when you begin the course with a not ideal grade. Continue working hard and you will see a positive result at the end.

• don't panic when you get a bad grade in term 1

• I wish I had been told to become familiar with some of this material even before calculus class began. It would have been easier to balance all of my other classes and keep up with the material.

• I wish I had done more AP problems to review for tests instead of simply looking over my notecards and old homework assignments.

• I'm not sure, but the way I have gone through school is see everything more realistically and thus never had any stress. High school was pretty easy when you start worrying about random things.

• Ask for help if you don't understand something

• Go to X-Block! Go when you don't understand, go to look over a test, or just go for practice problems. It's really helpful.

• The homework isn't that bad as long as you keep on top of it, and it will guide you through the course nicely if you do it. Come after school or during X-Block whenever you don't understand something or want more practice; you'll be received warmly by Ms. Ghitelman and the other students (sometimes it's nice just to go and say hi). Put effort into the index cards because they'll give you a good sense of what you need to review more in depth and what you're confident about before the AP in addition to serving as great review.
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