Thursday, June 18, 2009

Writing as a Memory Tool (Part 3)

Here's the second tip to help you improve your note-taking skills.

Improve your listening skills. (This is especially important for those who take an online course, as many times, you are not seeing your teacher in-person, but rather hearing him or her on the phone or in an Elluminate session!)

"Learn how to listen and you will prosper even from those who talk badly." -- Plutarch (A.D. 46 - 120). Greek biographer and philosopher

  • Start by entering the classroom with a positive attitude. Going to class thinking, "This is the last place I want to be today" only sets the stage for inattentive listening. Approaching lectures with a positive attitude allows one to be open-minded and enables you to get the most out of the information presented.

  • Make a conscious effort to pay attention. Concentrate on concentrating. "Without concentration there is no focus, and without focus there is no learning" (Pauk 190).

  • Adapt to whatever direction a lecture takes. When a lecture takes an unexpected detour, say a student asks a question you aren't particularly interested in, students have a tendency to "zone out." Before you know it, the lecture got back on track five minutes ago, and you missed crucial information that should have been noted.
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Please note that even though most of us aren't sitting in on a true "lecture" style class, any presentation or discussion can have these tips applied! :)

What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the ideas. I will try to pay more concentration when I attend the on line class. I will tape a "Don't Disturb" sign on my bedroom door when I'm studying.

Suetto C.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the info in the passage about being positive, and all the other attributes will follow. Concentration is the key. I often times get distracted on some of my elearning courses and it really impacts on my learning ability, which results in low scores.

Karla Banton

Anonymous said...

I think the first step by entering the classroom with a positive attitude, that will help to turn off ours fears, and enables to us to get the most out of the information presented. Also, concentrate + focus = learning, this is the secret.


September 28, 2009

Roxana Alvarez