How To Prepare For Your Classroom Lessons
Whether you are in primary school, secondary school, or tertiary school, you attend classroom lessons. The classroom is where your teachers (including lecturers and tutors) impart new knowledge to you, and where you go to learn.
Did you know that your classroom experience could be greatly enhanced if you know how to prepare for your classroom lessons? Below are some tips.
1. Revise Your Lesson Notes
This is a very important step. Unless this is your very first classroom lesson in a new semester, you would have attended a previous lesson.
Most students may attend a classroom lesson, finish their homework, and dump their books aside. Only the conscientious students will make the extra effort to revise their lesson notes. Why do they need to do that?
The reason is very simple. In a classroom setting, there are many distractions that may keep you from absorbing everything that your teacher may have said or written. Ideas and knowledge that were exchanged and discussed among you, your teacher and classmates might not be captured in writing. It is therefore always a good habit to revise your lesson notes.
You may be pleasantly surprised that as you do so, you may recall some ideas and knowledge that were exchanged and discussed in class. Write them down as you recall them. These supplementary notes could potentially increase your understanding of a lesson, as well as boost your test and exam scores should you be tested on them.
It is recommended that you revise your lesson notes within the day when you have had your lesson. This is because the lesson will be fresh in your memory and you will be more able to recall what happened.
As you revise your lesson notes, you may also have some questions about the lesson. Make a list of these questions. Armed with these questions, you may then approach your teacher for help in a private session.
2. Finish Your Homework From Your Previous Lesson
Again, unless this is your very first classroom lesson in a new semester, your teacher may have given you some homework to do in a previous lesson. Make sure you have done all your homework before you attend your next lesson. This is because each lesson is usually an extension of the previous lesson. That is, what you will be taught in lesson 2 is usually based on what you have been taught in lesson 1. If you don’t do your homework from lesson 1, you will not be able to put into practice whatever you have learnt in that lesson.
Doing homework is one of the best ways to find out whether you have understood a lesson. If you complete your homework from lesson 1, you will be able to understand whatever you are supposed to learn in that lesson better. Come lesson 2, you may have less difficulty in understanding whatever your teacher teaches. That is why most teachers, if not all, emphasize that you must complete your homework after each lesson.
Of course, not every student can complete all his or her homework without difficulty every time. You may run into problems with your homework now and then. This is normal. Again, make a list of your homework problems and approach your teacher for help.
3. Consult Your Teacher About Your Study Questions
Now that you have revised your lesson notes and homework, you may have a list of questions that you need answered. Who is the best person to consult? A classmate? Nope.
You should never consult a fellow classmate as far as possible. This is because, like you, your classmates are also trying to learn new knowledge and skills from your teacher.
Your teacher has already acquired a lot of correct knowledge from his teacher. That is why your teacher is now teaching you. If your classmates can teach you just as well as your teacher, why do you still need your teacher?
In most cases, your classmates may only have partial knowledge of a topic that you are learning in class. They may also have questions themselves. If you approach a fellow classmate who is only as good as you, chances are you will get the wrong answers to your questions.
Always consult your teacher directly. Don’t be afraid to approach your teacher and ask for a private session. He will be most willing to help you. Nothing brings more satisfaction to a teacher than a student who is willing to learn.
Of course, your teacher may have a busy schedule, so he may not be able to meet you at the times that you request. But if you need help, you should be patient. As long as you can make it at the times that your teacher is available, go for it.
A few things to note, though. If you get a private session with your teacher, always go prepared with your list of questions. Ask intelligent questions. Don’t ask your teacher to repeat his lesson all over again for you. You know it won’t happen.
Don’t expect your teacher to help you with all your homework. He has already done his. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that if you consult your teacher more often than the other students, he will pay special attention to you and like you more. Your teacher will be able to see through your ploy.
Remember: don’t leave your questions unanswered, or they will snowball as you attend new lessons. And they will impede your understanding of new lessons, as well as cost you dearly in your test and exam scores.
4. Prepare For Your Next Lesson
Now that you have done everything necessary about your last lesson, it’s time to prepare for your next lesson. How do you do that?
First, find out what topic you will be learning in your next lesson. If you have a lesson schedule, refer to it. Otherwise, you can always ask your teacher at the end of each lesson.
Next, read up on the topic before you attend the next lesson. You can read about the topic in your textbook, from any book in the library, or from the Internet. Read as if you are reading a storybook, a magazine or a newspaper. Remember: you are reading about the topic just to get some background idea. It’s okay if you don’t understand everything that you read at this point. Once you attend the next lesson, you will find that it will be easier for you to understand whatever your teacher is talking about, as well as whatever you have read about the topic.
Then, in class, you can focus your attention on writing notes on the areas of the topic that your teacher emphasizes.