A great deal of learning can happen during the lecture hour. BUT we’ve all had the experience where we’re sitting in class and it feels like the professor is talking a foreign language. Nothing makes sense. And you feel so lost.  You can change that experience by predicting what the next lecture will be about. This prepares your mind for the new information. That way when you walk into the lecture and hear your professor using all these new words about new concepts, you won’t feel so lost. Your mind needs previous information for new information to hang on. If you have already done preliminary introductions then your mind is ready to begin learning the new concepts that the professor is presenting during the lecture. More learning will happen in your mind during the lecture if you prepare ahead of time.

If you want to increase your learning power during lecture, do these four things before you go to class. 

1. Your syllabus.   Look for the syllabus on the class website. Your professor has planned what will be included in each lecture for each week of the semester. This is called the class lecture schedule (or something close to that).  The class lecture schedule might be included on the syllabus or on a separate document on the class website. By looking at the title of the lecture ahead of time you are sending a preview to your mind. 
2. Notes from the last lecture. Your prof might conclude the lecture by saying something like “Next time we will…” or “We’ll pick up here next time…” Your prof will build on previous lectures so reading the notes from the last lecture just makes sense. It helps you remember what was said and how the new lecture fits with the previous lectures. 
3. Assigned readings.  Give the assigned readings a general overview sweep before class.  For example. Read bold titles, bold vocabulary words, captions under pictures or diagrams. Read the table of contents for the assigned chapter. Read the chapter summary or key points. 
4. Power point slides. Your professor might post power point slides or lecture notes on the class website.  Read main concepts from the slides before the lecture.

Now , you’re ready for the lecture. Your mind is warmed up and ready to work out. But what about printing power point slides? 

What you do before you go to lecture can make a huge difference.

To print or not to print?

Print the power point slides up and keep them in a notebook for the entire semester. You might discover that there are 75 slides for one lecture. This number might overwhelm you. But push through. Power point slides can be so useful. When you print them up select 2 or 4 per page. Just make sure they are legible. Go ahead and invest in the cost of printing up your slides. It is part of the cost of education. A paper copy of your professor’s slides will make the information tactile.   You write your notes directly on each slide.

On the other hand if you choose not to print them up, then save them in a file on your laptop. That way you are not dependent on internet service. You can take notes on the online version of your power point slides just like on the paper copy.

There are several draw-backs of the online version. Your prof may or may not allow the use of a laptop in class. Another draw-back is that you will be on your laptop and the temptation to shop, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit is real. So if you struggle with the online Temptress, select Airplane mode and get OFF LINE. There are other apps that can help you control the allure of the world wide web. Use them. The last draw-back, I see with using your power point slide on your laptop is the tendency to take notes verbatim. It is easy to type every word the professor says. But that is not taking notes. I’ll talk more about note-taking in the next post.  Either way, if you choose to print your power points or choose to use them on your laptop, read through the main concepts before your go to class.

To Read or not to Read?

You might have 20-50 pages of assigned readings per class each week. Multiply that by 4 or 5 classes and you have to read a whole bunch of pages each week. You need to develop a time management plan to get all those readings done. Not all books have  an easy to use formatting. Types of readings will vary. because each reading has a different purpose and audience and author.  So you will need to develop a reading strategy to match the type of reading you have.