How long should I preview lectures?

[HybridEarth]

Hey there,

I've been consistently scoring very high on my exams since beginning school. However, I am worried about my long-term retention and also getting the most out of every day I study. Should I try previewing lectures in the mornings when I start physio in January? For those that says yes, how long should I spend previewing each lecture? What exactly should I be getting out of the preview, I.e. Should I teach myself anything or is it more-so just passively flipping through the slides?

Thanks in advance


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[tennischamp822]

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[.hematoma.]

My three pass rule for MS1:

1. Preview lecture: take about the same time as the length of the lecture (50 min lecture? overview it for 50min)
2. Go to lecture/podcast, clarify any questions you wrote down during preview
3. Make flashcards/review once more

Keep reviewing it every two days or so till the exam

 

[MedNation907]

My previewing is super brief. Objective is to get a feel for the flow of information (e.g. reading the headlines), I'm talking like 5 minutes for a 50 slide PPT. Next I'll make an outline, so it's another brief run through slides. Then I either listen to the lecture or follow a text to fill in the outline. Bottom line is that previewing should be super brief, if you spend time reading and thinking about the details then that = studying which does not = previewing....

 

[Goro]

Rather than changing what's working, I suggest going over FA on past material, and seeing how much you can recall. And do as many practice questions as you can get.

Hey there,

I've been consistently scoring very high on my exams since beginning school. However, I am worried about my long-term retention and also getting the most out of every day I study. Should I try previewing lectures in the mornings when I start physio in January? For those that says yes, how long should I spend previewing each lecture? What exactly should I be getting out of the preview, I.e. Should I teach myself anything or is it more-so just passively flipping through the slides?

Thanks in advance


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[DonnyDoc]

My three pass rule for MS1:

1. Preview lecture: take about the same time as the length of the lecture (50 min lecture? overview it for 50min)
2. Go to lecture/podcast, clarify any questions you wrote down during preview
3. Make flashcards/review once more

Keep reviewing it every two days or so till the exam

This is exactly the approach I've taken and it's working well thus far.

 

[DonnyDoc]

I also use FA for supplemental material.

 

[.hematoma.]

I also use FA for supplemental material.

I didn't really do that MS1, but MS2 I've been supplementing with FA and pathoma (in fact, Pathoma replaces step 1 of my previous list)

 

[takeurmeds02]

I guess I'll be that guy but Anki has worked really well for me so far. By the very nature of it's algorithm, it's forcing me to maintain my knowledge-base. So long as you make good cards, they're gold. If you get to the point where you have a lot of very basic cards that can be better answered with higher order questions where you synthesize multiple concepts, you can start pruning, delete them, and decrease the amount of cards you have but still maintain info.

Generally, my first pass is going to or watching the lecture in a very cursory manner to get a general idea of the topic and what the lecturer thinks is important for focus. The second pass is when I make solid cards and then use those to study from there on out. I'll go for a third quick pass of the lecture when it gets closer to the exam to make sure that I didn't miss a particular detail.

 

[DonnyDoc]

I don't think there's anything wrong with Anki or even Memorang for that matter, as long as it works for you. The entire idea is to increase retention through spaced repetition. I found that I am disciplined enough to read through the high yield material in my notes and supplementals using some kind of algorithm. It just all depends on the person and what works best for you.

 

[jqueb29]

I'm sure previewing lectures works great for some people, but I would consider it a waste of your time. By all means though give it a try and see if it works for you, because it def is valuable for some.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I don't think there's anything wrong with Anki or even Memorang for that matter, as long as it works for you. The entire idea is to increase retention through spaced repetition. I found that I am disciplined enough to read through the high yield material in my notes and supplementals using some kind of algorithm. It just all depends on the person and what works best for you.

I'm agreeing with you in terms of however you get your spaced repetition in is fine. I'm just not a fan of pre-reading because lecturers tend to throw in a little more minutiae than what's necessary so you end up wasting your time as you have no focus for the material. I like to see what they highlight first before I dive in.

 

[Shreyasthegreat]

My three pass rule for MS1:

1. Preview lecture: take about the same time as the length of the lecture (50 min lecture? overview it for 50min)
2. Go to lecture/podcast, clarify any questions you wrote down during preview
3. Make flashcards/review once more

Keep reviewing it every two days or so till the exam

@.hematoma. What do you do when you review it after two days? Also how do you find the time to do that? Doesn't it add up eventually? Like is there a point where you're reviewing like many old lectures in one day, while also keeping up with new material?

 

[.hematoma.]

@.hematoma. What do you do when you review it after two days? Also how do you find the time to do that? Doesn't it add up eventually? Like is there a point where you're reviewing like many old lectures in one day, while also keeping up with new material?

MS1, I made study guides for each lecture (my previewing was building the skeleton of the guide, and then adding onto it during lecture and post-lecture review). MS2, I made anki cards. Yes, you'll spend a lot of the day reviewing, and so what I've done this year is calmed down about being caught up on lecture. I'm usually 1-2 days behind on lecture, and I catch up on weekends.

 

[Shreyasthegreat]

MS1, I made study guides for each lecture (my previewing was building the skeleton of the guide, and then adding onto it during lecture and post-lecture review). MS2, I made anki cards. Yes, you'll spend a lot of the day reviewing, and so what I've done this year is calmed down about being caught up on lecture. I'm usually 1-2 days behind on lecture, and I catch up on weekends.

Thanks for your response.

That makes a lot of sense, but don't you feel like you'll miss information? I guess my question more specifically is, how do you determine what goes onto your study guide? Sometimes our exams will test on the smallest detail on one corner of a powerpoint slide.

 

[Moose A Moose]

no. waste of time.

you want long-term memory? don't cram.

 

[HybridEarth]

no. waste of time.

you want long-term memory? don't cram.

Thanks for the advice I guess, but don't assume that I cram. I make 5+ passes through the content before exams. However, I feel like I forgot a lot of details of little things I learned several months ago, and I've never crammed.

 

[Rekt]

I've never done it and do well. Can't imagine why you would. Maybe spend five minutes max going through it just to have an idea of what they're going to be talking about or as others have alluded to, you can watch Pathoma beforehand.

 

[Moose A Moose]

Thanks for the advice I guess, but don't assume that I cram. I make 5+ passes through the content before exams. However, I feel like I forgot a lot of details of little things I learned several months ago, and I've never crammed.

I didn't assume you were. You're doing it right- it will be there to dig up when the time comes.

 

[H.pylori]

Our anatomy doctor told us to preview the lecture and study it after but there is no enough time .I was previewing my lectures very fast like 10-30 min/lecture. And it didn't help me in the class that much, so I stopped previewing.

 

[futuremdforme]

I stopped previewing and it's much more efficient. Focus on studying after IMO.

 

[.hematoma.]

Thanks for your response.

That makes a lot of sense, but don't you feel like you'll miss information? I guess my question more specifically is, how do you determine what goes onto your study guide? Sometimes our exams will test on the smallest detail on one corner of a powerpoint slide.

How would I miss information? Everything that's in the powerpoint is in my flashcards (or study guide if we talking MS1)

 

[Shreyasthegreat]

How would I miss information? Everything that's in the powerpoint is in my flashcards (or study guide if we talking MS1)

Oh that makes sense, so your study guides are basically friendlier looking versions of the powerpoints that still contain all the info.