so one thing that totally stressed me out in first year of uni was the emphasis on auditory learning! personally, iāve never been able to learn when iām just being talked at or told information, my brain just doesnāt work that way.Ā
if youāre like me, hereās some of my top tips on how to get the most out of lectures when you suck at listening:
preparation is key when you know you wonāt be concentrating for the full duration of your lecture. the night before a lecture, your priorities should be to print off your lecture slides, read over them and look over the extra readings (if any have been set). i always find that itās easier to listen and iām more likely to pay attention in a lecture when i know the basics of whatās being talked about! itās a lot easier to learn and pay attention when what youāre being told about is building on some basic knowledge that you already have. if iām going into a lecture completely blind, then iām going to get distracted in the first ten minutes and the rest of the lecture is a write off!
prepare, prepare, prepare!!!
02. sit where you lecturer can see you
if you sit in teacherās line of sight, youāre going to be 100% more aware of what youāre doing and how youāre acting in your lecture. being conscious of what youāre doing is really helpful in stopping yourself becoming distracted and letting your mind wander! if i make eye contact with my teacher and iām not totally concentrating, itās zones me back in and i can continue trying to listen
03. take audio recordings of lectures
even if your university provides recordings for you, having personal audio copies of your lectures will be a life saver.Ā recordings give you something to constantly refer back to when you have gaps in your notes and knowledge because you couldnāt pay attention in lectures. listening back to them can also reassure you when you wereĀ listening but werenāt sure if you understood the concept at the time!Ā i use a combination of voice memos on the iphone and audio recorder on microsoft onenote, depending on whether i have my phone or laptop with me
having to stay focused on one person talking for hours at a time can be really draining and exhausting when thatās not what your brain likes. being dehydrated can also make you tired and irritable too! if you can tackle one source of your tiredness then youāre going to feel invigorated and ready to learn, so drink lots and lots of water! a bottle of water will stop you feeling sluggish and boost your productivity during lectures
05. invest in textbooks and key texts
i mentioned before how preparation is key, but continuing your learning after your lecture ends is just as important! in my first year, i made the bad mistake of getting angry that i struggled learning content during a lecture so i just left the lecture and didnāt go back to it again. i now know that itās so important for me to access the courseās key books and texts and use them afterĀ the lecture to consolidate what i heard and to expand on some points i was struggling to understand during the allotted lecture time! textbooks have completely saved me ass this year
06. reflect when youāre distracted
if you find yourself becoming distracted or you can feel your mind beginning to wander, take a second to stop and ask yourself why youāre getting distracted and why youāre not learning. most of the time, the problem is going to be something small that can be fixed there and then. if youāre struggling because youāre hungry, have a snack! if youāre struggling because youāre thirsty, have a drink! if youāre struggling because youāre uncomfortable, stretch your legs and your arms and try again!
obviously all of these tips are personal to me and things i find helpful so they might not work for everyone, but i still hope iāve helped at least one of you non-auditory learners out here!Ā
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