Keeping up with lectures is extremely important for study success. Your lectures might be face to face, online, or both, but whatever the format you need to make sure you turn-up, tune-in and engage with the material. You can do that by listening actively and taking reflective notes, and by asking questions and participating in activities whether you’re in a classroom together with other students or in an online forum.
Decide whether each lecture-related activity is likely to help with your study by clicking or tapping on the YES or NO button.
Q1. Print off your lecture notes if they are available on LMS and bring them to the lecture so you can annotate them.Incorrect; most lecturers encourage students to ask questions. It shows you're interested and can help other students too. Be careful not to dominate though!
Incorrect; it is really helpful to do this after each lecture so that you can then follow up these questions.
The following video explains the Cornell Note Taking method
Many subjects at university have tutorials, and attendance at these is often compulsory. However, simply attending a tutorial does not ensure that you will maximize your learning opportunities. There are a number of tutorial related activities that can help you really engage with the subject material.
Use these same skills in workshops or seminars that your subject may have instead of tutorials. All of these types of sessions need you to be actively involved to learn.
Whatever you say during a tutorial discussion is valuable. Everyone’s opinion will be respected. If you are an international student, your experience of other cultures and viewpoints will often be very interesting to the group.
Some things to try during tutorials:
The University of New South Wales has a good page on discussion skills, but there are also many resources to help you with tutorial discussions available on line:
Question | APPROPRIATE | NOT APPROPRIATE | |
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'You're totally missing the point'. This is considered a direct and abrasive approach in Australian English. |
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2. |
'That's one way of looking at it, but from my reading it seems that...'. Notice how the objection is 'softened' by first acknowledging the previous speaker's contribution. Then the speaker's own view is expressed tentatively (seems). |
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3. |
'I can see why you would say that, but from my understanding...', Here the previous speaker is acknowledged. Then the speaker takes responsibility for his/her own interpretation. |
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4. |
'Actually, I'm not sure about that...'. In this question, the speaker expresses doubt in his/her own understanding, deflecting from open criticism. |
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5. |
'That's all very well, but the reality is.....' 'That's all very well' generally preempts a direct objection. The reference to 'reality' suggests that the previous speaker misunderstands the context. |
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6. |
'No, you are quite wrong about that...' This is very direct and accuses the previous speaker of ignorance. |
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7. |
'I'm sorry to contradict you, but I think .....' This response is softened with an apology about contradicting. Then the speaker say he/she 'thinks' (not 'knows') which is softening. |
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8. |
'I think your answer is ridiculous...'. This is very insulting. |
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9. |
'As I understand it, the reading implies that...'. The speaker frames his/her own understanding as personal and possibly incorrect, opening this interpretation to possible critique. |
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10. |
'You may not agree with me, but shouldn't we be thinking more about...'. The speaker acknowledges differences in opinion by pre-empting any objections, then tries to lead the discussion in a new direction. |
A Quescussion is a discussion where participants can only use questions - no statements!
Laboratory classes give you an opportunity to get hands-on practice with techniques and ideas related to your subject. For most of your lab classes, you will learn much more effectively if you are prepared for the class.
The aims of laboratory classes are to:
Adapted from http://citl.illinois.edu/teaching-resources/teaching-in-specific-contexts/laboratory-classes]
So laboratory classes are NOT an opportunity to read the newspaper or send messages on your phone! They are an important part of your learning.
Taking note of what you did, what you found and what your findings mean is essential in a laboratory class. These notes will be needed to prepare your Laboratory Report.
The University of New South Wales provides some excellent guidance on writing lab reports:
There is also a section on scientific writing in the Achieve@Uni Writing Module.
Which of the following activities should you do to prepare for a lab class?
Q1. Read the lab manual or lab notes for the class and try to understand what you'll be doingIncorrect; thinking about how the lab activity relates to the theory is good preparation for a lab class.
No, it is not necessary to find journal articles on similar experiments.
The following video provides more information about note taking at university.