Br. Mahyuddin Daud (Sem 3 2012/2013) Making the most out of lectures Academic Legal Skills Making the most out of lectures

Lectures Lectures involve the unidirectional communication of information from lecturer to students Involve circulation of a handout with the key points noted upon it or display of such points using PowerPoint May involve minimal risk that participation from the students will be required Research suggests that normal person can give full concentration for the first 20 minutes of a lecture

3-stage learning process Good student practices this habit: At the lecture After the lecture Before the next lecture

At the lecture Listen, think and note what seems to be the main points made by the lecturer Check the handout and supplement this with your own notes rather than rewriting what is provided Highlight anything that the lecturer identifies as a particularly important point.

After the lecture Read through your notes to ensure that they make sense and complete Make list of key cases you need to read Note anything that puzzles you as an issue to follow-up in your own reading (private study)

Before the next lecture Find the relevant chapter in your textbook that covers the material covered in the previous lecture to supplement your notes Read cases and articles to gain more and deeper understanding Glance over the subject matter of the next lecture to think about how it links to the material you read before.

Purposes of lecture Outline basic aspects of a topic to provide students with a foundation of knowledge To cover an aspect of the topic in an engaging manner to encourage students to carry out thorough reading on the topic

To explain complex concepts that the students encountered in their private readings

Since lecture alone is not enough, so what should students do? Students must supplement the information communicated in the lecture with their own reading. No lecturer will give you complete information Don’t ever think that your lecture notes as all you need to know about a topic.

Note-taking Reading and taking notes is a significant part of studying the law To prepare for lectures, seminars, tutorials A great deal of time will be spent in making notes

Why are you taking notes You should consider the purpose of note taking What is it that you are trying to achieve Most of the time, students tend to write everything and ended up writing the whole chapter No focus – notes should be concise and precise and fit the purpose it is written

Recording information Linear notes Traditional approach to note-taking Uses blocks of text, separated by headings or bullet points Key points emphasized by highlighting or underlining Weakness : students tend to capture every word in lectures and copy out large chunks from written sources

Flow diagram Seeks to include an indication of the relationship that different points have to each other. Easier to do when all the information are available in front of you Suitable to be done if refer to textbook

Mind maps Also called concept maps and spider diagrams Ways of recording not just the key words, ideas, and concepts but also the links between them Many students report that it is easier to recall information on mind maps May use different colours / shapes to highlight different points Up to your creativity

Students should reconsider recording due to several factors Some points discussed in lectures are not particularly useful Lecturer repeats the same points to make students understand. Notes may be too lengthy with repetition Anyway, its your own choice and preference