Making the Most of Lectures and Seminars: Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something!

Task 1: How did I learn that? Think of something you can do competently/well & write it down (eg: driving) How did you become competent at it?

Typical Replies Practice (ie repetition) Trial and Error Having a go Experimenting

MARTON F and SÄLJÖ (1976) "On Qualitative Differences in Learning — 1: Outcome and Process" Brit. J. Educ. Psych. 46, 4-11 MARTON F and SÄLJÖ (1976) "On Qualitative Differences in Learning — 2: Outcome as a function of the learner's conception of the task" Brit. J. Educ. Psych. 46, Deep vs Surface Learning

Findings.. Students who adapt ‘deep’ approaches to learning were more likely to pass exams and do well than those who adopted surface approaches. SURFACE APPRROACHES ARE DISASTROUS!

APPROACHES TO LEARNING Surface Approach Instrumental approach to learning Expect to be given information Information is simply memorised for reproduction – no reflection on what is studied An uphill struggle: fighting boredom/pressure Deep Approach Learning is important in itself Active in the learning process Understanding information – eg relates theoretical ideas to everyday experience Highly interested in course content –Adapted from Atherton (2002)

The Moral of the Story.. Draw some conclusions from the above research and finish this phrase: ‘Effective learners…’.

Effective Learners… AIM FOR UNDERSTANDING RATHER THAN MEMORISATION

Fill in the Percentages to complete the phrase ‘Most People Learn...’ _________ of what they read _________ of what they hear _________ of what they see _________ of what they see and hear ________ of what they talk over with others _________ of what they use and do in real life ________ of what they teach someone else

‘Most People Learn...’ 10%_________ of what they read 20%_________ of what they hear 30%_________ of what they see 50%_________ of what they see and hear 70%________ of what they talk over with others 80%_________ of what they use and do in real life 95%________ of what they teach someone else (Biggs, cited in Good Practice in Lecturing, n.d.)

The (Next) Moral of the Story.. BE ACTIVE! DO SOMETHING WITH WHAT YOU ARE LEARNING!

Group Task In the light of the theories on deep and surface learning, list the problems with lectures as an aid to learning.

Problems with Lectures Not learning by doing Little, if any, discussion Attention span – 20 mins Being ‘told’ information rather than student finding out for her/himself Problem with checking understanding Limited opportunities to ask questions Problems taking notes

What can be done to ensure ‘deep learning’ before, during and after a lecture? Group Task

Before ‘It is known that people are able to understand material more easily if they have some prior knowledge of the topic, or the information has particular interest or significance to them’ (Lashley and Best, 2001: 39)

Before Read notes from last lecture Do some background reading Think of 3 questions you think might be answered in the lecture Think of 3 questions you hope the lecturer will answer

During Take notes – when and how do you take notes? (see Northedge, 1990: 67-68, 70) Listen carefully and write down key words Don’t passively write down everything you hear - be active, questioning, critical, selective Use different note-taking systems e.g. linear notes or mind maps (Dunleavy Identify the MAIN ARGUMENT(S) of the lecture Learn to distinguish arguments from example)s

After ‘Many students experience learning difficulties not because they don’t understand the material in the first place, but because they fail to prevent forgetting afterwards’ (Lashley and Best, 2001: 41)

After 1 st review – 10 mins after lecture (8-10 mins duration) 2 nd review – 24 hours (4-5 mins duration) 3 rd review – after a week (2-3 mins) (Lashley and Best, 2001: 41-2) Sum up lecture on a record sheet/post-it Create visual images of information Add to info/ideas presented in the lecture How does the lecture fit into the module as a whole? Discuss the lecture with other students Make a quiz out of the lecture & quiz others

University ‘learning warning’…

Believing any of the following will seriously damage your learning: Lectures are places where information is transmitted to be ‘remembered’. In good lectures the lecturer speaks, the audience takes very rapid notes and silence reigns. The success of a lecture is all down to a lecturer. A great lecturer speaks slowly so students can take beautifully written verbatim notes. Everything you need to know to get a first class degree will be mentioned at the lecture (Hee hee!). Adapted from Donald and Kneale (2001, 6) and Northedge (1990)

Over to your Lecturers… My tips are based on my experience of being a bad student (and changing course) and a good student. What was the difference ? READING. Make a list of key points and look them up in recommended texts after the lecture. I don't think I ever bothered reading before a lecture...and it never mattered since we never had any seminars! But checking understanding and making full notes after the lecture saved a bundle of time and stress when assessment rolled around. And I did pester the hell out of tutors with questions. Liz Morrish (Linguistics) (NB Only pester tutors in the appropriate arenas i.e. during seminars (not lectures) and tutor office hours – Ed).

Seminars BE ACTIVE! Prepare in advance Check your understanding Ask questions (even the most obvious) Do not leave the room without speaking Develop your listening skills Review the lecture

Over to Aristotle… ‘What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing’.

Further Reading Atherton, J.S. (2002) Learning and Teaching: Deep and Surface Learning [Online] surf.htm Accessed 23/09/03 surf.htm Accessed 23/09/03 Northedge, A. (1990) The Good Study Guide, Milton Keynes: Open University (NB: check out pp for discussion of lectures and note- taking). Race, Phil (n.d.) ‘How Does Learning Happen Best?’ in Deliberations [Online] learning/index.html Date Accessed: 05/10/04 learning/index.html

Further Reading Good Practice in Lecturing, (n.d.) [Online] c.uk/papers/report_no2.pdfhttp:// c.uk/papers/report_no2.pdf Date Accessed: 04/10/04 in.asp#Exploring%20deep%20and%20surface%2 0approaches%20to%20learning