braintreebrat's blog

getting back in the classroom: helpful tips

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So, it’s time to go back to school!

Yikes!!!

Strange subjects, new classrooms, intimidating instructors…. It’s a jungle out there! But with a few tips, your next classroom experience may not be as overwhelming as you expect! Let me break it down into some simple manageable tips for you, and you can become an old pro at dealing with the classroom environment. Today’s tips will be: where to sit, how to use a syllabus, and the dreaded note-taking!

1. Where should I sit?

This is the first decision you’ll have to make, and it’s not as hard as it seems. First, try and sit near the front of the class. This does a lot things…. It lets the instructor know that you are a serious student who is eager to learn and grapple with the material, plus it aids in your focus. You can hear better, like when the lawn guys are mowing the grass or the air conditioner gets a little loud. Plus you won’t be distracted by the student in front of you who’s nodding off or chatting with his/her buddy in the next seat.

Next decision is more subtle, but actually pretty important. Sit on the left side of the class. This will be extremely important later, when the instructor starts writing notes on the board. The instructor will write on the board from left to right. If you sit on the left, you can start copying the info from the board before the instructor is finished and starts to lecture on the material. If you sit on the right, you will have to wait until the instructor moves away from the board and starts talking before you can see the notes. You will be trying to copy, listen, and takes notes on the lecture all at the same time - and that’s HUGELY frustrating!

2. What the heck is a syllabus?

Your instructor will most likely hand out a syllabus on the first day. DO NOT LOOSE THIS! ALSO, DO NOT READ IT IN CLASS! Take it home, and make sure you save it, read it, and understand it. A syllabus is the ’RULES’ for this class. It will tell you what to study, and how much of your grade will depend on homework, projects and papers, and tests. It will be a blueprint for what you should study, and allow you to focus on study activities that will maximize your success.

3. I hate taking notes!

Here are proven strategies that will make taking notes a lot more productive for you.

A) REMEMBER, NOTES ARE JUST THAT - YOU ARE NOT EXPECTED TO MAKE SENSE OF THEM RIGHT AWAY! Your learning and grasp of the material will occur as you read your homework and re-write your notes using the text and classroom notes together. The re-written notes will be the source of your pre-test review.

B) TAKE NOTES IN PEN!!  Throw away the pencils, guys.. every pencil you own! It is well documented that TAKING NOTES IN PENCIL WILL SLOW YOU DOWN! Graphite must be              d-r-a-g-g-e-d off the pencil, while ink ~flows~ from a pen. When you take notes in pencil, you are tempted to go back and erase then re-write if something is spelled wrong or there is an error. TIME WASTED!  With a pen, simply cross through it and re-enter the correct info. My preferred pen is the Pentel Zebra. Can’t live without it!

C) USE A FLIP-TYPE NOTEPAD, AND ONLY USE THE FRONT SIDE. Flip type notebooks have the spiral at the top, like large stenographer notebooks, and stenographers value speed! They are narrower than side spirals, and easier to get into and out of book bags. They are more like regular paper and have a larger writing surface since you don’t have to deal with spirals at the edges. When you get to the end of a page, just flip the paper up and start scribbling again - no need to tuck the page under, just keep going with the notes. Side-spiral notepaper has two drawbacks - if you leave it all the way open it takes up a lot of desk space that may not be available, and if you use it so just one page is showing you have to lift up the notebook and flip the page under to get to the next page.

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There you have it - some strategies for getting started on a successful school year! Wishing all you students well, and hope this gives you a little help to get you on the right track!

And if you get through all this material, CLICK ON THE PIC! 

*smile*