Succeeding in undergrad by self-teaching?

[3John]

During my undergrad years, I have found that I haven't really learned from lectures at all. Lately, I've been so impatient and angry with how long the professor takes to teach the material with the side-talks and jokes that don't correlate to the material that we're learning at all. This results in me not paying attention to the lecture at all. So I have a question to all those that skip lecture.

I feel as though I would succeed in school if I were to self-teach myself the material and minimally attend lectures. My problem is, I really don't know how to self-teach myself the material because I'm just not used to it nor do I have any ideas on how to go about it learning the material on my own. My school doesn't have the lectures recorded online so I'm not sure what to do. Any tips for me?

Also, do you guys have any tips for me if the lectures aren't recorded and posted online?

Thanks!

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[ScrubsMD]

First you say that you want to skip lectures because their low yield and then you ask for tips if the lectures aren't recorded....

Sounds like you just want to skip class.

Self learning in undergrad is pretty straight forward. Read, example problems, and practice problems.

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

“You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.”

― Dr. Seuss.

 

[JuanPabloCastel]

See the thread on KhanAcademy

 

[WhiteMaleSyndrome]

College is just a supplemental educational experience to facilitate autodidactism. There's so much information out there that can overwhelm you, so professors help by making a parsimonious argument, free of 'luxury' information. Sure you can memorize, regurgitate, and receive an A in lecture, but it's up to you to build a new paradigm to serve you throughout your career.

 

[3John]

First you say that you want to skip lectures because their low yield and then you ask for tips if the lectures aren't recorded....

Sounds like you just want to skip class.

Self learning in undergrad is pretty straight forward. Read, example problems, and practice problems.

Yes, to a certain extent, I do want to skip class where the professors don't do me any justice. Thanks for the advice

 

[amazing tekkers]

College is just a supplemental educational experience to facilitate autodidactism. There's so much information out there that can overwhelm you, so professors help by making a parsimonious argument, free of 'luxury' information. Sure you can memorize, regurgitate, and receive an A in lecture, but it's up to you to build a new paradigm to serve you throughout your career.

So basically, instructors give you the meat, you have to eat it by yourself on your own time--come test day, either vomit (or defecate) on exam.

 

[ScrubsMD]

Yes, to a certain extent, I do want to skip class where the professors don't do me any justice. Thanks for the advice

I understand, I skipped the majority of my classes in undergrad, just poking a little fun at the way you phrased your post.

Just be careful, a lot of schools/professors have attendance policies that may affect your grade. That or pop quizzes...

 

[3John]

So basically, instructors give you the meat, you have to eat it by yourself on your own time--come test day, either vomit (or defecate) on exam.

Hahaha that was a great reference.

 

[3John]

I understand, I skipped the majority of my classes in undergrad, just poking a little fun at the way you phrased your post.

Just be careful, a lot of schools/professors have attendance policies that may affect your grade. That or pop quizzes...

Yeah those tend to get annoying and I experienced it a lot in Gen Chem. How did you obtain the information while you were in your undergrad years? Just curious.

 

[ScrubsMD]

Yeah those tend to get annoying and I experienced it a lot in Gen Chem. How did you obtain the information while you were in your undergrad years? Just curious.

I'm not sure what you mean by "obtain the information"?

In science classes, reading the assigned chapter, doing the example problems, getting the PowerPoint from the lecture and looking over that, and more than anything else just lots of practice problems helped me nail down information.

There is no easy/secret/magical way to learn information. Only through lots of time, concentration, and coffee will you succeed!

 

[3John]

Yeah that pretty much answered my question, thanks! What would you have done if you didn't understand how to do the practice problems if you don't mind me asking as well? Unless reading the book, PowerPoint, etc itself was sufficient enough for you to get the general idea of how to work the problems.

 

[ScrubsMD]

Yeah that pretty much answered my question, thanks! What would you have done if you didn't understand how to do the practice problems if you don't mind me asking as well? Unless reading the book, PowerPoint, etc itself was sufficient enough for you to get the general idea of how to work the problems.

Practice problems tend to be pretty dumbed down. Once in a while it'll take a few minutes of figuring, but I never got stuck per say. If you're at a smaller college I'd say go to your proffs. office hours if you get stuck, but if your doing the leg work and not just passively reading this shouldn't be necessary.

 

[3John]

Practice problems tend to be pretty dumbed down. Once in a while it'll take a few minutes of figuring, but I never got stuck per say. If you're at a smaller college I'd say go to your proffs. office hours if you get stuck, but if your doing the leg work and not just passively reading this shouldn't be necessary.

Sounds good! Thank you, I really appreciate it!

 

[snowflakes]

If I found lectures low yield, I would just skip them, and study myself from lecture slides and the textbook and lots and lots of practice problems (if applicable). Sometimes I would have a friend in the class who would let me know if there were any important announcements, but usually those are emailed out anyway. I would use the daytime I saved to go work in the lab, and catch up on the lecture at night. Definitely increased my productivity and I still learned the information well/got As.

The way I see it, it's YOUR responsibility to learn the information, and the professor, text, and lectures are resources to help you learn it. Pick the ones that are helping you learn the material the best. This may or not include lectures. Also, lots of people say "never skip class" but I honestly think if you are a diligent student, it's perfectly fine to skip class in some cases, as long as you learn the material. Honest, someone who skips class but spends 10 hours a week engaging with the material is probably going to do better than someone who goes to class but isn't really actively engaging with the material at a higher level of understanding.

 

[Gauss44]

During my undergrad years, I have found that I haven't really learned from lectures at all. Lately, I've been so impatient and angry with how long the professor takes to teach the material with the side-talks and jokes that don't correlate to the material that we're learning at all. This results in me not paying attention to the lecture at all. So I have a question to all those that skip lecture.

I feel as though I would succeed in school if I were to self-teach myself the material and minimally attend lectures. My problem is, I really don't know how to self-teach myself the material because I'm just not used to it nor do I have any ideas on how to go about it learning the material on my own. My school doesn't have the lectures recorded online so I'm not sure what to do. Any tips for me?

Also, do you guys have any tips for me if the lectures aren't recorded and posted online?

Thanks!

There are many free full length complete high-quality courses (including STEM) online from all sorts of universities, including top ones. A google search of free online classes will provide you with options. Tutoring is also an option. Naming names and providing links is considered advertising and against TOS (even though sometimes people get away with it). So google, compare what's out there, and use what works best for you!

Good luck!

Edit, these search terms bring some pretty good results: college courses online free classes

 

[Styrene]

If you have the power points, just memorize them and read original journal articles that relate to key concepts. For math and physics and chemistry, do every problem in the chapters covered.

 

[dyy199x]

"The things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means to an education." Ralph Emerson

 

[DokterMom]

I hear you about the time spent in lecture being low-yield, but...

Carefully consider that the professor is an expert in the field and you are a novice. What s/he feels is important and relevant is what s/he will spend the most time on. And that s/he will (at least try to) build a foundation that explains the concepts, the mechanisms, and the inter-connectedness of what you are learning.

Consider also that you might someday want a letter of reference from this professor, and that skipping his/her class is the kind of behavior that regularly annoys the stuffing out of teachers -- especially when you then complain about not understanding the material or about what was on a given test, or show up during office hours to ask questions about material that was covered thoroughly in the lectures.

Try attending and listening more actively -- really focus 100% -- before you stop attending classes.