Don't sleep in class strategy with Dradaya Hunter

To be more engaged in class and pay attention, it is important to actively participate, ask questions, and make personal connections to the material. Preparing before class by skimming through the material can also be helpful. Sitting in the front of the class reduces distractions, and putting away the phone is important. Asking questions and participating in discussions helps to engage with the material and can lead to better understanding. Taking notes using abbreviations and symbols can save time. After class, reviewing and annotating notes within the first 24 hours is crucial to overcome the forgetting curve. These tips can help improve focus and academic performance. Hey, Dan. Thanks for coming in today. What's on your mind? I want to learn how to be more engaged in class and pay attention more. Oh, okay. So, the idea of being, like, truly engaged, not just physically present, but, like, bridging the gap between hearing the information and actually making it mean something to you, right? Yep. Okay. Well, you know, there's this really fascinating study at Harvard, and it found that students who were more active in class, the ones asking questions, taking part in discussions, making personal connections to the material, they did way better academically. That makes sense, right? Yeah. It's like if you don't care about what you're learning, good luck staying focused. Right. And some of my sources even compared it to, like, trying to climb a mountain without a plan. You don't even know where the top is. Oh, yeah. It's like, what's the point, right? You'd be like, I'm out. So, the idea of finding a personal connection, that's important, because those subjects that seem kind of boring at first glance, there's always something there. You've got to ask yourself, how does this fit into my future? Right. You've got to find the story within the lesson. That's a cool way to put it. It makes it more real. Yeah. So, our sources have some other practical tips for, like, not nodding off mid-lecture. And one that I thought was interesting was preparing before class. But we're not talking about cramming all night and memorizing a textbook, right? No, not at all. Even just, like, skimming through the material beforehand, it does wonders. It's like you're giving your brain a sneak peek. Yeah. A little scaffolding. A little something to build on. And there's actual research that supports this at UC Berkeley. They found that just 15 minutes of pre-reading before a lecture, students remembered way more than those who didn't. And you don't have to have a whole route up the mountain, but you have a map. I see. It gives you a game plan. I like it. Okay. And then there's the classic idea, you should probably sit in the front of the class. I used to think that was just like a teacher's pet move, right? But it really does cut down on distractions. Like in my anatomy class, sitting in the back row, hearing a lot of side conversations. I can't block out the student's conversation and understand the professor at the same time. Absolutely. You're much less likely to get pulled into those side conversations. Sometimes, though, your phone is right there. Yeah. Out of sight, out of mind. Right. So you've got to put that phone away. Okay. And we can't forget about actually participating, like asking questions. That's so important, right? Yeah. It's like one thing to sit there and listen. Yeah. But when you ask a question, it's like you're a part of the conversation. You're not just absorbing. Yeah. You're engaging with the material. Exactly. Yeah. And it can lead to those aha moments. Where it all clicks. You know, in those moments, our sources say those are huge for learning, when you can connect new information to something you already know. Yeah, it just sticks. Right. So we're going to start wrapping up here, but we've got a few more note-taking ninja hacks from our research. I love the one that says use abbreviations and symbols. It's all about saving time. And this is like creating your own secret code. It's true. It's amazing how much faster you can take notes when you're not writing out every single word. Like writing BC instead of because. Yeah. And another good one, after class, is when you go back and look over your notes, you kind of annotate them. So you kind of check out what the material was, revise it in your memory, make some other notes, and clarify some things. It's really important to do that within the first 24 hours. Yeah, overcome that forgetting curve. It's like revisiting the scene of a crime, right? Yeah, I like that because, you know, that forgetting curve, it is really real. You're going to forget more than 50% of the material after just 24 hours, and it keeps going down from there. And you know that test is like four hours, I mean, four weeks away, so you'll never be able to catch up. But anyway, I hope these tips help you stay focused and you can stay engaged in class and earn those grades that you want to learn. Thanks for coming in today, Bea. Thank you, and I'll definitely take these tips for my next class.