Getting the most out of lectures

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Getting the most out of lectures

• Joanne Wood and Robert Blake
• Student Learning Development Centre

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preparation

• What do you think this lecture is going to be
  about?
• What do you hope to get out of it?
• Why are you here?

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difficult
intimidating
optional
too long
anonymous
a good start
a skive
inspirational
require me to join in
necessary
effective
boring
impersonal
informative
require concentration
difficult
require me to listen
all I need to know
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(No Transcript)
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• Not all his class attend his lectures. Of those
  who attend, only half listen to what he says. Of
  those who attend and listen, only half
  understand. Of those who attend and listen and
  understand, only half remember. Of those who
  attend and listen and understand and remember,
  only half agree.

Former President of Yale University, cited in
Moran, A.P. (1997) p.42
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What are lectures for?
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Lecture notes
Taking lecture notes effectively not only helps
you to keep track of what was covered in class
but also improves your ability to think about
your subject while you are being taught.
Moran, A.P. (1997) p.43
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Useful lecture notes

• is a tin opener useful?

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You could

• write down everything that is said
• annotate the PowerPoint handouts
• use diagrams, symbols, mind maps
• tape record the lecture
• rely on the materials being available on the web

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• be prepared
• be organised
• be alert
• be happy

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be prepared

• Its much easier to understand and remember if
  you have some idea about what is coming up.
• practically, this means
• looking at the title of the lecture
• looking at the other titles in the series
• doing some reading (or at least getting the books
  out!)
• thinking (what do you already know? what do you
  expect?)

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be organised

• Its better if you can focus fully on the
  content of the lecture from the minute it starts,
  so make sure youve got everything you need to
  hand.
• You might need
• plain/lined/coloured paper
• notepad(s) (for quotations/recommended
  reading/keywords/questions/to do lists)
• pens and pencils (in different colours)
• highlighters

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be alert

• listen
• be selective about what you record
• make a distinction in your notes between
• things you do/dont understand
• things you agree/disagree with
• fact/opinion/different peoples opinions
• make a note of your questions/comments
• show where there is something missing
• jot down further tasks
• listen for linguistic hints/markers

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then what?

• Make your notes useful!
• read through your notes
• talk them through with a friend
• amend them/add to them
• answer questions
• write down new questions
• file them where you can find them

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do try this at home

• http//www.monash.edu.au/lls/sif/Tutorials/Listeni
  ng___Notetaking/Module/notetaking_demo.html
• http//libweb.lancs.ac.uk/studyskills.htm

Moran, Aidan P. (1997) Managing your own Learning
at University, University College Press, Dublin
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and theres more!

• Look out for sessions in our Effective Learning
  for International Students Programme (ELIS)
  running this term
• ELLVIS (access through My Modules or SLDC home
  page)

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• What have you learned?
• What are you going to do next?

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things to do

• go for a coffee with a friend and see what you
  both remember
• jot down questions for the seminar
• try out the suggested websites
• check your notes for questions and try to answer
  them
• check for recommended/related reading
• write a 300-500 word summary of lecture
• file your notes where you might find them in May
• buy stationery