Hosted by Justin Paul Van Wely Lecture 2: How to Solve Almost Anything WELCOME BACK TO SAT 301 ! An organized approach to scoring higher and gaining acceptance to your top-choice colleges.

The 6-Tiered Approach to achieving success on the SAT: 0 1 – get to know the test √ 0 2 – learn B.T.S. (basic test-taking strategy) 0 3 – learn format-specific methodology 0 4 – learn the content 0 5 – learn advanced strategy 0 6 – gain consistency through practice

What is Khan Academy? 0 A non-profit organization in partnership with the College Board to help you prepare for the exam. 0 Khanacademy.org 0 You will need a facebook or gmail account to login. 0 Modules, videos, practice sets, and full tests. But no strategy.

Time for…the P.O.D. !!!! (2 Questions) Question #1: Easy! How many diagonals are there in a hexagon (a six-sided figure)? Question #2: Hard??? How many diagonals are there in a hexahectaheptacontakaidigon (a six-hundred-seventy-two-sided figure)? 224,784! Wow! Now, let’s take a closer look at what we did…

How to Solve Almost Anything: 10 Foundational Principles of Efficient Thought 1. Approach the problem with confidence 2. Try to understand it visually 3. Look at a grander problem on a smaller scale or a smaller problem on a grander scale 4. Throw things out and see what sticks 5. Continue a process until a pattern emerges 6. Look at the problem from a multitude of perspectives 7. Find the familiar within the abstract 8. Reduce a complex whole to its simpler parts 9. Understand simple ideas deeply 10. Use known values to procure a reasonable range

Now that we know what we need to do to be “good” thinkers, what does it take to be “good” test takers? Good test takers have the C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E package. C – confidence O – organization M – Methodical P – Pace well L – Learn from mistakes E – Efficient T – Think like a test maker E - Engaged

Your Journal: Like a growth chart meets design planning Keep track of your performance - Record your times - Write down your scores - See how close you are to your goals Identify where you are making mistakes - Write down questions you miss (#, concept, or whole ?) - Figure out why you missed it - Fix it – have a plan of attack that will help you get that question type right next time.