A (very) Quick Guide on how to get the most from your Lectures and Tutorials
Here we have developed a quick guide to help you prepare for, and make the most of, your lectures, seminar and tutorials, covering what to do before, during and after your classes:
If you would prefer a more in-depth guide for this, please see our advanced guide to getting the most out of lectures and tutorials.
Before the class:
- Complete the required preparation work in plenty of time and make notes of any important information or questions you thought of asking.
- If you cannot complete these tasks in time, do some if possible and attend regardless.
- Bring a way to take notes
- this means having your laptop charged if you are taking them electronically, or a pen and paper for written notes (and as backup)
- Check you know where your class is held, how to get there and how long it will take for you to arrive.
- Aim to arrive 10-15 minutes early in case of delays and to set up your equipment, connect to the internet, and turn off notifications if you are using electronic devices to take notes.
- This will also help you grab a good seat to hear the speaker
- Make sure you are well-rested, hydrated and fuelled for the session
- a bad night’s sleep, dehydration, and hunger can negatively affect our ability concentrate and retain information.
During the class:
- Focus and listen to what the speaker is saying, take notes that summarise or paraphrase key ideas and information
- Ask questions and contribute to the discussion (when appropriate) to clarify your understanding and develop your critical reasoning skills
- Identify and remove distractions ahead of time:
- Put away your phone. If you need it for notetaking, change your notification settings to silent.
- Avoid having private conversations with others that are not part of the class.
- turn off email notifications and only have the tabs open needed for the session.
- If others around you are distracting you consider changing seats, or sitting closer to the lecturer.
- If others are causing large distractions, speak to your lecturer!
After the class:
- Review your notes – the sooner the better!
- Spending time consolidating your notes, reworking your ideas and what you believe to be the main takeaways from the session is an effective tool to consolidate what you have learned.
- Most lectures are recorded and reviewing them again can help you pick up information that you missed the first time
- Discuss your lectures and tutorials with friends and colleagues who also attended.
- Talking through your ideas will help you communicate your points more effectively in the future and develop your understanding.
- Use office hours if you feel unsure.
- Your tutors will set office hours to help students with their queries about the course and its content.
This very quick guide is aimed at giving you an overview of to get the most from your lectures, seminars and tutorials. We will go into more specific detail on each of these aspects, as well as techniques specific to lectures, seminars and tutorials in our advanced guide.
