Study Shack

How in-class time is spent has a great effect on the time and effort necessary for learning outside of class.

During the freshman year I sat towards the back of class and fell asleep a lot, rarely taking notes. "I’ll remember this!" I thought, relying on some inner genius to sprout and grant me the correct answers on exams. F after D after F kept piling up and I had to admit that the innate intelligence was only a phantom I used as an excuse to avoid putting in effort.

Studies have shown that 90% of the A students sit in the first three rows. This can hardly be a coincidence! The difference between the front row and even the second row is huge! All those heads to stare at, and less of the Professor’s focus. It is harder to be engaged moving further back. Towards the middle and back things continue in difficulty. Students talking and whispering can be a distraction. The front row is king.

Keeping attention the whole class has two important benefits: stronger memories and the class goes faster. With a stronger memory and better understanding in-class there is less time required to study outside of class. The Anki cards created from better understanding of material will be WORLDS better than copying line-for-line from powerpoint or textbook notes. Sitting in the front makes everything go faster and better!

Even in the front row attention can waver. To combat this: take notes often. Even over the little things. Underline words, put boxes around things, stars, arrows with small notes to clarify. A professor’s powerpoint notes will always be lacking some clarification. By digesting and focusing on understanding a concept, and writing it out on the notes, the lecture will fly by and the information will be better understood. This takes more effort and is worth every molecule of glucose spent doing it. In my Statistics class the TA used to read slowly and directly off the powerpoint slide. Many people brought printed out slides and highlighted. I brought looseleaf paper and wrote out important parts from the slide. This kept me engaged and I remembered the information well. I never looked at the notes after class. – the important thing is taking the notes. Also, the class zipped by!

To go a step further: I once saw a study that showed sitting on the right side of a class engages the logical left-brain more. Students sitting on the front right side have a slightly higher retention rate than those sitting in the front center, and significantly higher than those sitting even on the front left. The retention rate plummets moving back rows and towards the left side. Ever since this I have sat in the front right area of a classroom. These seats are the most engaging. Here is a diagram:

Seat greatness goes from Green -> Yellow -> Red.

There are people who can sit in the middle or back and achieve great scores. These people are the exception. I used to try very hard to be the exception. The misunderstood genius! It gave me frustration and low grades. Being the "misunderstood genius" matters more to yourself than anyone else. Standing on the solid ground of good learning techniques is better than trying to be an exception – it matter now more and in the future.

Many studies have shown the possibility of crime remaining constant an area even if the police patrol frequency is increased or decreased. These patrols are called ‘beats’. Despite this, most police forces agree that beats are the backbone of police work. Going out, being on the street on a regular basis. Attending class and keeping up the habit of attendance is the backbone of performing well. This is especially true in difficult classes. In my Freshman year I attended class seldomly and often slept or left early. Two years later between Organic Chemistry I and II I missed one day.

If only a fraction of the information is retained in class, it is still important to attend class and keep the habit up. A level of understanding is conferred in class that will help with making better Anki cards. Going to class keeps the information in the class fresh and at a higher priority. This is a familiar to concept to anyone that has gone to the gym on a consistently for a long time and then had to take a break.

Posture also plays a role in how much information is retained. I read in a book that a professor at a university did a quick study. In the middle of his lecture he had all the students freeze their posture positions. He noted their posture positions and then let them relax and take a pop quiz. The students with the most ‘open’ posture: legs separated, arms unfolded, head up, facing the professor, had the highest scores. The students in ‘closed’ posture: legs crossed, arms closed, facing away from the teacher, had the lowest scores. Ever since this I have adapted an ‘open’ posture during lecture. Sometimes I catch myself and realize I have my legs crossed – and have also focused less on the professor. If a posture feels more ‘natural’ and ‘comfortable’ at the moment, it is likely that the mind is just trying to show its feelings! Changing the posture to more open will also change the mind to more open, giving greater retention of information and focus.

The time spent in class is invaluable. Another technique: avoid talking to people. There is plenty of time outside of the class to talk! I usually just ignore people talking to me. Friends will understand. Avoid distractions such as using a cell phone as well. Even small distractions can break concentration and drag the class time out. People who look at their phone and the time often are frustrated how long the class is. People paying attention and effectively absorbing information have the class fly by!

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