Are lectures supposed to help?

[passionformed]

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I find that lectures in classes such as chemistry and physics are pointless. I go to lecture, take a couple of notes here and there, but I find that I only learn by reading the textbook and find that clarification only comes from textbooks. Do you guys read the book, rely on lectures, or both, and if both, which one is more important, in general?

 

[IslandStyle808]

It depends on the professor. Some professors are able to state with clarity about the different concepts in chemistry and physics. However, other professors just suck at teaching altogether. If the book seems to help more in your understanding, then you should read the book when you don't understand certain concepts from your lecture notes.

EDIT: I try to find out who the good professors are and it usually ends up with me just relying on the notes + class lecture 80% of the time and 20% book when I need clarification.

 

[blesss]

Comes down to a combination of your prof's teaching style and your learning style imo. Some profs are very efficient in how they deliver material and its helpful to attend their lectures. Conversely, there's other profs where when it comes to attending their lecture I'd rather spend an hour learning from the text.

As far as learning style goes, some people I know soak up information in lectures with little to no effort, while others need to pore over material and write or work out problems.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Comes down to a combination of your prof's teaching style and your learning style imo. Some profs are very efficient in how they deliver material and its helpful to attend their lectures. Conversely, there's other profs where when it comes to attending their lecture I'd rather spend an hour learning from the text.

As far as learning style goes, some people I know soak up information in lectures with little to no effort, while others need to pore over material and write or work out problems.

I think this is a better answer to your question OP.

 

[deleted303591]

In engineering, or courses intended for engineers, the lectures are a waste of time.

The coursework is generally poorly structured and the professors do not teach it well.

You better plan on teaching yourself and relying on yourself and perhaps your study group for learning the material, if you are an engineering student. I imagine the same would apply in a science class where the professor is a poor teacher.

 

[xGeorgettex]

Comes down to a combination of your prof's teaching style and your learning style imo. Some profs are very efficient in how they deliver material and its helpful to attend their lectures. Conversely, there's other profs where when it comes to attending their lecture I'd rather spend an hour learning from the text.

As far as learning style goes, some people I know soak up information in lectures with little to no effort, while others need to pore over material and write or work out problems.

This + my year in biochem. First semester? My prof was so good that I literally learned nearly everything from the lecture, substituting with the book for anything I was iffy about that appeared on his well organized study guide. Concepts + exam prep in one. It was hard, but he taught. The man = magic.

Second semester? No idea what goes on in this lecture. It often starts and ends late with a lot of 'wait, that isn't right' in between. She's sweet, but confusing. Her concept-focused lectures and study guides have zero correlation to her plug-and-chug 'memorize every enzyme, structure, and random structural facet' testing system. Book + crazy heavy memorization every single day. It's more work and I'm learning less.

100% course instructor dependent.

 

[lobo.solo]

It depends on the professor. Some professors are able to state with clarity about the different concepts in chemistry and physics. However, other professors just suck at teaching altogether. If the book seems to help more in your understanding, then you should read the book when you don't understand certain concepts from your lecture notes.

EDIT: I try to find out who the good professors are and it usually ends up with me just relying on the notes + class lecture 80% of the time and 20% book when I need clarification.

This^. It all depends on the professor. From the beginning of class up to the first exam, you have to figure out the professor's style. Usually bad lecturers are a waste of time and it's low yield to go to lecture. Op, this might be the case with this professor, but know that there are some awesome lecturers that you would probably learn a ton by going to lecture.

 

[TheSmasher]

I rarely go to class. Sometimes I can get by with the textbook or materials posted online but other times I need to get notes from someone who does go to class. Do what works best for you.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

I found in college that I relied heavily on my textbooks. While I always went to lecture, I had (have) a problem with zoning out extremely often so lectures tended to be a blur of missed information for me. I can focus while reading though and remember things that I read pretty well, so most of my learning was done with textbooks.

Probably the most extreme example was physics. I didn't see much point in attending lecture because it was mostly just example problems which never help me. However, the lecture was required so I ended up attending every class but just pulling my textbook out at the start of lecture and proceeding to completely ignore the professor for the next 75 minutes. Funny thing was, a lot of people in class were doing the exact same thing.

 

[Fatalis]

lectures depend on the person. I go to every lecture because i pick up a lot from it and I am engaged with the material. If I sit at home and watch it, I am taking notes for the sake of taking notes. Its personal preference really.

 

[487806]

I find that lectures in classes such as chemistry and physics are pointless. I go to lecture, take a couple of notes here and there, but I find that I only learn by reading the textbook and find that clarification only comes from textbooks. Do you guys read the book, rely on lectures, or both, and if both, which one is more important, in general?

It depends on the professor. In classes where they post slides/notes online, lectures are a waste of time. In other cases, lectures can help when the book is either terrible (or not even required), along with the notes/slides not being posted.

 

[Plue00]

Lectures for science classes have been useless for me unless the professor tests you on things he specifically mentioned in class that isn't in the textbook.

I always try to pick professors who don't care if you show up and care more about you learning it in your own way.

 

[Bamfu]

The best science professor I had taught organic. I NEVER opened my book. I went to class, paid attention, took notes, studied them, and aced a tough class. I never had to study organic for the MCAT either, and on the real thing and my practice tests I pretty much destroyed any orgo questions.

My physics professor was pretty good as well. I only used my physics textbook for homework problems.. the problems we went over in class amply explained concepts and provided plenty of practice. I did very well on the physics portion of the PS part of the MCAT too.

Conversely, I had the worst professor I've ever had for genetics. I attended class (daily quizzes), but I played on my phone during class. The book was why I got an A, and I struggled more on the genetics problems on my practice MCATs as well.

To me (my undergrad degree was in secondary education, FWIW), it ALL comes down to the teacher. If the information is presented logically in a way that builds on to what you already know rather than just throwing 1298374928347293847234 random facts at you, the lecture is absolutely worth attending. If the lecturer is Chinese, has a horrible grasp on English, is rude, and just goes through the motions of teaching (my genetics experience) by throwing 1298374928347293847234 facts at you (with a 0% chance for retention), the best use of your time is not going (if possible - it wasn't for me /sadface).

 

[lobo.solo]

I would suggest changing your perspective about it. You're learning about how the world works, relate the topics back to your interests.

 

[Cambino]

I would suggest changing your perspective about it. You're learning about how the world works, relate the topics back to your interests.

no you're not

lol science != how the world works. It's man attempt to explain things a posteriori, after the fact.
I'd like to examine your social skills.

 

[deleted357625]

I don't think any lectures ever helped with the exception of math courses, not all though either. Also, only worth going too if powerpoints are not posted so you can take notes...

 

[TheSmasher]

no you're not

lol science != how the world works. It's man attempt to explain things a posteriori, after the fact.
I'd like to examine your social skills.

It might not be a perfect explanation of how the world works, but that is the basis of science. Making school about learning motivated by interest is a good idea, like the previous poster suggested.

Based on your reply, I think we need to examine your social skills...

 

[Mel Belle]

This + my year in biochem. First semester? My prof was so good that I literally learned nearly everything from the lecture, substituting with the book for anything I was iffy about that appeared on his well organized study guide. Concepts + exam prep in one. It was hard, but he taught. The man = magic.

Second semester? No idea what goes on in this lecture. It often starts and ends late with a lot of 'wait, that isn't right' in between. She's sweet, but confusing. Her concept-focused lectures and study guides have zero correlation to her plug-and-chug 'memorize every enzyme, structure, and random structural facet' testing system. Book + crazy heavy memorization every single day. It's more work and I'm learning less.

100% course instructor dependent.

Sounds like my chem professor. She has a reputation for being frenetic in her lectures and quite demanding in her tests. I went to see a chem tutor because the info for my last test just wasn't clicking... And I learned in an hour and twenty minutes more than I have all semester, and with better understanding to boot. Every class I'm just frantically writing down the notes she puts on the video projector in barely legible handwriting only to have to rewrite them again. And her notes aren't clear to begin with. I'd make it more clear during her lecture if I actually had time to think!

All of this is partially my fault because even though she was similar, but didn't speed through everything last semester, I stuck with her for the second semester. I really should have tried to get into my adviser's gen chem class... Because he's also the chem chair and just such a great teacher. He goes slow in his lectures only because he doesn't go on until everyone understands. That's great, and it works for my school since it's a small private school, though it might not work quite the same way at a larger university.

The point is... Even if you think you know the professor, ask around. Especially if it's a subject where it becomes seriously difficult for you if the instructor isn't up to par.

 

[SmurfTurf]

This + my year in biochem. First semester? My prof was so good that I literally learned nearly everything from the lecture, substituting with the book for anything I was iffy about that appeared on his well organized study guide. Concepts + exam prep in one. It was hard, but he taught. The man = magic.

Second semester? No idea what goes on in this lecture. It often starts and ends late with a lot of 'wait, that isn't right' in between. She's sweet, but confusing. Her concept-focused lectures and study guides have zero correlation to her plug-and-chug 'memorize every enzyme, structure, and random structural facet' testing system. Book + crazy heavy memorization every single day. It's more work and I'm learning less.

100% course instructor dependent.

Agree with this. Totally depends on the instructor. My physics classes I had the same instructor. He's awesome and I never once opened the textbook and got As in both physics I and II. Chem II was the same way.. Chem I on the other hand... That I just skipped class and read the book. Biology classes seem like they are all this way to me. I've never once had a biology teacher that helped me learn. I just read the text and show up for tests. Again though, very instructor specific.