St Andrew's School

Economics and Commerce are not difficult subjects. Yet they require you to put in some effort on a regular basis. The courses have been designed not only to suit Cambridge requirements, but also to provide you with enough guidance to stimulate your interest in the subjects. The following hints might help you through.

(1)   LISTENING

Listening is an essential learning tool. Students can learn a lot through listening. However, listening is a skill which must be developed. While listening, it is important for you to:

(i)                  Know why what the speaker is saying is important to you. This will help you to become a motivated listener.

(ii)                Take responsibility for what is being said. It is up to you to show interest and try to understand what the speaker is saying. A serious learner listens with interest not passively.

(iii)               Make sure that you hear properly. If you cannot hear, then you have to move away from sources of noise. You must not let yourself be distracted. You must also not create disturbances that might interfere with your own listening and that of others. Avoid talking to your neighbours or shuffling papers.

(iv)              Pay attention to what the speaker is saying, not how it is being said. Do not reject what the speaker is saying because you do not like something about him or the message. You must listen with understanding.

(v)                Remain alert. It will be much easier for you to understand if you are able to follow the speaker’s pattern of organisation. You can then know what the speaker’s driving at and how the speaker’s getting there.

(vi)              Avoid faking attention. Make an effort to conceal your boredom. Concentrate on what is being said. Listening is dynamic and constructive.

(vii)             Stay tuned in to what the speaker is saying. Do not let your mind wander. Your attention span is limited but can be increased through deliberate effort. It is vital for you to continue to practice the habit of attention.

(viii)           Take notes. You might recognise everything being said, but unless you note it down, you will not remember it later.

 (2)   TAKING NOTES

Class notes are an important tool for reviewing for exams and distilling key concepts. It forces you to listen carefully and tests your understanding of the material. When you are reviewing, notes provides a gauge to what is important in the text and personal notes are usually easier to remember than the text. Also the writing down of important points helps you to remember then even before you have studies the material formally.

Learning to make notes effectively will help you to improve your study and work habits and to remember important information.  Often, students are deceived into thinking that because they understand everything that is said in class they will therefore remember it. This is not true! Write it down.

As you make notes, you will develop skill in selecting important material and in discarding unimportant material.  The secret to developing this skill is practice.  Notes enable you to retain important facts and data and to develop an accurate means of arranging necessary information.

Each student has his own way of taking down notes, but the following suggestions might be helpful:

(i)                  It is important that you review your notes from the previous class session before you come to class. This will help you remember what was covered and get you ready to understand new information that your teacher will provide.

(ii)                If you were given some readings to do, it is vital for you to them completed them before you come to class. Your teacher will expect that you have done this and will use and build upon this information. If you have not completed the assigned readings you will find it difficult to understand what the teacher is saying and you might loose interest.

(iii)               It will be best for you to bring all note taking materials with you to class and have them well organised. You will then be in a better position to follow what is being said.

(iv)               Make your notes brief. Do not write everything that you read or hear. Omit descriptions and full explanations. Notes should be short and to the point. Condense your material so that you can learn it rapidly. But the notes must be accurate. While using your own words, make sure that you do not change the meaning of the sentence.

(v)                Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your notes. Do this by writing abbreviated words, using symbols such as % for percent, and writing short sentences. The system of punctuation and abbreviations make sense to you. The use of abbreviations and symbols are recommended, but be consistent. Use outline form and/or a numbering system.  Indention helps you distinguish major from minor points. Leave lots of white space for later additions

(vi)              Put most notes in your own words.  However, the following should be noted exactly: formulas, definitions, specific facts. Also think a minute about your material before you start making notes.  Don't take notes just to be taking notes!  Take notes that will be of real value to you when you look over them at a later date.

(vii)             Pay attention to what is important to take down. The teacher usually calls attention by various ways, such as material written on the board, repetition, emphasis. The emphasis can be judged by the tone of the voice and gesture. Listen for ‘signal statements’ such as “the third reason is …..”, “In conclusion…..”, “the most important point is…..”.

(viii)           Place a ? next to information you write in your notes, but about whose meaning you are not sure. If you miss a statement, don’t worry, write key words, skip a few spaces, and get the information later. Pay attention to the summaries given at the end of the class.

(ix)              Date your notes and number the pages and keep them in order.

(x)                Shortly after making your notes, go back and rework (not redo) your notes by adding extra points and spelling out unclear items. Also change abbreviated words into whole words, symbols into words and short sentences into longer sentences. Remember, we forget rapidly.  Budget time for this vital step just as you do for the class itself.

(xi)               Review your notes regularly.  This is the only way to achieve lasting memory.