by Jasmine Paul

Created on: May 25, 2007

By preparing for class in advance, you have the opportunity to get the most from your coursework and save yourself time cramming in the future. There are a few simple steps you can take to make sure you are prepared for class.

First, make sure you have read the assignment. You quickly learn which teachers teach directly from the text and which use it as a supplement. No matter what, coming in with a general idea of the subject matter provides a more holistic learning opportunity.

Secondly, if you have extra time and find that a particular topic for the week is of interest to you, try to do some brief outside research. Look for works of scholars that are well-known within the field. This also provides greater context, and you will be ahead of the game when choosing research topics or studying for tests. This also demonstrates to the professor that you are serious about your learning.

The most obvious would be to make sure you have completed any assignments. Though college courses often have less stringent "homework" requirements, you will have a harder time learning without doing your work. In more quantifiable classes (math, statistics, science), professors may provide opportunities to assist with problems or give the answers. Though you may want to skip the assignment, knowing you will get the answers in class, you are not going through the process of learning, so the information will be less likely to stick. It is also often a building process, so you need the earlier work to continue in more advanced work.

Also, don't feel weird about going to the professors for outside help. They hold office hours for that purpose, and one-on-one assistance allows them to find the learning method that works for you, so you gain a greater understanding.

Finally, review any notes from the week before. Though not all courses lead from week to week, most are not isolated lessons. Again, this gives you the opportunity for a holistic learning approach.

If you take all these steps, you will get the most out of the education for which you are paying a lot of money, and you will be better prepared in the long run.

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