On many courses you will be required to attend both lectures and seminars. Some courses that are run specifically for adults, however, will consist of much smaller groups and all classes will be taught following the ‘seminar-style’ format. This involves small groups of students and tutors getting together to discuss topics on the course. This chapter gives advice on getting the most out of seminars and from the more formal lectures experienced on most undergraduate courses.

PREPARING FOR LECTURES AND SEMINARS

It is important to prepare for lectures and seminars – it will help you to focus your mind and prepare yourself to receive information. Through careful preparation you can clear your mind and concentrate fully on the topic. You will also find that you are able to realise and build upon your existing knowledge of the subject. This will help you to retain the information more easily, especially when you begin to revise for examinations.

There are four main stages to the preparation process which should be carried out before your lecture or seminar:

• 1)Review your notes from previous lectures and/or seminars. Read through your notes and try to recall the main points.
• 2)Read more about the topic. This will help you to understand better the material covered and will help you to retain the information because it has more meaning.
• 3)Begin to form questions about the topic. Is there anything you don’t understand? Is there anything that requires clarification? What do you want to know?
• 4)Predict what you think will be included in the lecture or seminar, based on your background reading and knowledge of the subject. What do you expect to be covered? What will be the main points?

Turn up early for your lecture or seminar so that you can choose a seat and location in which you are comfortable. This will help you to focus your mind on the topic.

IMPROVING LISTENING SKILLS

If you listen carefully you can learn more effectively and save yourself extra study time. Listening also enables you to find out what your tutor expects from you on the course. If you listen well you can pick up any clues that your tutor is offering about material to be included in assignments and examinations.

To improve your ability to listen well you need to do your preparation before the lecture and/or seminar. Through careful preparation the material will become more familiar and meaningful and listening will become easier. How often do you find yourself ‘switching off when listening to something that is complex and meaningless? If you have thought about what is to be included in the lecture, you will find it easier to concentrate.

Once in the lecture or seminar, the following points should help your listening to become more effective:

• Listen for the main points. Most good tutors will introduce their lecture with these main points and then summarise them in their conclusion.
• Listen willingly. Enjoy the lecture, note all the interesting points that are being made and try not to become distracted.
• Listen for clues about material to include in examinations and assignments. This will make your listening more active – you have a purpose for listening carefully and picking up on salient points. These clues may be given through what the tutor says and how they say it – their intonations, repetition, facial and hand gestures and volume and pitch of voice.
• When there is a pause in the main lecture, summarise what you have taken in so far.
• Try to hear what is being said, not what you want (or expect) to hear.

More tips on improving your listening skills can be found in Chapter 8.

IMPROVING AND MAINTAINING CONCENTRAION

As we have seen above, active listening helps you to maintain concentration. However, there are other things that you can do to help improve and maintain your concentration during lectures and seminars:

• Try to maintain the right frame of mind for study. Leave family problems or concerns at home if at all possible.
• Be aware of when your mind wanders to something other than the lecture. Pull your mind back to the subject.
• Don’t just listen to what is being said, but try to understand it – form your own opinions or develop questions to aid your understanding. This will lead to deeper concentration.
• Avoid distractions – try to sit in a place that has the least distractions. In a lecture theatre this tends to be towards the front, in the middle.
• It is much harder to concentrate when you feel tired or under the weather. Try to remain fit and healthy and make sure that you get plenty of sleep.

TAKING NOTES EFFECTIVELY

It is impossible to remember everything that is said in a lecture or seminar, so you need to take notes to aid your memory. However, notes are effective only if you can understand them at a later date. To make sure that this is the case you need to think about your preparation, how you take notes, how you intend to organise your notes and your revision methods.

Preparation

Find out which style of notebook you prefer. Some students prefer the small shorthand notebook style, whereas others prefer A4 notebooks. Try out different types of pen or pencil – which type helps you to write quickly and comfortably?

Try to develop a shorthand style that you will remember – you might find it useful to produce a ‘shorthand glossary’ before you attend lectures. With practice you will find that this shorthand style becomes second nature. Don’t change your shorthand style mid–way through the semester, however, as this will be confusing.

Prepare for the lecture. If you are aware of the topic and have read about the issues, you will find it easier to take notes.

Note–taking

During the lecture don’t try to write down everything you hear. Instead, listen for the main points and make sure that these are included in your notes. Most people have to stop listening to write, so be selective about when you decide to write so that you don’t miss any salient points.

Leave wide margins on either side of your notes. You can add extra information if the tutor returns to a previous point. You can also add extra information in the margins when you review your notes after the lecture. Use question marks to query any information of which you are unsure and to which you may need to return at a later date.

Visual aids are used to emphasise a point. Analyse carefully what you are being shown and take relevant notes, leaving gaps between them that you can fill in later. If you are listening actively you will find that questions are forming in your mind. You can jot these down and ask the tutor at the end of the lecture or search for the information yourself.

In maths and science subjects you might need to write down everything the lecturer writes on the board verbatim, as every symbol means something specific. Use diagrams to aid your understanding.

Be open-minded about any points on which you disagree – jot down a few notes to which you can return later, but do not become too distracted by your disagreement.

Organisation

Keep your notes well organised. When you attend a lecture or seminar write the subject, date and topic to be discussed at the top of the page and make sure that you begin each lecture with a new page.

After a lecture you may find that some notes need to be reorganised or rewritten if they are muddled. Summarise the main points of the lecture and include these with your lecture notes. File your notes and summaries with topics that cover the same or related areas. Have one file for each subject.

Revision

After each lecture or seminar it is important to review and organise your notes as this helps you to retain information. Also, if your notes are carefully organised you will find it easier to obtain material for assignments and to revise for examinations. It is best to do this as soon as possible after the lecture – the information will be fresh in your mind and you will be able to add additional information to your notes.

Once your lecture or seminar has finished, ask yourself the following questions:

• 1)What were the main points and/or argument?
• 2)What have I learned so far?
• 3)How does this relate to other lectures?
• 4)How does this relate to information I already know?
• 5)Are there any points about which I am unclear? If so, what am I going to do to clarify the point?

A useful tip is to talk to other students about the lecture. Go over the main points together and discuss any issues about which you are unsure. Or you could try to summarise the information as if you were going to explain the content of the lecture to someone who did not attend. Use the information you have learned – repeat it to others if possible and think about what you have learned when covering related subjects. All these things will help you to retain the information.

As you read through your notes, highlight any important information within the text. This will make it easier to skim–read at a later date. You may find it useful to repeat any important facts and figures in a summary at the end of your notes.

ASKING QUESTIONS

As you listen to your tutor, questions will begin to form in your mind. Write down these questions as you take notes so that you can remember them at a later date. Most tutors will let you know at the beginning of the course their stance on questions. Some tutors do not like to be interrupted during a lecture and ask that you reserve questions for the end of the session. Others are happy to take questions throughout the lecture, especially if they are from students who are listening actively.

In seminars you will be encouraged to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to do so, however ‘silly’ you feel the questions might be – most tutors will be relieved that a student has asked anything at all. The aim of most seminars is to generate a free–flowing discussion in which all students can express their opinions and address any issues of which they are unsure.