Maths Support - LDC | Aston University

Maths support is available in the LDC for all Aston students, offering support in addition to that provided in your course. You may be surprised about the amount of maths you have to do on your course, or may need to refresh the maths you did before coming to University. The maths team can help you to identify areas you may want to work on and improve.

Work with our tutors and student mentors through one-one appointments, attending workshops or by visiting our maths drop-in service. Maths services are available to all students, and are especially popular with first year undergraduates and those studying our Foundation Year and Foundation Degree programmes. Our maths team are here to help you with any of your maths queries.

Maths Drop-in

Free mathematics support is available at the maths drop-in centre in the LDC (first floor of the library building). Without the need for an appointment, you can work on your maths with our experienced teaching staff, either on a one-one basis or in small groups.

Maths Appointments

There are a limited number of appointments available each week to work with the maths team. Please view our appointments timetable and read our guidance notes on how to prepare for a maths appointment. To book your appointment please contact Learning Development Centre or call +44 (0)121 2043040. If our appointments slots are full, please visit the maths drop in service for help and advice.

Maths Drop-in

Making the most of the Maths Drop-in Centre

Since tutors see students on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Maths Drop-in Centre, the amount of time a tutor can spend with you will vary depending on how many students are present. Thus, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you get the most out of your visit:

Be specific about what you need help with. Even if you need help with a whole topic, try to identify which aspects of the topic you understand and which aspects you find confusing before you come to the Maths Drop-in Centre. This will allow your tutor to focus on giving you help where you really need it.
Attempt any questions you can’t do before you come to the Maths Drop-in Centre and bring your workings with you. By seeing what you’ve tried, your tutor will have a better idea about what you’re struggling with and can tailor their approach to help you accordingly.
Work on the questions you’re struggling with while you’re waiting to be seen. You may find that you have to wait while a tutor sees students that arrived before you. Don’t waste this time!
Bring your lecture notes with you. This will help your tutor understand the context of the problems you’re bringing to the appointment.
Check our workshop programme and online learning resources to see what other support is available for you from the Learning Development Centre.

Our aim is to help you develop your mathematical skills so that you can become a more confident and independent learner. Therefore, please remember:

We are here to help you with maths. If you have a problem that is very specific to your subject area, we may not have the specialist knowledge to help you.
We do not “mark” your work or suggest what mark you may get for an assignment. If you want comments on how well you’ve completed your assessed work, please ask your course tutor.
We are NOT a replacement for your lectures and course sessions. Our role is not to teach you your course material but to help you overcome any difficulties you come across as you engage with your course.

Maths Appointments

To help you benefit the most from your Maths Appointment, here are some things you can do in preparation:

Decide what you want to focus on. Maths Appointments only last for 45 minutes, if you know what you want to cover before you arrive, it will save you time when you actually sit down with your tutor.
Collect examples of your working relevant to the topics you want help with and bring them with you to the appointment. By seeing what you've tried, your tutor will have a better idea about what you're struggling with and can tailor their approach to help you accordingly.
Bring your lecture notes with you. This will help your tutor understand the context of the problems you're bringing to the appointment
Check our workshop programme and online learning resources to see what other support is available for you from the Learning Development Centre.
Turn up to your appointment on time.
Cancel your appointment if you cannot attend so that we can offer the appointment slot to someone else.

Our aim is to help you develop your mathematical skills so that you can become a more confident and independent learner. Therefore, please remember:

We are here to help you with Maths. If you have a problem that is very specific to your subject area, we may not have the specialist knowledge to help you.
We do not "mark" your work or suggest what mark you may get for an assignment. If you want comments on how well you've completed your assess work, please ask your course tutor.
We are NOT a replacement for your lectures and course sessions. Our role is not to teach you your course material but to help you overcome any difficulties you come across as you engage with your course.

Not on campus

If you require maths support but you can't attend our Maths Drop-in or face-to-face appointments, we have the following options that you can use for support:

Blackboard Appointments

Blackboard appointments for maths support are available Monday to Friday. If you would like to arrange a Blackboard appointment with a member of the maths team, please email Learning Development Centre with your name, student number and a description or a scan/photograph of your question, highlighting the areas you require help with.

We will not answer homework/assessment questions for you, but we can give you advice on how to tackle them, or help you with a similar non-assessed question.

Email Tutorial - Learning Development Centre Maths

If you would like help over email, send us a written description of your problem or a scan/photograph of your question, highlighting the areas you require help with.

We will not answer homework/assessment questions for you, but we can give you advice on how to tackle them, or help you with a similar non-assessed question. We aim to reply to questions within two working days.

Blackboard

View the Learning Development Centre Blackboard page

Other Useful Websites

Here are some links to resources that you may find helpful for your studies.

Aston Maths Support YouTube Channel

We've made lots of short maths videos on our YouTube channel. Take a look!

Maths Support LDC Aston

HELM

The following link will take you to a library of notes on a large variety of mathematical topics that you may find helpful for your studies. These notes also include exercises that you can try out to aid your understanding

Wbooks-fulllist

Maths Centre

The following link will take you to a website full of mixed media resources such as videos, online tests and formula booklets, along with notes from a variety of different sources.

Math Centre

Stats Tutor

If you need help with statistics, check out this website which has resources covering lots of statistical topics as well as guidance on how to use statistical programs such as R and SPSS.

Stats Tutor

Khan Academy

This website is full of free interactive maths courses and has a large library of high-quality maths videos.

Khan Academy

Maths Study Skills

We know that studying maths at university can be challenging, so we’ve brought together some key tips to help you. Feel free to read them, even if maths only features as a small part of your degree – you don’t have to be doing a maths degree to benefit from these tips.

You learn maths by doing maths

You can’t learn maths by just observing. Get stuck into the exercises your lecturer gives you, practice the techniques you’re taught, and test whether you can work through the examples presented in class, either on your own or with your peers.

Work to understand the content

If you don’t understand something in the course material, don’t settle. Ask your lecturer, discuss it with your peers, or come to the Maths Centre on the first floor of the library for help. Memorising techniques without understanding takes up more brain space in your revision and will leave you unable to adapt when faced with unseen problems.

Learning maths is CUMULATIVE

Almost all of the maths you learn will be built on later. So it’s really important that you make sure you understand what you’re currently learning to ensure that you have a solid foundation to build on when you’re introduced to a new maths topic. If you don’t do this, you will really struggle to understand the mathematical content to come.

Study REGULARLY

Studying maths is like learning a sport – you have to train regularly to develop your skills. So don’t leave your studying till the revision period. Set aside time each week to study the content of your maths lectures and work on the relevant exercises.

Make the most of SUPPORT services and CONTACT hours

There are lots of opportunities for you to access help with your maths studies if you get stuck. Most courses timetable tutorials and/or workshops for you to gain support from the lecturer or teaching assistants. These are golden opportunities to get your questions answered so don’t waste them! Study the material beforehand to identify the parts you don’t understand and bring your questions to these sessions. You can also make use of the Maths Centre where we have friendly maths tutors available to help you.

Maths Anxiety