<p>Okay, so far my classes are going well. Except for one class...CIS 160, a class that focuses around proving theorems. The problem is that I have never done anything like this before and it is taught very quickly in a way that is difficult to grasp for me. I don't even know what my questions are, other than 'I don't get it'. </p>
<p>I can follow along with the professor, for most part, but when it comes to the homework and actually proving things on my own, my mind goes completely blank. It doesn't help that so far for the course there are no office hours, and there is no assigned textbook; we just read lecture notes. I just failed my first quiz in this subject, so now I turn to you, CC, for help. How do I study for this kind of subject?</p>
<p>Depending on the subject material, go on Amazon and find some textbooks that deal with it and get 4-5 stars. Sometimes I’ll have classes where the assigned textbook blows and I end up studying from a different one.</p>
<p>Proofs are usually just algebra, but kicked up a bit.</p>
<p>They key to proofs is “recognizing” something within the proof that is also equal to something else (that part you just have to know/memorize). So a lot of it is practice, practice, practice, practice.</p>
<p>I used to study proofs strictly through practice. Write the first part of the equation down and then just derive, derive, derive.</p>
<p>Also, just focus on one side of the equation if you can.</p>
<p>Following along with your professor and doing proofs are two seperate skill sets. Never ever assume that you understand how to prove something just because you can follow along with the professor…many find this out the hard way.</p>
<p>It’s good that you’ve recognized it. The good news is there are tons of examples available online, just work through them. Don’t look up the answers right away if you’re stuck. Think about it overnight at least. It’s more of a skill you acquire and practice than something you learn.</p>
<p>When you’re first starting out, first try to understand informally why something is true then try to break it down into steps that logically follow from each other. A lot of the time you might need a “trick” to reach the result you need, but with practice in both reading and writing proofs you’ll notice that a lot of the tricks are very similar and only need a subtle adjustment between problems. As you learn more of these proof strategies it does get easier.</p>