quote:

Originally posted by Frenchie A huge portion of your grade usually reflects on the little assignments you did in the semester, too. I wouldn't want to not do them and lose 20%-25% (yes this can be huge) of my grade even if I aced my test.

There are alot of uni classes where you can choose to either have your assignements + midterm + final add up to your final mark or choose to have the final count for 100%.

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Haha, I'd love it if my final counted for 100% of my mark.

don't forget to graduate hehe good luck!

I've actually noticed that a lot of grad/advanced classes make problem sets/assignments the majority of the grade. some don't even have exams so it's not like you can procrastinate on assignments and get away with cramming for tests. I think this is a good thing to do as it forces you to spend time really thinking about the assignment as opposed to banging out the (most likely easier than the homework) problems on the test in a couple of hours.

Also in a lot of my classes the prof has straight up said "You don't have to come to lecture, I know everyone learns differently and you can just read the book." This results in one of my math classes having like maximum 5 people each day

Yes, it definitely varies based on what you're studying. For math classes you have a curriculum and a text or two or lecture notes and you're good to go just by reading the text if that's how you learn best. Of course some other subjects naturally focus more on doing things (e.g. engineering/science lab classes) and discussing things (philosophy, literature, etc) rather than knowing things (math, pure sciences, etc).

Though 'doing' and 'discussing' are also vital to pure math and science, the content contained in the book often does not differ significantly from that of the lecture, given that you know the exact syllabus and know what to read.

See, you're paying all this money for tuition, so why wouldn't you want to get your money's worth? That's my logic for always attending, anyway. Guess I've been fortunate enough that I haven't had any seriously dull classes in a long while.

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quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee See, you're paying all this money for tuition, so why wouldn't you want to get your money's worth? That's my logic for always attending, anyway. Guess I've been fortunate enough that I haven't had any seriously dull classes in a long while.

True. Though sometimes class is unfortunately a waste of time if the prof fails at teaching or if you're being made to take a course where you already know most of the stuff. I agree though, once you get past requirements and into interesting stuff, there's really no reason not to go to class

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Last edited by wing on Dec-08-2008 at 11:03

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN at uni i only ever attented the first/last week of classes + tutes (and exams of course). lectures suck major arse and i learned things by studying, not by being talked at.

i go to lectures, but i don't read materials until finals. what's the point of ingesting all that information when you just have to do it again at finals? That's just my style though.

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 what's the point of ingesting all that information to do it again at finals.

Because repetition helps lock new information into long term memory. Again, I guess it depends on your field. I personally, and I'm sure the people I care for, prefer to actually know the shit I'm learning outside of getting a good grade on a test.

Even though I reckon many students can learn on their own quite a lot, being under the guidance of people a lot more knowledgeable than you on a specific subject is essential to a good intellectual development.

Growing up in a culture that emphasises individuality and independence, it's a bit difficult to notice how the environment can help you achieve things things you'd never be able to do on your own. When you listen to someone, you can interact with this person, reason why you can get a lot more out of lectures/seminaries if you decide to speak up.

Naturally, you're going to have both terrific and terrible teachers in your life. If your teacher sucks, then yeah, attending the classes is kinda pointless. But, unless you give it a try, how would you know? Just because of the first week?

Personally, I don't care if the students show up, as long as they take the exams. However, it's interesting to notice that, in general, the more a student skip classes, the worse their grades tend to be.

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The more I hear about other people's shitty teachers, the more glad I am for the awesome teachers in my program. They're truly amazing and inspiring.