What am I expected to do in a lecture? - Student Equity Unit

In your first year at university it is likely that for each subject you will be required to attend two or three lectures each week.

When you enrol, you will be given information about where the lectures are held, what days and what times. As soon as you know your lecture times, mark them on your timetable.

Lectures are held in lecture theatres situated around each campus. Use a campus map to check the locations of your lecture theatres.

The lecture theatres vary in size, holding from between 50 to about 300 students. Sit in an area where you can see and hear clearly, and where you're undisturbed by students who may distract your attention from what is being said in the lecture.

Lectures vary between 1-3 hours in length.

If you miss a lecture, more and more courses have lecture information on-line that you can access. Taped lectures are also provided on-line in some courses. Check with your faculty to see if lectures provide this access.

For more information see website: http://audio.monash.edu.au/mlo/.

A word from Language and Learning Services

The program or course of study that you are enrolled in at university consists of a number of units. Most units are divided up into a number of topics that are considered to be important to your understanding of the unit. Lectures are a major means of communicating this material to university students.

In lectures you will need to link the new information you are hearing with what you already know. You should expect to be given relevant examples and told about experiences or happenings that help you to understand the work being covered. You should also be given guidelines about assessment in the unit. Don't rely on other people's lecture notes to give you reliable information!

It's not cool to skip lectures. But the truth is that if you don't take advantage of the learning opportunities open to you, you will definitely be the loser.

Lectures help you to make sense of a topic

Here are some ways to help your concentration (and enhance your learning) during lectures.

Effective note taking is a skill that has to be learned, and practised.

Check that you are clear about what the topic is for each lecture. Check what chapters in your text book (if a text-book is used) you should refer to.

Note down only the key aspects of what is said in the lecture. You want your notes to be readable, and useful for revising for exams or doing an assignment!

Don't try to write down everything the lecturer says. You will end up with so much detail written down that you can't work out what is important.

Ideally, as you go into the lecture theatre, you will be given a handout on which the important points of the lecture are clearly presented. Use these headings to guide and focus the notes you take.

Keep your lecture notes and handouts labelled in a folder or file.