Note Taking/Learning

kazmcdonald

Hi,

I'm interested to know how people are recapping on lectures. I have been out of school a good while and have just started Uni. My course has a lot of contact hours, we are week 6 now and I haven't quite found my way with learning the content.

When I was doing a level 5 I found that rewriting notes given by my tutor was a help but impossible now that I have 40 odd slides full of information a lecture. I feel that I am falling behind and will never catch up!

TIA

Maldesu

It's difficult to find the balance for yourself as each lecturer has a different style so you sometimes need to adapt. It will always take a few weeks to get into it. Don't worry about falling behind from everyone else, as you are all in the same boat - just because they are out of school, doesn't mean they can take notes, plenty can't. There is always one or two who always seem to fly it though.

Best tips I can give is print the slides out before hand if you can. Even better if you can read over it first. You don't need to understand what everything means, but its a matter of looking for key words that may be mentioned later on. EG, you might see a note in English about a 'Bildungsroman' which you can mentally check, so when the lecturer mentions it you'll be ready for the important info or to make a good note on it.
Another thing to note is names they throw out. Don't try write down the quote (as they are often on the slide anyway or paraphrased), but get the author's name and year. This will help you dig up the paper later if you want to expand on the knowledge.

Also, speak to your lecturers. You get the odd one that isn't particularly friendly, but many are and are open to working with you. Drop them a mail or visit during office hours.

Best of luck with it