Why Is It Valuable to Prepare for Class before Attending?
Class preparation is a main part of your learning experience. Learning on the college level
requires that you connect with the information and materials for class and then actively
participate in class when you arrive there. A great deal of your learning should happen as you
work on your own, which is why you can expect to spend as much time outside of class learning
as you spend in class/lecture.
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Preparing for class before attending helps you understand the lecture material better.
Most professors design their lectures with the assumption that you have read the material
before class. Go through your notes and your books to generate questions about facts and
concepts in the course material.
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View quizzes as an incentive to prepare and a tool to see if you understand the material.
If you don’t do well on the quiz, this means you need to talk to the professor about the
material you don’t understand, prepare better, or prepare using a different study method.
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Devote at least an hour to the assigned reading for each class session. You need time to
interact actively with the reading as the main ideas develop so the ideas can sink in.
When you break your reading up into too many small pieces, you defeat the construction
of the textbook you’re reading.
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Be prepared for class discussions so that you can offer knowledgeable participation.
When you participate, you learn better! In many classes, participation will be a portion of
your grade. Most teachers view participation as a way for the class to discuss the material
as a group, and they welcome student interaction through questions and comments during
class.
Author: Shirley “Mandy” Sexton, Ph.D.