Lectures, pointless?

[fisa2001]

Just out of curiosity, how many people here find some of their lectures rather boring and pointless? It doesn't seem like the right attitude for a jaffy but for some lectures for some of my units are just plain boring! They're just pretty much reading stuff off the powerpoint and no merit of actually heading down to lectures for lecturers writing examples on a whiteboard or something for a depth explanation. I went to everything for the first two weeks but now I just stay at home and only go to lectues of units that I find helpful. Anyone feel the same as I do for some of your lectures?

[ShortBlackChick]

I actually agree. But I think most people would say that it depends on what kind of 'learner' you are. Some people are more 'visual' and others are more 'verbal.'

Can you add a poll into this? Im actually interested in what other people think.

[pi]

Can you add a poll into this? Im actually interested in what other people think.

Sure

[eeps]

I believe it's an unrealistic expectation to think that all academic staff you'll encounter in your degree will be great.

[MJRomeo81]

I wouldn't say lectures are "pointless". However they certainly aren't necessary as long as you study the content in your own time.

[DisaFear]

Depends on your learning style, and I guess the lecturer too
Some can make a lecture very engaging and entertaining, others can make it sound as boring as a fence-post

Lectures like first-year Physics at Monash, where they have clicker questions, can be really helpful

[michak]

Yeah guess it depends on the lecturer.
All of mine are pretty good. My crim lecturer is really good because she just doesn't talk to us for 2 hours but shows as informative videos and the like which keeps us engaged.
And my politics lecturer is nuts. He has a really good way of making a boring subject (australian politics) really interesting. Has us laughing every couple of minutes whilst teaching us.

Guess it also depends how much you like the content being taught. If you don't really like it no matter what the lecturer does you are going to find it boring and probaby zone out.

[Greatness]

For almost every subject I've done so far the lecturers have just read off the slides... I think for many subjects you're probably better off buying the textbook and learning it yourself, or watch youtube videos or whatever else is available. Heck for some subjects the lecture slides are sufficient! When the subject becomes more conceptual then a textbook is handy, especially if the notes are fairly bare.
Aaaaannnd I still go to lectures...... lol depends on how you learn though, some people are great at self learning so you'd be better off not going to lectures. But I find it very useful having things explained to me, rather than me reading from a textbook >>

[michak]

For almost every subject I've done so far the lecturers have just read off the slides... I think for many subjects you're probably better off buying the textbook and learning it yourself, or watch youtube videos or whatever else is available. Heck for some subjects the lecture slides are sufficient! When the subject becomes more conceptual then a textbook is handy, especially if the notes are fairly bare.
Aaaaannnd I still go to lectures...... lol depends on how you learn though, some people are great at self learning so you'd be better off not going to lectures. But I find it very useful having things explained to me, rather than me reading from a textbook >>

Yeah i don't like this at all.
For psych my lecturers change each week, but one of them did this exactly. Just read purely based of the slides. As i had already looked at the slides before had I left the lecture as I had found it a complete waste of time.

[TrueTears]

lectures = useless, been to only a few in my first year, never again

end result: dont think im doing too badly atm

[Starlight]

Can go either way with science IMO.

For chem, it's good to go for topics like organic chem and for bio, it's useful for things like solving genetics problems. In terms of this year I have found that  subject content has been just as fine to grasp by using lecture recordings as opposed to attending lectures.

[charmanderp]

Personally I've found it can depend on the lecture and its individual content, as well as the subject. For creative writing I've found myself wanting to note down everything that's being said sometimes, where its more beneficial for me to watch the lecture online at my own pace, and sometimes to just take what's being said in at face value with no note-taking. Some of the lectures have been more useful than others.

With chem I haven't found the lectures that useful, though things like drawing diagrams whilst the lecturer is doing it can be helpful if that's your sort of thing, and you can clear any doubts during the tutes. The textbook is more thorough and well organised in terms of content

For economics, the textbook is usually better at explaining the content in depth and context if you do the questions as well, but the lectures make it all very simple and the textbook easier to understand with that basic knowledge behind you.

And for English the value of the lectures is usually pretty subjective.

It all depends on you really! And your subjects. I think going to the lectures keeps you organised and on track, and up to date with everything that's going on, if nothing else.

[Holmes]

Is this how it really works... ?

[tao]

Is this how it really works... ?

Well, it depends on the student and what kind of grades they want.

I'd say 60% of people or so just want to get grades of 65%+ which is considered decent, then you have 20% who are like that guy and legit just cram everything into SWOTVAC, then you have 20% of people on the other end of the spectrum who are going for 80%+ grades.

With respect to lectures, they are useful once you learn to adapt to make them useful. Admittedly, for my first semester at uni, the first 20 or so lectures were a waste of time because I was struggling to adapt to the new learning style, after that, they got better and now I'd say most of my learning is done in lectures.

[rchung]

First year first semester, I went for every single lecture. Second semester, went for some, skipped some and now, I pretty much don't go at all. My results from 2nd semester were a lot better.

Not that I'm lazy or feel that it's pointless, just that I feel that I don't learn anything anyway. For me it's like, it comes in from one ear and out the other so I absorb information a lot better sitting somewhere and reading notes.