Preparing Content For Class
In one of my first posts as a studyblr, I uploaded a photo of my Biology workbook filled with notes before the class started.
This study technique is something I’ve started doing only about two months ago actually, but I’ve found that it really helps to maximise my learning as well as class time.
So what does it actually involve?
I’m fortunate enough to have a workbook printed by my teacher, but it only happens in Biology - and I assume most people don’t get pre-made books for their subjects.
I’ll explain what I do for Biology though - in case anyone has workbooks for their studies.
In Biology, this book is all we use; we work off this book every single lesson. In the book, there are notes for every topic in Unit 4 that we are going to cover over the next semester. Most of the pages have blank spaces in the notes so we are actively listening in class and filling in them as we go (that was our teacher’s intention anyway). There are also diagrams and pictures in the book, sometimes there’s an empty box and that’s where we do our own drawings of diagrams. There’s also a substantial amount of blank space (in the margin, etc.) to write extra notes.
While we have a textbook, that is for extra reference, and that goes along with all the supplementary materials we get.
So this is what I do before class:
Usually the night before, I’ll find the PowerPoint my teacher uploaded. I’ll go through the slides that we’re most likely to need for the next class (usually the next 2-3 pages in the book). This is just a plain copying of notes, no other annotations or anything.
After that, I read over what I had just copied, and look for things I don’t really understand. I also think about what I want to know, in order to further my knowledge on this topic (What am I curious about?)
Then, I write my questions on sticky notes. I like the rectangular ones (about 3x4cm), they’re perfect! The square ones are way too big and cover some of the notes on the page, and the tabs are too small.
That’s all I do to prepare for my next Biology class. It takes about 30 minutes or sometimes even more, but at the end of the day it’s worth it! I’ll tell you why later in this post.
As I said before, I don’t think many students get workbooks for their courses, but here are some tips about preparing for class that I believe you may still find useful, for different teaching styles:
Most of the time when you’re in a class, you’ll be able to tell how quickly your teacher goes through content, and hopefully you can somewhat predict how much further you’ll be going in the next class.
Textbook: Read through it before the next class, even if it’s just a quick 5-10 minute flipthrough. At least when you go into class you’ve heard the terms before (even though you may not know what they mean).
Powerpoint: If your teacher uses powerpoints to teach, make use of them! Even if they put very little on the slides, look at the diagrams or pictures, read what they’ve put on there - it’s better than nothing :)
If your teacher doesn’t give you any material until class starts: I think you’ll probably know what the topic you’re learning is (course outline, followup from previous topic). Search the topic up on Google (I’m sure there’ll be HEAPS on any topic, because Google literally has the answers to the universe - although not really, because sometimes I get no answers). Look at the terms that are used in the topic, what it involves (eg processes in Science, formulae in Maths, events and people in the Humanities), and maybe even watch a video or two on it. Going into class with a little bit of knowledge is better than nothing at all.
If you don’t have access to the course outline, just ask your teacher what you’ll be learning over the next few weeks or over the term! They’ll be more than pleased to see your enthusiasm for the subject and how you’re interested in your learning.
Benefits of preparing content before class
You already have a head start on everyone else in your class (unless they all do this!)
You’ve read about it all before, so you won’t be overwhelmed with new information when it gets taught in class.
Class will just be a review of information for you! More review means more reinforcement of knowledge and better understanding.
You don’t have to spend your time writing heaps and heaps of notes in class so you’ll be able to really concentrate on what your teacher is saying. You’ll be able to pick up on the little things they say in the teaching that aren’t in the material they give you, so you’ll be able to enrich your learning!
Class time will be for you to ask questions to CLARIFY your understanding of the content. I honestly think that this is probably the biggest benefit of knowing your stuff before class. When I used to just walk into class to learn new content, I’d have no questions as I was just trying to understand the basics. When I got it, I thought I was fine. But then when the exam came around and I was revising, I had a heap of questions to ask, but really, I should’ve clarified this ages before the week before the exam! Nowadays, I’m able to fully grasp concepts much earlier before the exam as I ask clarifying questions in class. Leading up to the exam, I’ll have more sophisticated questions to ask, but at least I’m not panicking as much since it’ll mostly be things I don’t necessarily need to know for the exam.
I found this to be a great change to my study plan - it’s really helped me to understand concepts better in class, and to really make use of my class time.
I hope this helps you, even just a little bit! Tell me how you go, and ask any questions anytime :)
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