How should we utilize our lecture classes to the fullest

Dear my friends,

some students do say that the lecture is not so important in their study in university. Some found the lecture is just secondary to their self-study in home. During my secondary school, I found difficulties in my study because I don’t fully utilize my lecture time. It is a kind of wasting time that I don’t utilize my lecture time and take extra hours for self-study.

Puan Salma Ahmad, a lecturer in Mara College Banting, Malaysia told me many times that I have to straight away learn those things teachers taught in the class without any need to take extra hours to revise them because I am not going to have time to do the revisions later on. I didn’t believe what she said during that time. My mind keep on telling me that I can’t do such things. How can people absorb what teacher said immediately, 100% during the lecture? Imagine that the lecturer explain about the one table as below, then, how am I going to memorize those things immediately at the time the lecturer is explaining about them? I thought it was impossible. .

I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE THAT WE ABSORB THE KNOWLEDGE 100% DURING THE LECTURE/LESSON..

It was until the time I have no choice but to try to focus the 100% lecture concentration theory by Puan Salma during my 2^nd semester for my Undergraduate Medical studies. During that time, there was a lot of subjects and tests that I have to go through that I didn’t have much time to do many things. Imagine that I had 3 to 4 tests every week and I always sacrifice my lecture time for the test.

From that time on, I try to concentrate on the lecture of anatomy which I take for granted before. As a result, eventhough my result didn’t increase much, but my interest in the subject increased so much that I became extremely motivated to learn more and listen lecture with greater focus.

I BECAME EXTREMELY MOTIVATED TO LEARN MORE AND LISTEN LECTURE WITH GREATER FOCUS.

This motivation I gained was actually caused by the feeling of belonged to the lecturehall organization (teachers, friends). I felt like belonged to my lecturer and my classmates because I get involved in all class activities. I felt like the student-teacher relation between me and the professor is getting stronger that not even a second I want to close my ear from listening his/her lecture as not to disappoint him/her. This good ‘student-teacher’ relation is one of the factors that keep me motivated to listen to the lecture given by my professor.

How I build this student-teacher relation? Each time my lecturer ask me question, I answer those questions, if the lecturer ask anybody to draw anything on whiteboard, I always volunteer myself for the sake of utilizing my time to the fullest. I they want any volunteer for the experiment, I will not be shy to try them first.

BUILD OUR STUDENT-TEACHER RELATION SO THAT THIS CAN KEEP US MOTIVATED THROUGH THE WHOLE COURSE.

According to the Mayo theory, human is the 'social animal'. Human is motivated when they feel that they are appreciated by the organization. In the class room, the most powerful authority is held by the teacher and the positive feedback from the teacher to us will increase our feeling of belonged to the class organization.

The oposite of this 'belonged to the organization' is 'feeling of isolation'. This feeling of isolation is appearing as a result of being 'lost'. If you skip a lecture, you might feel lost in the next lecture, and this will prevent you to involve that next lecture to the maximum because, whenever lecturer ask any question, you might probably have no idea, when you have practical classes, you don't know what are you doing and why, and later on, you will feel demotivated.

The other theory that fit this involvement in class is that human will feel motivated by esteem (prize). The more teacher give positive feedback to you (reward you), the more you want to involve with the lecture as this positive feedback will physiologically stimulate you reward center in the nucleus accumbens and ventral hypothalamus. In other word, it is badly called as pride. The feeling of pride and respect by organization is one of motivating factor suggested by Maslo in his theory of hierarchy of needs.

One day, I said to myself, that, to have great interest in listening the lecture is not enough, I must increase brain work during the lecture so that I could immediately memorize those new facts that the lecturer told. No need self-revising, or at least minimize self revision as I dont have much time to do so.

I began with imagine the words (explanation) and picture presented by the lecturer. Every words said by the lecturer is then translated into the brain and picture and motion is generated inside the brain.

WORDS BY WORDS IS TRANSLATED INTO THE BRAIN, DON'T EVEN MISS A WORD TO BE TRANSLATED AND UNDERSTOOD. THIS WAY YOU WILL GET 100% INFORMATION AND WILL AVOID YOU FEELING TIRED OR SLEEPY. TRUST ME.

Now you'll go to the highest stage of full lecture utilization. what is that? That is, you memorize those facts given in the lecture straight away. How to know if you already do that? Come out from lecture and ask yourself what you learned, if you can list all what you had learned, means that mission accomplished. If people ask you questions and you can answer half of it then, your memorization techniques are not so well developed.

The fullest memorization will complete you Full classroom utilization program. To understand and catch all lecturer says is not enough when you can't tell the exact name of things he/she told you, tables he/she shows you, picture and position he/she told taught you.

The problem is how are we going to memorize the facts on the spot during the lecture?

The answer is using those memorization techniques. I had many examples of memorization techniques which you can see in my site http://sites.google.com/site/mymedicalnotessite which you can see in the side bar link ------------------------------------------>

Those techniques can be summarised as:

1. Fully understand the concept of particular new knowledge
2. grouping/organize that understood information
3. relate (hook) the information with our own PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE or NEWLY CREATED EXPERIENCE

The third one 'relate (hook) the information with the PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE or NEWLY CREATED EXPERIENCE' is the most creative form in memorization and plays the most important role in recalling memorized facts. It involves our creativity and this is what you can see in My Medical Notes Site linked at the side bar --->

Why do I always emphasize relate new knowledge with PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, or if you cant relate to previous knowledge relate to your creatively NEW EXPERIENCE?

This is because, that's how our brain works to memorize things. Brain works effectively in memorization if we relate new information with our previous EXPERIENCE.

Now, let us see the example from My Medical Notes Site:

Plasma volume measurement

- Measured by using dyes that binds to plasma proteins because wherever plasma exist, it must have plasma protein, if it don’t have plasma protein, it’s not plasma, it could be csf etc.

- Evans blue is often used

- Serum albumin labeled with radioactive iodine can also be used

- Average volume is 3,5 L (5% of body weight)

KEY: RELATE WITH AMBIGUITY SITUATION

Evans blue used as dye for plasma protein in plasma because it ispotein-philic

Eva is a women who like to drink fluid protein like egg white to build up muscle.

In this case, you can see how I relate the fact of using Evans blue dye to color the plasma protein, which is then allow people to calculate the water in blood vessels (usually 5 liter). I already knew somebody named Eva, and I knew she like to eat egg protein, so this Eva and protein has relationship to the facts, as mention above. Even if I don't know Eva and she like to eat egg yolks, I can CREATE MY OWN EVA AND CREATE A NEW STORY ABOUT EVA THAT SHE LIKES TO EAT EGG YOLKS AND IMMEDIATELY RELATE THIS NEWLY CREATED EXPERIENCE WITH MY NEW INFORMATION.

Remember, all this is done immediately at the time you get the information during the lecture. I really mean IMMEDIATELY. Immediately means that your brain will go very fast and indirectly prevent you being sleepy in class.. What an advantage you will have trying to develop your keywords during classes..

The detail Memorizing techniques based on these three steps of memorization will be discussed in 'My Memorizing Techniques'. For me that techniques are working enough and I tried them so many times and they are excelently helpful.