Preview
It is important to find time to do a little previewing before each lecture. In the long run, this will save you time, and help you to become a more efficient learner.
Previewing will enable you to listen actively in the lecture, stay focused, and get the most from that time. For the prepared student, the lecture then becomes a review, not a first exposure to the content, and you are more likely to understand and retain the lecture material.
Here are a few simple steps you could follow:
- Allocate some time on the day before each lecture. Ideally, this will be half the length of the lecture, but as little as 10 minutes is helpful.
- Do not worry too much about understanding. At this point you are not trying to master the material. You are simply trying to gain basic familiarity with the topic.
- Skim through the handout/chapter – look at headings, key words (often in bold or italics). Glance at the diagrams.
- List all key terms as you skim, including both old and new ones.
- Activate prior knowledge. Are there any terms on your list that you know from other contexts, such as previous lectures? Do you remember them? Can you define them precisely? Are you able to teach the meanings of these words to a friend or relative?
- Guess the meaning of each new term. Does the word itself suggest its meaning?
- Think of some questions that you hope will be answered in the lecture.
Now try to follow these steps with this handout. Spend about 15 minutes.
How many words did you list? (We found about 30.)
Were any of the words familiar to you? Were you able to define them?
Check your definitions in a dictionary or textbook. How accurate were you?
