Getting the Most from Lectures Getting the Most from Lectures

Description of this Guide

This guide examines ways of improving your organisation and thinking while taking down
information at speed. You are asked to take stock of why you may not be getting the
most out of lectures to encourage you to be a more reflective and interactive learner.
The guide looks at how you can prepare effectively before lectures and where you should
be looking for resources. Different ways of taking down information are explored so that
you can match methods to your personal learning style.
Learning Outcomes
. !se information more effectively to support the learning process
". #xamine mind maps which model information in the guide
$. %ecome more interactive during the process of taking down information during
lectures.
Contents
.& 'easons for getting the most out of lectures
".& (reparing for lectures
". (re)lecture preparation and organisation
"." *re you a +lecture sponge,-
".$ Making effective use of pre)lecture notes and downloads
$.& .ays of recording information during lectures
$. Deciding how to take down information in lectures
/.& .hat to do with the information after lectures
________________________________________________________________________
The material in this guide is copyright 0 "&&$ the !niversity of 1outhampton. (ermission is given for it to be
copied for use within the !niversity of 1outhampton. *ll other rights are reserved.


Skills
Getting the most from lectures
Getting the Most from Lectures Getting the Most from Lectures

There are many reasons why some of you do not get as much out of lectures as you
should. 2n many cases this is because you have not prepared sufficiently and you go into
a lecture expecting to get all the answers3 to get all the information needed to write an
assignment or to get information to pass examinations.
1.0 Reasons for Not Getting the Most out of Lectures
4ere are some of the reasons why you might not be making the most of lectures5
. Your expectations of the purpose of the lecture are inappropriate.
". You are unable to cope with the volume of information because it is all new to
you.
$. You 6uickly go into +information overload, and give up taking notes.
/. You do not recognise or understand some of the new terminology 7 this makes it
difficult to take down notes 6uickly enough because your thinking is slowed down
by this new terminology8 you are unsure of the spelling of new words and this
slows down your processing while taking notes8 or you cannot follow the gist of
the lecture and lose your way.
9. Lack of any grasp of a new sub:ect;topic reduces your ability to make decisions
about selecting relevant and important information for your notes.
<. The information seems very detailed and in great depth3 and you are unable to
listen for main points and subsidiary information or evidence.
=. You are distracted easily by other students who are talking or by rustling of paper.
>. The lecturer,s style may not match the way you take in information.
To some extent these problems can be solved by5
?larity of purpose @reasons to >A8
(re)lecture preparation @reasons to <A8
2mproved note)taking skills @reasons / to 9A8
2mproved listening skills @reasons / to <A8
Developing an active approach to learning @reasons to >A.
2
2.0 Preparing for Lectures
There are many sources of information which you can use to help you prepare effectively
to get the most out of your lectures.
2.1 Prelecture preparation
The mindmap below gives you suggestions for where to look5
2.2 !re "ou a #lecture sponge$%
$
* sponge learner is ready @or not so readyA to soa& up information
from tutors and lecturers. This sounds comfortable and relatively
relaxing3 but it is an ineffective way of learning. Did you know3 for
example3 that if you listen to someone @for example3 a lecturerA3 without
actively taking notes or participating in some other activity3 "ou 'ill (e
doing 'ell to remem(er 20) of 'hat$s (een said%
Pre-lecture
preparation
Course
Handbooks
Unit/session
ov erv iews will
inf orm y ou of
purpose
Sequence of
session titles
can help y ou to
'see' links
Try to get hold
of the indicitiv e
reading titles or
articles
ook f or new
key terminology
glossaries
!eb
inf ormation
"ownload
"epartmental
notes on an
intranet
#ead
activ ely
"ownload
$ower$oint slides to
use to aid note%
taking
"o an initial
search on the web
f or background/
basic inf ormation
if the sub&ect is
new to y ou
!hat do I need
to get out of the
lecture'
!hat do (
already
understand'
!hat do (
need to f ind
out'
!hat strategies
will ( use to take
down inf ormation'
Sub&ect
ibrarian


Skills
Getting the most from lectures
1pending time preparing for lectures is time well spent and will ensure that you learn
more when you go to the lecture and that your note)taking is more effective and
meaningful.
Your pre)preparation will pay off because you will be able to recognise and begin to
understand new terminology and ideas. This means that you know which key words to
listen out for. This will help you to focus "our listening s&ills so that you can take
better notes. You will3 therefore3 be able to listen for the clues which are in the lecture to
help you make sense of new information and concepts.
2.* Ma&ing effecti+e use of prelecture notes and do'nloads
2f you have collected or downloaded some unit notes beforehand5
You can go through them carefully and highlight with a coloured marker pen
important information.
You can also annotate those notes 7 make your own comments or 6uestions in the
margin
You can highlight key terminology @and put a definition of meaning alongside if
necessaryA.
You can scan them into your computer and customise the layout so that you can
make your own additional notes during the lecture alongside the lecturer,s notes.
@1ome students prefer to customise printed lecture notes by double spacing for
ease of access8 or make space for your own notes parallel to the lecturer,s notes.A
You can scan the notes into your computer and make up a mindmap if you prefer
to have ideas in this format.
*.0 ,a"s of Recording -nformation during Lectures
2t is very important for you to find the best way to record information from lectures.
Doing what you have always done may not be the best way to proceed especially if you
have been used to lecturers who dictate. This will not be the case at !niversity3 so take
this opportunity to re)assess your style of note taking.
*.1 Deciding ho' "ou 'ill ta&e do'n information in lectures
Tape recording lectures:
This suits some people,s learning style. 2f it is a +key, lecture3 tape recording might be
useful because you can do two things at once5 you have a record of the lecture if you
worry about memory over)load and keeping up with the pace of information8 you can use
it at a later date for revision purposes.
You can always record and take down notes as a back)up.
The main disadvantage with audio taping is the time factor involved if you want to
transcribe the lecture into your own notes.
Digital recorders can provide much better sound 6uality
2f you are planning to record a lecture make sure that your lecturer is happy about this
Which style of notes suits me?
There are many different ways of recording notes @see the Preparing Effectively for
Examinations Guide in particular 1ections 5. !ind !aps and 5." #ranch $otesA.
.hatever style you decide to use3 you must ensure that they make sense to you at a
later dateB You might like to look in more detail at the $ote%taking guide..
4
..0 ,hat to do 'ith the -nformation after Lectures
?heck out the information for this section in mind map format. 2f you find this easy to
read3 then probably you should be considering using mind mapping as a note taking tool.
2f you find it difficult3 then it is not for you.
Cor those who don,t like this format 7 how would you prefer to see this information. This
very often reflects your own learning style @see the &earning Styles Guide for further
detailsA.
9
After
Lectures
)iling and
organisation
#ev iew
"ecide upon a numbering
sy stem f or a series of lectures
in a unit % number y our lecture
notes accordingly *
+rganise y our f iles
% hav e a dif f erent
colour f or dif f erent
units
,ake sure that
handouts/web
downloads/y our
additional notes are all
together in one section*
-s soon af ter the lecture
as y ou can. go ov er y our
notes to make sure they
make sense*
The longer y ou leav e this. the less
likelihood there is of remembering
what was said
#ev iew y our
notes f or a unit
to try to spot
patterns and
make
connections*
"o a summary sheet of
bullet points to pick out
the main ideas in the
lecture and put this at the
f ront of the section


Skills
Getting the most from lectures
..1 O+er to "ou
Think about
6
. .hy you may not be getting the most out of
lectures
". 4ow you can prepare for lectures so that you
have a clearer focus and can listen more
effectively
$. 4ow to make best use of pre)lecture notes
and downloads
/. 4ow to take notes effectively during lectures
9. .ays of organising your notes after lectures.