Lecture-Style Classes - Freshman

[Anonymous]

University learning resources offices often offer study skills workshops that can help with the skills specific to college-level classes. Peer tutors with subject-specific experience offer tutoring specifically for this kind of situation. You don't need an official accommodation to use this kind of service; they're for everybody. Colleges expect freshmen will have various issues getting up to speed with this kind of skill, but DC will have to self-advocate and ask where to get that help. (Info might have been in orientation materials, but those are always overwhelming.) They might also ask their RA where to go for help.

[Anonymous]

Does the prof share slides? If they share them before the lecture, your kid can take notes on them with an app or PDF editor or powerpoint slide notes.

If they share slides after, they can use them to study at least.

I'm a prof and share the lecture at the start of class. There would be time for anyone to download and take notes along with it.

[Anonymous]

Pledge a fraternity. They'll have notes and tests from previous semesters.

[Anonymous]

Stop taking notes in class!


Read before class.
Read again and take notes, before class. Do practice problems for STEM, and practice written or spoken reactions in humanities.
Pay attention in class, ask questions about hard parts of reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He can record the lectures himself. PP mentioned Coconote, but even Word has a built-in feature now.

He may want to ensure this is permitted first. There are laws and university rules about this that are worth consulting. This feels like an area where you could quickly spiral into trouble that I may be easily enough avoided.

What absolutely insane college is like this?

20 years ago my college provided lecture recordings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a Freshman in College struggling to keep up with big lecture classes.

He's trying to take notes but can't keep up and he's not retaining much information on his own as he commonly does in regular classes.
He recently had a quiz and the notes he used didn't help him to study.

I remember using a recorder machine back in my days, is that a thing nowadays?

What has your student used to keep up with these lecture hall classes?

Why is he studying from the notes? Is he using the textbook? As a student I would only go over notes at the end, in case the professor mentioned something not in the textbook. But most of what is on the test should be in the books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the first thing he should do is visit the professor during office hours.

They can talk about what the test was on vs. what was in his notes. He could express his difficulty in taking notes during lectures and ask permission to record them.

He could also ask how he could prepare for the next test.

I think it takes a while to adjust, but he'll get there. I agree that he should sit closer toward the front.

Agree with this, talk to the professor during office hours. Take the previous quiz and have him ask what he did wrong and how to improve. Go each time before a quiz or test. Also, have him set up a study group to prepare for the quizzes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He can record the lectures himself. PP mentioned Coconote, but even Word has a built-in feature now.

He may want to ensure this is permitted first. There are laws and university rules about this that are worth consulting. This feels like an area where you could quickly spiral into trouble that I may be easily enough avoided.

Yes, and some professors are real a-holes about it. DS has accommodations due to dyslexia. He's allowed to record lectures but he's still encountered a few professors who give him crap over it and try to claim the material is proprietary. DS gets his advocate in Disability Services involved, the professor gets a lecture, and DS can record with the guarantee that he won't disseminate the recordings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What were his high school classes like? Lecture is the most common style of teaching across the board

This. How did he get through HS without good note taking skills?

[Anonymous]

Professor here. Have noticed that in the age of PowerPoint many students entering college no longer have experience taking lecture notes. It's a good skill to develop and there is lots of hard evidence that the mere act of taking notes helps one process and retain information. Some googling will reveal good tips on how to take good notes.

Also, taking notes helps keep one engaged during the lecture.

As mentioned in other posts, it does help to do readings before class. This makes it easier to take notes b/c you are already somewhat familiar with concepts and jargon. Also, I have had students who tried to write everything down and they were successful in the course. Others took few if any notes and were also successful. One size does not fit all!

Whether students can just rely on the textbook/readings, really depends on the course and professor. Not all professors slavishly follow a textbook!

Back in Covid days when all lectures were recorded, I would go back and see how many students had watched lecture recordings. I noticed that not many students did and that there was a lot of "binge-watching" the night before a test. Better to take notes in class than to rely on recordings if at all possible!

[Anonymous]

What did your kid do in HS to prepare for tests? Didn’t he take notes in class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What were his high school classes like? Lecture is the most common style of teaching across the board

This. How did he get through HS without good note taking skills?

They do not take notes in HS any more. Private schools still teach it in Middle and it is necessary in HS if you want to do well. Many public schools do not teach or require or even encourage note taking. Tests are rote regurgitation of study guides that the teacher makes for them. It is a very different world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Professor here. Have noticed that in the age of PowerPoint many students entering college no longer have experience taking lecture notes. It's a good skill to develop and there is lots of hard evidence that the mere act of taking notes helps one process and retain information. Some googling will reveal good tips on how to take good notes.

Also, taking notes helps keep one engaged during the lecture.

As mentioned in other posts, it does help to do readings before class. This makes it easier to take notes b/c you are already somewhat familiar with concepts and jargon. Also, I have had students who tried to write everything down and they were successful in the course. Others took few if any notes and were also successful. One size does not fit all!

Whether students can just rely on the textbook/readings, really depends on the course and professor. Not all professors slavishly follow a textbook!

Back in Covid days when all lectures were recorded, I would go back and see how many students had watched lecture recordings. I noticed that not many students did and that there was a lot of "binge-watching" the night before a test. Better to take notes in class than to rely on recordings if at all possible!

100% agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What were his high school classes like? Lecture is the most common style of teaching across the board

This. How did he get through HS without good note taking skills?

They do not take notes in HS any more. Private schools still teach it in Middle and it is necessary in HS if you want to do well. Many public schools do not teach or require or even encourage note taking. Tests are rote regurgitation of study guides that the teacher makes for them. It is a very different world.

Really? That's awful. Why are they sending students to college who aren't prepared for college? My DS was taught to take notes in two different methods by the end of 9th grade. He was required to take handwritten notes. He got grades for his notes. He would have to write recall questions for homework following the lecture.

OP- He should go to the study or tutoring center to see if they offer study classes. He should also go to office hours to get tips for how to study more effectively. I was never really taught a method for note taking but I found what worked through trial and error.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Freshman in College struggling to keep up with big lecture classes.

He's trying to take notes but can't keep up and he's not retaining much information on his own as he commonly does in regular classes.
He recently had a quiz and the notes he used didn't help him to study.

I remember using a recorder machine back in my days, is that a thing nowadays?

What has your student used to keep up with these lecture hall classes?

Why is he studying from the notes? Is he using the textbook? As a student I would only go over notes at the end, in case the professor mentioned something not in the textbook. But most of what is on the test should be in the books.

NP. Just because it *should* be mostly from the book doesn't it mean it *is*. My daughter has a professor who tests them entirely on his lectures. They have to take fastidious notes because anything he says might be on the test. And he often goes off on long, rambling tangents, so they never know what is important and what isn't. Professors like that make it impossible to study effectively.