… by Thea / from Peterborough / BSc Mathematics / 2nd Year (UG)
Hi everyone! I’m Thea and am currently in my second year at Edinburgh University. I thought I’d talk a bit about what your average Maths lecture is like at the University and how best to prepare!
I remember walking into my first university lecture and not really knowing what to expect. Although it might seem daunting at first don’t forget everyone is in the same boat so spark up a conversation with some people outside the lecture hall, after all you all have something in common to begin with – your intense love for Maths! It’s a great way to get to know people on your course and potentially secure someone to sit next to.
However, don’t fret too much if you end up walking into Gordon Aikman lecture theatre not knowing anyone, there’s no shame in sitting alone in a lecture – we’ve all done it! I feel like I must add, walking into a lecture a little late isn’t half as big of a deal as your racing heart and sweaty palms are telling you, nevertheless, punctuality is still the way to go so try not to make it a habit.
In my first year ‘Introduction to Linear Algebra’ course, the lectures covered the reading for the week in three 50 minute lectures. They mainly focused on the more complicated parts of the topics; so don’t neglect the reading, it makes a huge difference in your comprehension of the content.
Lectures consisted of a combination of worked through examples, Tophat questions and just lecturing, so relatively straight-forward and engaging.
For context, Tophat is a student engagement platform which lecturers use to ask questions which are usually multiple choice and it’s a great way for you to grasp the extent of your own understanding of the topic. They tend to vary from quick true or false questions to slightly more complicated questions that you’d have to put pen to paper to work out. Usually, the lecturers encourage you to do the question by yourself first before doing it again in discussion with the people sat around you. You might be surprised by the substantial increase in percentage of correct answers in the second round. Ultimately, you’ll end up learning a lot from your peers, and the teamwork and discussion plays a big role in helping to better your understanding. Tophat also acts as a convenient way to get to know the people on your course. Once again, you’re all in the same position, so don’t be afraid to spark up a conversation with the person next you! If you’re stuck chances are they are just as confused, which you might find comfort in, or they actually did the reading in which case you might find answers!
I should probably address the elephant in the room – COVID. Obviously things are a bit different this year and lectures have moved online. However, don’t panic as I am going to give you the rundown on them too.
My Maths lectures this year are pre-recorded and published on Learn weekly. I could go into all the tips for time management and just handling online lectures in general, but I think I might have to leave that for another detailed blog post.
Whilst it can be difficult for the lectures to be as interactive, there are still plenty of opportunities to have a go at the examples yourself, which the lecturers encourage. All in all, lectures follow a similar style as before COVID– working through examples and focusing on the more complicated ideas and concepts. Not to mention that being able to pause the lectures is a huge benefit as well! If you can’t quite remember a definition or don’t understand the example you can pause the video and have a quick read of your notes, the textbook or even browse Google.
And although I sometimes miss the brave soul who would raise their hand in the lecture hall to ask a seemingly simple question that I often was wondering about too, that’s what office hours and tutorials are for! So a great piece of advice I have for online lectures is to note down all the question and queries you might have and ask about it in your tutorial or office hours or anonymously through Piazza. Nine times out of ten someone else probably found your questions helpful as well! Tutorials are also a great way to form the relationships you would have potentially made in lectures – there is an emphasis on collaboration and discussion so you won’t be missing out on that!