Lectures - are they worth it? (2 Viewers)

[dilroy]

This week is my first week of uni, after attending all of my lectures. I have found them incredibly boring except for "Principles of the Internet", which has a smaller lecture/classroom. I find that lectures with smaller numbers are more worthwhile.

My question is, are most of the lectures all going to be the same throughout the year? Just reading out whatever notes on the powerpoint and providing examples? or am I just suffering from first week lecture syndrome?

I attended the "Accounting Information for Managers" lecture the other day and I nearly died of boredom, the lecturer was so boring to the point where she was just talking and I was just looking at her face moving for the sake of it... and I know this is a bad sign... anyone else feel the same?

Heck I don't even want to attend them anymore, if I just read the textbook can I survive without attending any?

 

[iamsickofyear12]

If you are so bored that you aren't going to pay attention and you are capable of learning the subject yourself there is no point wasting your time. You're better of not going and using the time for something else.

Just make sure you remember there is a difference between 'boring' and 'so boring that you won't be able to pay attention'. Don't start skipping lectures just because they are boring. They can be really useful especially if it is a difficult subject.

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

If you're finding all of your lectures boring, and it's not because of a lecturer who speaks in a monotone, then maybe it has something to do with your degree choice.

 

[jemsta]

lectures is where you basically get your information from, and for some subjects you can rely solitarily on a textbook, so even though they might be boring, they might be a lifesaver when it comes to exam time cramming notes that you took whilst in the lecture theatre
or, as nebachanezzar pointed out above, you might have to look at your degree choice and think....is this degree really for me?

 

[iamsickofyear12]

If you're finding all of your lectures boring, and it's not because of a lecturer who speaks in a monotone, then maybe it has something to do with your degree choice.

I've only ever had 1 lecturer that spoke in monotone. One of the main problems I have had is lecturers spending 15+ minutes on a basic principle that shouldn't need any more than 1 minute. Anytime a lecturer does that I just automatically tune out.

 

[dilroy]

I know exacly how you feel though, I dont think I went to hardly any lectures first year becuase they were all boring subjects economics, accounting, IS, statistics, law etc), but yeah smaller classes are better

hehe yeah, those units looks pretty nasty.

When it comes to tutorials I enjoy them and I learn quite a lot, it's just the lectures that shit me, especially the no-life subjects like Accounting. I hardly bother taking notes down in large lectures, the atmosphere just makes you want to go to sleep and the lecturers are as dull as doctors... well maybe because some of them are doctors.. but when it comes to lectures with only 30-50 students I am able to pay attention for some reason, not only that but the lecturer himself is a pretty down to earth and vibrant bloke.

For those of you saying whether my course is right for me, I believe it is right for me, it's just these first semester subjects which really shit me. I am already experienced with what I do which is also involved in my job, it's just not specified as of yet.

 

[pottsy44]

i attended the 1st half of lecture 1 for Accounting Information for Managers and went to no more lectures .

i fall asleep in alot of lectures its fun.

 

[hYperTrOphY]

If the lecturer merely reads over and clarifies the notes already provided on webCT, then I find it more productive to not attend - assuming you understand the material without further clarification - and use the time to make notes, do readings, start assignments etc.

My opinion is that the lecture/tute format should be abandoned. 1-2 seminars p/week is so much better (as in law).

 

[Jacks]

Technically lectures are compulsory, and personally I would try to sit through a couple more of them at least before you decide not to attend the rest. In my degree lectures were extremely important and were where I got ideas clarified and all that sort of stuff. Actually, I miss lectures, full day tutorials and seminar classes are hurting my brain!

 

[krayzie_]

Don't go anymore then, and just read your textbooks if you think you can understand it! I mean don't waste your time - just stay home and sleep

 

[LaraB]

meh.. people saying it has to do with your aptitude or choice of course (in general not just in this thread) - that is not necessarily the case..

I hate lectures but I do really well in the course.... the course is the course i wanna do because it leads to the jobs i want..

I hate lectures because if people weren't so damn lazy and did their work, we could have a one hour lecture and then a 2 hour tute or a 3 hr seminar and actually discuss stuff and do exercises... But they need the lectures to be tehre with their repetitious and duh duh nature (for certain subjects - im not saing all are like that) to account for the fact that people won't understand things because they don't do their work, or teh work is too hard.

Some lectures are awesome because they turn into seminars, especially so when its a class that people don't all turn up to because you can learn a lot.

But lectures such as Management Foundations and the like are shit boring and you don't need to go to do well.... Pretty much everyone i know got a D+ in that unit and we didn't go to lectures...

Business stuff tends to be fairly useless in 'textbook units'. As a guide - generally the ones with really copmrehensive textbooks with set readings only from them you can just skip the lectures if your hate them.. but ones with d/l readings or readers and stuff even if they're boring you should go.

 

[pottsy44]

But lectures such as Management Foundations and the like are shit boring and you don't need to go to do well.... Pretty much everyone i know got a D+ in that unit and we didn't go to lectures...

you just satisfied my reasoning for deciding i wont attend any management foundation lectures (well havn't been to the first 2 so far anyway ha).

 

[bizadfar]

I went to Financial Instituions & Markets today, and walked out after 1hour. Every new slide that came up, i read it quickly... really simple stuff (what a bank is, what it does, how it operates etc...) AT the first brake i didn't bother going back.

Apart from that It's like I've already screwed up, i didn't attend anything in week 1.

 

[ari89]

I went to Financial Instituions & Markets today, and walked out after 1hour. Every new slide that came up, i read it quickly... really simple stuff (what a bank is, what it does, how it operates etc...) AT the first brake i didn't bother going back.

Apart from that It's like I've already screwed up, i didn't attend anything in week 1.

Lol i had that lecture today too...omg it was boring! And so was last week...After going to my first lecture which was for this topic i pretty much wrote lectures in general off as being crap. However, for microeconomics i had a great lecturer who actually engaged the students and made it interesting enough to sustain interest..

After the first break we actually touched on the stuff that wasn't as basic as 'what is a bank' etc. It would be great if that guy released the lecture slides tho...

 

[Jaron2005]

Hey Dilroy, sounds like your in most of my lectures, I think we might even be doing the same course, which is bachelor of Business (e-business)

Anyways, yeah i found accounting today to be pretty boring, lucky I had a strong dose of coffee before hand, but i did take down what the lecturer said.

Principle of the internet is pretty good, but basically he is going everything that I already learned in year 12 IPT, I don't think i will be skipping any lectures soon.

Tomorrow market principle is going to be boring, but lucky I got a few friends to keep me entertain.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

Not from jewWS but this is an interesting thread so...

Online lecture notes kill my motivation for paying attention in lectures, especially when the notes online are very detailed, or at least have enough info to establish what the topic is so you can fill out your knowledge from the textbook or other sources.

I usually pay attention for the first 20 minutes or so of a lecture, before I start drifting off, and the rest of it is spent fighting off sleep. I find this is independent of both the topic (I've studied everything from computer programming to education psychology) and the lecturer, and even the time of day or coffee intake. Maybe there's just something wrong with me lol

The downside of not going to lectures or not paying attention in them is you might have to go home and study the lecture notes in detail (well, I do, anyway, but I take uni pretty serious). I suspect it all has something to do with different people's preferred methods of learning

 

[4eyesnb]

You paid the tuition fee!, so it's up to you to choose not attend the lecture and waste these money!