HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF LECTURES AND TUTORIALS IN JC

The JC style of teaching involves lectures and tutorials, which is vastly different from usual classroom style of teaching in secondary schools. In your timetable, lectures will be interspersed with tutorials. You may feel intimidated, especially if you have just entered JC. However, don’t worry as there are many tips for you to make sure that you maximise productivity during lectures and tutorials.

1. Lectures

A lecture involves a single lecturer teaching many classes at once, hence it is less interactive and engaging, and it may be easier for you to doze off into dreamland. The cool air-conditioning makes the environment even more conducive for you to fall asleep. Not only this, due to the large number of people in the lecture theatre, you may find it more comforting that it is difficult for the teachers to catch you sleeping. However, you may not want to miss out on anything, as concepts taught by the lecturer are important, and you may be confused if you do not understand large chunks of concepts. What’s good about lectures is that they are recorded and can be viewed online if you miss out on anything. Nevertheless, it would of course be a lot more productive for you to listen during lectures so you do not need to waste time watching recordings, especially since time is so precious when A Levels are nearing.

One tip would be to keep taking notes of what your lecturer is saying, in order to keep your brain active and prevent you from dozing off. Do note though that it is very pointless, tiring and time-consuming to copy down everything word for word, so just take down the main points. Writing notes could also allow you to absorb information better. It would also be extremely beneficial for you to read the notes before the lecture. Bring a sweet or two to keep you awake during the lecture.

2. Tutorials

Tutorials involve your civics tutor going through tutorial worksheets which you should have done beforehand. Yes, it may be similar to the classroom learning in secondary school, however, the main difference is that teachers usually assign work after lessons in secondary school. On the other hand, it is important for you to complete your tutorial worksheet before your tutorial lessons. This is mainly so that teachers can teach students about exam skills. Tutorials allow you to clarify any mistakes that you made. As it includes a smaller group of people, it could be more interactive and engaging, and you may need to answer questions in class. Be sure to take note of your mistakes and take down any notes that will help you understand the concepts better so that you will not make the same mistake again in the future. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions during tutorials. This is so essential as we don’t want all your doubts to snowball!

No matter how you feel towards lectures and tutorials, it is mainly to help prepare you for the style of learning in University, which is similar. It also ensures that everyone is taught the same thing so that everyone is on the same page. This system of learning is actually also one of the best style of conveying the A level syllabus. So, as this style of learning is here to stay, do try your best to love it. Try to learn to be more independent and motivated in learning, always clarify when in doubt and you will be fine! You can do it!

If you are still not used to this style of learning and prefer learning in a smaller group, you could join tuition centres such as MLC Education Studio to help you understand and grasp concepts better. Of course, this has to be done as soon as possible.

MLC Education Studio

The MLC team consists of a group of highly trained ex-MOE and full-time teachers who are very passionate about sharing their love of Chemistry with their students and often go the extra mile to bring Chemistry to life in their classrooms. We have proprietary materials that are proven to provide exceptional support for any students struggling with this subject. For weaker students, we also provide free consultations as well as specially curated resources such as notes and cheat sheets to help them. That is why more than 92% of our students improve by 3 grades or more.

If you are a student studying ‘A’  or ‘O’ Level Chemistry and would like to make learning Chemistry so much simpler, do visit our website at mlceducationstudio.com to see why so many students choose us as their Chemistry specialist of choice! Do also come on down for our FREE Evaluative Consultation to pinpoint your exact difficulties in Chemistry and try out our classes to see the difference!