Advice for someone who can't learn from lectures? Self-study?

[docterspaceman]

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Hey guys,

I can't seem to learn from lectures. I developed a pretty bad habit in college where I transcribed lectures and then studied my transcriptions. It was a complete waste of time, but that's was the only way I could get the information.

Now that I'm in medical school, I can't seem to learn from lectures at all. I tried going to lectures for a few months, but ended up leaving almost every class learning nothing. I'm just a lot better at learning from books and from written words. Other students seem to be able to go to lecture from 8-3 and learn the material, and then come home and go over it a second time. I would love to be able to do that. Instead, I webcast lectures at 1.5 speed and transcribe important points, not really understanding or learning during the process. Then, I spend a good hour or two rearranging the material into an outline that actually makes sense to me. I have no problem passing tests, but I just don't like being so inefficient. And it's impossible to keep up on days when we have 6-7 hours of lecture. Just not enough hours in the day.

Anybody have any advice on how to learn better from lectures? Or has anybody had any success doing complete self-study without utilizing their school's lectures at all, just using textbooks? It's already been 7 months since I've started school and I hate that I haven't been able to figure out a good study method.

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Textbookversion]

Hey guys,

I can't seem to learn from lectures. I developed a pretty bad habit in college where I transcribed lectures and then studied my transcriptions. It was a complete waste of time, but that's was the only way I could get the information.

Now that I'm in medical school, I can't seem to learn from lectures at all. I tried going to lectures for a few months, but ended up leaving almost every class learning nothing. I'm just a lot better at learning from books and from written words. Other students seem to be able to go to lecture from 8-3 and learn the material, and then come home and go over it a second time. I would love to be able to do that. Instead, I webcast lectures at 1.5 speed and transcribe important points, not really understanding or learning during the process. Then, I spend a good hour or two rearranging the material into an outline that actually makes sense to me. I have no problem passing tests, but I just don't like being so inefficient. And it's impossible to keep up on days when we have 6-7 hours of lecture. Just not enough hours in the day.

Anybody have any advice on how to learn better from lectures? Or has anybody had any success doing complete self-study without utilizing their school's lectures at all, just using textbooks? It's already been 7 months since I've started school and I hate that I haven't been able to figure out a good study method.

Thanks in advance everyone.

going to lecture is a bloody waste of time.

that said, learning research says you need familiarity with the material before you hear a lecture for the lecture to help you retain the info. Basically, you need to pre-read. Then go to lecture and either just listen (less effective) or actively learn by jotting down points you don't recall.

Anyway, why are you transcribing and reorganizing? This isn't 1970, your lecturers should be posting a powerpoint presentation for every lecture that conveys all the information you need to know in a well organized fashion. If they aren't, your school blows.

I don't see the point of pre-reading and sitting in class all day, and then having to review after, when I can read through a lecture 3x and be done with it. Usually take notes the first time, or draw stuff out for anatomy, in order to actively learn. If I'm lazy, I'll use an active learning style of stopping after each slide, and saying out loud the important points. Probably can do it in your head too although I'm less confident with that approach.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Hey guys,

I can't seem to learn from lectures. I developed a pretty bad habit in college where I transcribed lectures and then studied my transcriptions. It was a complete waste of time, but that's was the only way I could get the information.

Now that I'm in medical school, I can't seem to learn from lectures at all. I tried going to lectures for a few months, but ended up leaving almost every class learning nothing. I'm just a lot better at learning from books and from written words. Other students seem to be able to go to lecture from 8-3 and learn the material, and then come home and go over it a second time. I would love to be able to do that. Instead, I webcast lectures at 1.5 speed and transcribe important points, not really understanding or learning during the process. Then, I spend a good hour or two rearranging the material into an outline that actually makes sense to me. I have no problem passing tests, but I just don't like being so inefficient. And it's impossible to keep up on days when we have 6-7 hours of lecture. Just not enough hours in the day.

Anybody have any advice on how to learn better from lectures? Or has anybody had any success doing complete self-study without utilizing their school's lectures at all, just using textbooks? It's already been 7 months since I've started school and I hate that I haven't been able to figure out a good study method.

Thanks in advance everyone.

This is me EXACTLY. I am the worst auditory learner I have EVER known of. Most people leave lecture with somewhat of a grasp on what's been taught. For me, it's gone from my brain within 2 hours, and it's not for lack of paying attention.

Yes, you can pre-read, but when I've done that, I find that the reading is where the learning is. The lecture still doesn't add much for me. Why go through the trouble of pre-reading AND hauling yourself to lecture and sitting through it, when odds are you're going to have to go back over it again, after you've taken notes in lecture?

I'm in the same boat as OP. This semester, I started out thinking that class was helpful, because I'd go and listen/take notes, and at the time, I'd understand what was being taught. The problem was retention, and the fact is that I can read/write something once or twice and remember it long-tern, but hearing it just doesn't hit home in the same way. So even though I actually enjoy some of our lecturers, I'm swearing off class for the most part. My most efficient and comprehensive learning comes when I sit with the powerpoint printout in front of me, the notetakers' transcript on my laptop screen, and READ what the professor said about each slide. As I go, I diagram out pathways in shorthand. I also make a lot of tables to contrast things that I know I might bungle up. If I do this, I can go through each lecture once and get a really good grasp on it. A day or two before the exam, I'll go back through the notes I wrote (mind you, not the whole powerpoint) and make sure I can talk through the important stuff without looking. I'll also try to think of questions, or do questions if I have access to them.

Some people worry about errors in the notetakers' notes, but the times where there's been an issue a) the prof will usually realize the issue and send an email b) you'll see that something doesn't add up and look at the textbook or c) you're all in the same boat anyway.

I just started doing this in the past week or so. I just took an exam and felt really good about it. It's too early to tell if it will work, but it certainly feels more efficient. I'm already amazed at how much I can retain just by stopping the fight against my own learning style. Class is not always the answer! It's funny, because I'm a really social person. I like my classmates and my profs are actually interesting. But, you said it, OP- there's just not enough hours in the day, and we have to be thinking about the boards, too. Unless your profs are aficionados of the boards, IMO you're better off using your time to learn all the big-picture clinical stuff, too.

 

[FSU2013]

going to lecture is a bloody waste of time.
.

This, but the American version.

 

[ucladoc2b]

This is me EXACTLY. I am the worst auditory learner I have EVER known of. Most people leave lecture with somewhat of a grasp on what's been taught. For me, it's gone from my brain within 2 hours, and it's not for lack of paying attention.

Yes, you can pre-read, but when I've done that, I find that the reading is where the learning is. The lecture still doesn't add much for me. Why go through the trouble of pre-reading AND hauling yourself to lecture and sitting through it, when odds are you're going to have to go back over it again, after you've taken notes in lecture?

I'm in the same boat as OP. This semester, I started out thinking that class was helpful, because I'd go and listen/take notes, and at the time, I'd understand what was being taught. The problem was retention, and the fact is that I can read/write something once or twice and remember it long-tern, but hearing it just doesn't hit home in the same way. So even though I actually enjoy some of our lecturers, I'm swearing off class for the most part. My most efficient and comprehensive learning comes when I sit with the powerpoint printout in front of me, the notetakers' transcript on my laptop screen, and READ what the professor said about each slide. As I go, I diagram out pathways in shorthand. I also make a lot of tables to contrast things that I know I might bungle up. If I do this, I can go through each lecture once and get a really good grasp on it. A day or two before the exam, I'll go back through the notes I wrote (mind you, not the whole powerpoint) and make sure I can talk through the important stuff without looking. I'll also try to think of questions, or do questions if I have access to them.

Some people worry about errors in the notetakers' notes, but the times where there's been an issue a) the prof will usually realize the issue and send an email b) you'll see that something doesn't add up and look at the textbook or c) you're all in the same boat anyway.

I just started doing this in the past week or so. I just took an exam and felt really good about it. It's too early to tell if it will work, but it certainly feels more efficient. I'm already amazed at how much I can retain just by stopping the fight against my own learning style. Class is not always the answer! It's funny, because I'm a really social person. I like my classmates and my profs are actually interesting. But, you said it, OP- there's just not enough hours in the day, and we have to be thinking about the boards, too. Unless your profs are aficionados of the boards, IMO you're better off using your time to learn all the big-picture clinical stuff, too.

Also, to the OP, try picking up some of the better books on a subject (I liked Grey's Anatomy for Sudents for Anatomy, Costanzo's Physiology for Physio, Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases for Neuro, et cetera). Most of them are very well illustrated and written. I review the Powerpoints the professors post as an adjunct to these books.

 

[DreamingTheLive]

Does your school give you a bunch of power points or a lecture packet? If so, f going to class or using any texts. Stay home + crush lecture notes + chillax = complete win. Simple.

 

[Bostongal]

what would you guys do if your crazy school doesn't provide lecture transcripts? I'm in a deep, deep hole because I have this problem but the exams are all written from lecture, often verbatim.

 

[Psai]

what would you guys do if your crazy school doesn't provide lecture transcripts? I'm in a deep, deep hole because I have this problem but the exams are all written from lecture, often verbatim.

sit in the front row and record it yourself

 

[Kaustikos]

I have the solution:
Go to lecture and spend that time paying bills/going on amazon.com/etc OR you could just use ear plugs and self-study during lecture. I'm also kind of confused by the lecture comment... There's no reason you can't pass exams in medical school using texts/practice questions. My ClinMed2 class used exams from 1995 questions and I was still able to not go to class and self-study and pass exams with no issues.

I guess my question is - what's the point of this thread when you answered your own question? Did you hope we'd give you a link to download all the exams for your school with answers?

 

[Arkangeloid]

So I'm an average student, but I also think lectures are useless, and despise them as a way of learning. If you're like me, which it sounds like you are, I would just watch them at 2x speed to get an idea of what the professor thinks is important, then spend the rest of the time with powerpoints, prep books, and other resources.

 

[Kahreek]

nobody learns at lectures, lectures are just a way to tell you "here it is what you have to know go work on it"

 

[Akali]

Hey guys,

...

Anybody have any advice on how to learn better from lectures?

...

Yeah, just stop going to them and study the material in the ppt at home.

In 1st year, by near the the middle of the second semester when most ppl had decided whether or not they really want to attend lecture, we had about 10-25ish people that might show up.

Now in 2nd year, out of a class of about 120, we have about 1-7 show up on any given day. I wouldn't be surprised if some lectures had 0 students show up. We usually would have 1 though because we have a guy that streams the lectures for us. I would not want to have that responsibility lol.

I hate lectures. They just read through the powerpoint. I can read just fine by myself actually and I can get through the material a LOT faster and don't have issues noticing the most pertinent points. I can also organize the material in my mind in a way that makes the best sense for me when self-studying. Also, they sometimes have accents making it hard for me to understand them or often rushing through the material so fast in trying to fit it into their allotted time that trying to take notes at the same time becomes ridiculous. And then if I don't understand something fundamental at the beginning of the lecture, I can't stop to look into it because they're going to just keep going and then I don't get the rest of it either. And then on top of all of that, I would also come out of it not really remembering anything anyways.

Also, I never want to ask them questions because they either 1) Don't know the answer or 2) Don't understand what I was actually asking and explain to me something that doesn't answer the question and/or 3) Just leave me more confused than before I asked. Luckily for our 2nd year, we only have NBME exams instead of professor written ones - so that makes knowing what's important to know a lot easier.

AND THEN, even though the've been doing the exact same thing, teaching the exact same material for years some of them STILL don't know how to put their ppt on the computer and load it up. So then I have to do it for them. And then sometimes I have to set up the projector and all that jazz because they person who works here and is supposed to do it sometimes doesn't show up.

I actually do feel bad about it though. If I were a lecturer, I don't think I'd want to come to find only a few students showed up out of a class of 120 either. They really like to complain about it a lot. Like, A LOT. Like, a lot a lot. I am typing this in class, by my lonesome, while 2 professors behind me are actually having a long conversation complaining about it this very moment. It's kind of real awkward, actually. Oh god, I'm getting out of here.

Small groups are also an annoying waste of time. If they would just give me the facilitator answer sheets I would learn so much better. A lot of the time the facilitator will not tell us **** that's on it.

The top 2 students in our class NEVER went to lectures. Every exam day I'm like, oh yeah, those guys are in my class.

 

[Kaustikos]

The top 2 students in our class NEVER went to lectures. Every exam day I'm like, oh yeah, those guys are in my class.

Same here. He went to zero classes and honored em and scored a 260 on step 1. Class is so helpful