Free study guides with worked examples

TL;DR:

• DuckyHelper's study guides are free guides with worked examples.

• Each guide is built around a worked example you can follow step by step.

• Use a guide on its own, or ask DuckyHelper about any step you want to go deeper on.

Alongside the app, we publish study guides. They are free, and you can read them without installing anything. This post explains what is in them and how we think they are best used.

What a study guide is

A study guide is a written walkthrough of one topic. It is meant to be read in a sitting and to leave you able to do something you could not do before: solve a certain kind of problem, plan a revision schedule, or understand how a thing works. You can find them all under study guides.

They are not summaries of a whole course. Each one has a narrow job, and we try to do that one job well.

Worked examples first

The core of each guide is a worked example: a real problem, solved step by step, with the reason for each step written next to it. We lead with the example because most people understand a method better by watching it applied than by reading a definition of it.

A good worked example answers three questions at each step. What did we do? Why did we do it? How can I check it? When you can answer those for each line, you are no longer copying a method but starting to own it.

Where a calculation is involved, the aim is to show the check as well as the result, so you can follow along with a pencil.

How to use one with DuckyHelper

The guides stand on their own, and you do not need the app to get something from them. If you do have it, the two work well together.

• Stuck on a step? Press the key with the guide on your screen and ask about that line. DuckyHelper sees the page and can circle the part you mean.

• Want it explained a different way? Ask it to work the same example on the blackboard, one step at a time.

• Finished the guide? Ask for a quick quiz on it, and see whether you can do the next problem without looking.

A good way to read a worked example

Reading a worked example passively is a common mistake. Try this instead:

1. Cover the solution and read only the problem.

2. Try the first step yourself, even if you are not sure.

3. Uncover the first step and compare.

4. Repeat until the end, then do a fresh problem without help.

It is slower than reading straight through, and that is the point. The effort of trying is what makes the method stick, a thought we explain in quizzes when you want them.

Why guides are free

We think a clear explanation of a method should be easy to reach. The guides are free to read and do not depend on the app. If a guide helps you, great. If you then want someone to talk it through with, that is what the app is for.

What a guide does not do

A guide cannot see your work. It cannot notice that you made a sign slip on line three or that your problem differs slightly from the example. That is the gap an assistant on your screen can fill. We see the two as parts of one habit: read the clear version, then bring your own version for a second pair of eyes.

Picking a guide

Choose by the thing you need to be able to do, not by the subject heading. "I need to plan three weeks of revision" and "I need to understand why this formula works" call for different guides even if they sit under the same subject. Read the first few lines of a guide to see whether its promise matches yours.

If you find yourself rereading the same worked example without it clicking, that is the moment to ask for help. Say which line loses you, and ask for it on the blackboard at a slower pace.

What this means for you

If you are studying something and want a clear starting point, browse the guides and pick the one that matches what you need to do. If you get stuck, bring it to DuckyHelper. And if you have a worksheet of your own, show it the real page and not a description of it.