If I were to just read the textbook...

[Hermoinely]

So I'm undergrad right now. I live off of recordings and rewriting my own notes. However, I realize this takes 3-4 hours per lecture, maybe way more time than it may take to read a chapter.

My question is, if I just read the textbook, will I be missing much from the lectures? Or is this specific to each professor? And would this be the same general rule for med school classes?

I have never tried reading a full chapter from any textbook mostly because when in psyc class, we had to read entire chapters and be tested from it, and it took roughly the same amount of time (4 ish hours) to read the textbook. I'm not sure if this will be the same for reading science textbooks compared to the psych one. And I'm not sure if reading before lecture or after lecture will change my reading time.

If I read before lecture, I can use the lecture to clear up stuff, but then reading may take longer.
If I read after the lecture, then I may miss some stuff in lecture, but atleast I'd be familiar when I read, and maybe it will shorten my reading time?

If I read before lecture, take notes, combine it with my textbook notes from before, then re-read the textbook - will this be wayy too long?

What is the most efficient way to get notes in a timely fashion so that I have time to actually review and study it?

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[TraumaLlamaMD]

My school (and many schools, I believe) gives us syllabi with the outlines of lectures at the beginning of every block. For some classes, these are more helpful than the textbook, and for others, some supplemental textbook reading is helpful. They're also usually more palatable to read before lectures than a dense textbook chapter.

 

[differentiating]

I would think that going off of what the professor said directly is likely to be much higher yield than devoting that same time to reading a textbook - unless they're the kind of teacher who likes to quiz you on random sentences from the book. Also, it's a different modality (reading vs. listening and writing), so you'll have to see if you can still retain information that way, even if it's shorter. I know I personally find reading to be useless, but I know some people who find it really helpful.

In the end, you'll probably just have to try things out to see what's most efficient for you.

 

[freemontie]

Are you saying it takes you 4 hours to read one textbook chapter? Because that sounds way too long, irrespective of the book/topic. e.g. reading a Gen Bio textbook chapter in most textbooks should take about 1.5 hours - reading to remember, not skimming.

Anycase, it depends on the professor of course. IME, typically problem-heavy courses (e.g. math, physics, chemistry) will follow chapters very closely and reading-heavy courses (e.g. biology, psychology) may or may not.

 

[mehc012]

Are you saying it takes you 4 hours to read one textbook chapter? Because that sounds way too long, irrespective of the book/topic. e.g. reading a Gen Bio textbook chapter in most textbooks should take about 1.5 hours - reading to remember, not skimming.

Anycase, it depends on the professor of course. IME, typically problem-heavy courses (e.g. math, physics, chemistry) will follow chapters very closely and reading-heavy courses (e.g. biology, psychology) may or may not.

This, exactly. If it's taking you 4hrs to get through a textbook chapter, that's something you should work on anyway, because there's some underlying inefficiency at play there.

 

[optimistic3]

Will you learn if you just read? Passive reading or reading and highlighting does absolutely nothing for me. If I don't read the textbook and take handwritten notes, I don't learn very well. What I'm saying is, you have to try different things and find what works for you.

 

[heartsink]

Are you saying it takes you 4 hours to read one textbook chapter? Because that sounds way too long, irrespective of the book/topic. e.g. reading a Gen Bio textbook chapter in most textbooks should take about 1.5 hours - reading to remember, not skimming.

Anycase, it depends on the professor of course. IME, typically problem-heavy courses (e.g. math, physics, chemistry) will follow chapters very closely and reading-heavy courses (e.g. biology, psychology) may or may not.

I could easily spend 4+ hours on a single chapter of gen chem or physics given they average 40 pages a chapter and I do every single practice problem. On Bio I agree with you, those are usually much faster because there aren't many new technical concepts to wrap your mind around.

OP; I would attend / listen to lecture if only for the sole purpose of noting what the professor highlights, focuses on, spends time doing practice problems on or anything else that might help you gleam information about what they might put on a test. You also are much more likely to hear the words "You definitely will/won't need to know..." in lecture rather than a textbook. Read the textbook, but don't skip lecture.

 

[Law2Doc]

Will you learn if you just read? Passive reading or reading and highlighting does absolutely nothing for me. If I don't read the textbook and take handwritten notes, I don't learn very well. What I'm saying is, you have to try different things and find what works for you.

There have actually been a lot if studies that show that even those who do pretty well with passive learning can do better if they switch it to a more active process. I agree that everyone has to find what works best for them personally and there won't be a right answer. No point asking others because you'll get 100 different responses and 95 will be things that won't work well for you. But just be careful not to label that which you can do most quickly and effortlessly as best. Let test scores dictate best. Because there are a lot of people who fool themselves in college that they know how to study, and then get to med school and realize they really don't. Lots of people spend half of first year figuring this out. Fortunately first year grades barely count for much and first year material is barely in step 1. But it makes for a very stressful year for many.

And what worked in college won't always work in med school anyhow. Sort of like good college football players who thought they were good and then get to the NFL and can't transition. Unfortunately the only thing you can do in college to "prepare" is get used to spending long hours studying. Most of the rest will need to be tweaked on the fly as it doesn't really translate. You get to coast now more and have it much easier than some of you realize.

 

[Hermoinely]

This, exactly. If it's taking you 4hrs to get through a textbook chapter, that's something you should work on anyway, because there's some underlying inefficiency at play there.

by reading, I mean I read and write my own notes from it, organizing what's there. i'm not sure if this is what people mean by reading, because if I were to just read, it goes over my head.

 

[mehc012]

by reading, I mean I read and write my own notes from it, organizing what's there. i'm not sure if this is what people mean by reading, because if I were to just read, it goes over my head.

Right, but 4hrs for one chapter is still a really long time.

 

[heartsink]

Right, but 4hrs for one chapter is still a really long time.

As I posted above, I think its entirely appropriate. Like the OP, i handwrite all my own notes, I look at all the little side-bar examples in small print, i draw pictures, i make tables. Some people take their tablet, breeze through the chapters and type up bullet points as they go, some people virtually recreate the textbook in their own words. To each their own.

 

[FantasyVesperia]

As I posted above, I think its entirely appropriate. Like the OP, i handwrite all my own notes, I look at all the little side-bar examples in small print, i draw pictures, i make tables. Some people take their tablet, breeze through the chapters and type up bullet points as they go, some people virtually recreate the textbook in their own words. To each their own.

I pretty much do the same, but for me, I utilize colors.

For the OP, I also take about 3hrs -4hrs studying and sometimes I get a little discouraged because I feel like I'm the ONLY one working to the bone. I read the chapter(s), take notes in one color and then during lecture, I take notes in another color to supplement and then study. In my notes I draw arrows, diagrams, funny little phrases and etc, just to help the material stick. Also concept maps help a ton, especially for the biological sciences. With concept maps you can get a little creative and really put the material in your own words. After awhile, you sort of get in the grove and it takes less time.

Then again, like others have said, everyone is different. If your method produces good results then keep on going, if not, I would suggest trying some new things. Good luck.

 

[swindoll]

From personal experience, reading textbook helps only with certain professors. With others, you're better off just memorizing their notes.

 

[Pholaffle]

Typically the professor will design a lecture off of the book he/she is using but will trim off the fat. Most of the time the figures are also the same as from the book. I personally read the book because it contextualizes so many things that a second read through of lecture notes might not be able to give. Yeah I learn a bunch of other material that isn't pertinent to the class and exam but I know a lot of other information much more thoroughly.

 

[mehc012]

As I posted above, I think its entirely appropriate. Like the OP, i handwrite all my own notes, I look at all the little side-bar examples in small print, i draw pictures, i make tables. Some people take their tablet, breeze through the chapters and type up bullet points as they go, some people virtually recreate the textbook in their own words. To each their own.

I didn't say it was inappropriate, just inefficient. It may work, but if you can find another method which also works, but which doesn't take 4+ hrs, that would be ideal, and well worth the effort of converting.

 

[medic86]

I didn't say it was inappropriate, just inefficient. It may work, but if you can find another method which also works, but which doesn't take 4+ hrs, that would be ideal, and well worth the effort of converting.

Which methods would you suggest trying out?

I know my method is inefficient as hell. I rewrite all of my notes at least once, which is pretty damn time-consuming.

 

[mehc012]

Which methods would you suggest trying out?

I know my method is inefficient as hell. I rewrite all of my notes at least once, which is pretty damn time-consuming.

I'm kind of a broken record re: Anki as a primary study method...it's all over my signature.

I didn't really study or take notes until recently, and when I decided to go into medicine, I sat down and researched my options.
I decided that spaced repetition flashcards were the way to go...it takes a while to figure out how to make effective cards quickly, but once you do, you get repeated active review at ideal intervals just by establishing a short daily routine. If you are into repeating and reviewing the info multiple times, seems like it may be a good strategy for you. If not, well...there are tons of strategies out there!

 

[medic86]

I'm kind of a broken record re: Anki as a primary study method...it's all over my signature.

I didn't really study or take notes until recently, and when I decided to go into medicine, I sat down and researched my options.
I decided that spaced repetition flashcards were the way to go...it takes a while to figure out how to make effective cards quickly, but once you do, you get repeated active review at ideal intervals just by establishing a short daily routine. If you are into repeating and reviewing the info multiple times, seems like it may be a good strategy for you. If not, well...there are tons of strategies out there!

I've read the posts about anki, but have always been reluctant to commit to REALLY trying it.

I think the biggest thing that's turning me off from anki are the settings. I can't figure out what settings would be ideal for converting, and whether they'll give me enough exposure for the short time frames between exams.

That, and I'm scared to death of outright making the switch and bombing an exam.

 

[mehc012]

I've read the posts about anki, but have always been reluctant to commit to REALLY trying it.

I think the biggest thing that's turning me off from anki are the settings. I can't figure out what settings would be ideal for converting, and whether they'll give me enough exposure for the short time frames between exams.

That, and I'm scared to death of outright making the switch and bombing an exam.

That's the beauty of Cram decks!
For me, most of the learning is in making the cards, and the reviews are an added bonus. I tend to see 'make cards+Cram' as my short-term learning combo, and the SRS system lets me keep the info fresh for a lonnngg time (and consequently allows more time/wiggle room to learn).

I started with one class until I got into the swing of things.

Again, it might not work for you, it's just what works for me, so it's what I tend to suggest when asked!

 

[medic86]

That's the beauty of Cram decks!
For me, most of the learning is in making the cards, and the reviews are an added bonus. I tend to see 'make cards+Cram' as my short-term learning combo, and the SRS system lets me keep the info fresh for a lonnngg time (and consequently allows more time/wiggle room to learn).

I started with one class until I got into the swing of things.

Again, it might not work for you, it's just what works for me, so it's what I tend to suggest when asked!

Thanks for the tips! I think I'll give this a real shot this time.