HowtoListentoaPhilosophyLectureJeffMcLaughlin,Ph.D.ThompsonRiversUniversityIfyouareanewstudentorareturningmaturestudentitcansometimesbedifficulttogetthemostoutofattendingclass.Atoneextremeyourapproachtoclassmightbetryingtowritedowneverysinglewordthatyourprofessorutters.Thisisabadstrategysinceitdoesn’tallowyouanytimetodigestanyofthematerialandcopiousnotetakingfailstodelineatebetweenthemundaneandtheessential.Attheotherextremeyoumightjustsitbackandtrytoabsorbwhatyouhear.Ofcourse,thisisproblematicsincethemomentyouleavetheroom,you’reboundtoforgeteverything.–Ofcourse,thisdoesn’tstopmanystudents!Thefollowingbriefcommentaryisprobablyobvioustomostbutitdoesn’thurttogetareminder!Complicatingthematteroftryingtogetthemostoutofalectureistheissueofclassroomdynamics.Youmightbeinaclasswherenoonetalksortheremightbeonepersonwhodronesonandon(besidesyourprofessor!).Inbothsituationsyoumaybeapttotuneoutandtrytojustmakeitthroughaverylonghour.Theroommightbehotorcoldortheremightbesomeonesnifflingandsneezingbesideyou.Youmightbeinabadmood,tired,hungover,sick,orplainbored.Yourinstructormightbedynamicordull.Shemightjustreadfromthetextbookoruseoverheadsorwriteontheblackboard.Youmightevenluckoutbyhavingtheinstructorpresentyouwithhandoutsorpreparedlecturenotes.Ifshedoes,makesureyouwritethedateonthemandifpossibleinsertthemintothegeneralareainyourownnotesforquickretrieval.Accordingly,eachcourseyoutakewillbedifferentfromanother,andeachclassineachcoursecanbedifferentfromanothersoyouwanttoaimtobeconsistentinyourownapproachtocreateapersonalrhythmthatworksbestforyourneeds.Stepstoincreasewhatyougetfromtheclasslecture.1.Comewithsufficientpaperandpen–ofcourse,butalsodon’tforgettobringthetextbook,ahighlighterpentoidentifypassagesinthebookorinyourownnotesthataresignificant.Ifyouarenotplanningonkeepingthetextbook,orwanttokeepitclean,useapenciltoputlightmarksinit.Youmayalsowanttohaveahole-puncherwithyoujustincaseofhandouts.2.Ifthereisassignedreading,doitbeforeclass,notduring!Ifyoudohaveanopportunityt