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Making the most of your classes

You've taken up your place as a student at Birkbeck, follow these essential tips to get the most out of your classes.

  • Show up! Even if you're not fully prepared, attend the lecture or seminar anyway. You won't learn as much as you would have done if you'd completed the pre-session activities, but you'll still learn something and students who have good attendance always do better on assignments. Also, swipe your ID card when you arrive at your class so that your attendance is formally recorded.
  • Arrive early. Connect with classmates before the session starts. Try to chat to at least one person in your group. It will help your academic progress if you can discuss the class content over a coffee or a video call.
  • Complete the pre-sessional activities. Pick up some strategies for staying on top of your reading list and taking useful lecture notes via our online tutorial on on reading and making notes.

dealing with shyness and social anxiety in seminars 

  • Know that you're not alone. A survey by The Times (2019) indicated that 47% of respondents described themselves as ‘shy’ and 10%, ‘very shy’.
  • Start out by setting yourself a target of one contribution per seminar. After a couple of seminars, challenge yourself to start making two contributions. You don't have to have a big idea or a fully formed comment to contribute. Often, you can help the seminar move along by making a small comment and this can be a way of breaking the ice and building your confidence about speaking up.
  • If it helps, write down comments that you'd like to make. A ‘script’ for your contributions can help you feel confident that you'll get your point across.
  • Be positive about others' contributions and try to draw in anyone who doesn't seem to be involved. Often, people really want to contribute to discussions but don't know how to start.
  • Do you feel like everyone else in the group has more important/interesting things to say? Well, good luck to them! You make your contributions anyway. This is about your academic development.
  • Expressing and defending your ideas verbally is a fantastic skill for any future career, so make the most of this opportunity to develop your skills.