To think that this is a poor way to behave in a university lecture?

[malificent7]

Sat in front a group of girls in a lecture...first proper one of the module and I wish I'd said something.
They were laughing about the lecturers , were nattering on about everything and seemed to have a comment for everything the lecturer said.
I took 1 photo of a power point slide and they must have had a 3/4 minute discussion ( pisstake) about it. ( apparently it's fine to take photos of the big screen for notes. I had to check as was feeling paranoid in case I had committed a lecture faux pas.
They were behaving like a bunch of year 9 students win a sweet shop not a group of 18 year olds at uni.
In another lecture a paper aeroplane had been made but thankfully no-one had thrown it.
I am a mature student and therefore a boring old fart. Didn't help that I used to teach. But this is a respected science course and these young people will be treating the vulnerable if they qualify.
So am I a boring old fart and next time should I say something? The lecturer had to tell them to shut up several times.

Raise lecture disruption with programme team and student reps. It should get dealt with. Sometimes it’s a case of lecturers being supported in enforcing codes of conduct (they aren’t always aware of procedures)

Taking attendance is pretty much mandated by the government now as universities need to show records of their Tier 4 visa holders actually taking the course. Obviously we can’t single out overseas students, so everyone’s attendance is recorded.

Yes Symphony I agree re attendance on a professional course. Also, unprofessional behaviour as a student on courses such as medicine & dentistry etc can terminate their studies.

There is always few of these. That's why I sit right at the front.

My dd had problems like this. She wasn't a mature student but was aghast at the behaviour.

Personally, I think anyone behaving like that should be told to leave the lecture.

Raise lecture disruption with programme team and student reps. It should get dealt with.

That's true.

I once raised a concern that the same group of students were late to every morning lecture and that the lecturer would stop an recap. These were obviously those living literally across the road from the building the lecture was in.

Surely it was ever thus.

When I was at uni the mature students sat in the front row and us dickheads sat at the back. Saying that, I was a mature student but only by a few years, I was in halls and I was totally a dickhead.

If you keep making comments I’m sure they’ll start avoiding you.

Why don't the disruptive students realise that their lecturers are mentally marking their cards? They must be very naive.

I also don't think it's a mature v 18year old student thing. Not every 18/19/20 year old is a dickhead; the vast majority ime have been exceptionally committed.

I think there's a strong argument for independent non-school based sixth forms, I went to one, teachers were by first name, tutors weren't interested in parents. If you didn't attend that was on you and if you failed you dealt with the consequences. I also took a gap year and worked full time for nine months of it. By the time I went to uni I was only a year older than the majority of the intake but felt very different in terms of maturity.

I teach apprentices in FE. Behaviour is generally impeccable. When it’s not, I sling them out and their employer has words.

Please say something to the lecturer. I'm a lecturer with terrible eyesight so while I can hear when there's low level chatting I find it difficult to pinpoint the culprits. I have in the past invited chatters to leave my lectures.

I've been to uni thrice before and we chatted before and after lectures but not during unless a really interesting point came up. So I wasn't always a snooty mature student. It's the first time I've come across this nonsense.

Oh this is my thread!!!

I went to Birkbeck last year which is mainly older mature students, everyone stfu when the tutor or lecturer was talking. Total shock to the system to move to a normal uni this year and be surrounded by rude teens. It's actually quite put me off. I was sitting on my hands trying not to tell off the twelve year old young man across the room (in a seminar of about 15 people). The tutor had already asked everyone to be quiet which I found embarrassing enough but he literally just continued his conversation. I'm confident the young woman he was talking at wasn't fussed about him finishing either.

And the paper aeroplane...why??????
Could it be like doodling, to aid concentration?

Im a lecturer. I'd have asked them if they needed help in understanding anything very nicely but loudly and kept a close beady eye on them. I do tell people to shut up if I have to.

I was sitting at the front in said lecture and little miss chatterboxes were right behind me.

So glad I'm not at Uni now. I went in 1996 so before moiile phones were everywhere - think I got my first in 1999. Not sure I could stand it now. I was never the most attentive or dedicated student but I would never have disrupted a lecture. Pretty sure the lecturers we had would have thrown me out.

I’m a lecturer and thankfully I’ve never experienced this. Sometimes the students might get a bit excited about a certain point I’ve made and there might be a bit of talking from a small sub group.

But it’s very short lived, like literally someone will say a sentence to their neighbour. If we’ve been chatting about something as a group (I like to make my lectures quite interactive) and I now want them to stop talking I will either wait silently for a minute (they normally get the message quickly) or even put my hand up. The latter is very effective.

I’ve never yet had to use the “is there something you’d like to share with us” line which I have up my sleeve for any persistent offenders. Am teaching new first years tomorrow so will see!

My DS s say all their lectures are recorded and put online

I did a 5 minute lecture “shout out” for a class of 1st year health students (basicslly advertising services we offer as a department of profession services in the uni) some students were alseep. This is thier first week of lectures. Low entry caps have saw a decline the in the quality of students. They’ll either drop out or won’t attend many lectures and scrape through as the year progresses. It’s a sad state when you’re letting in students with 3 U alevel

I did a PGCE as a mature student. It was always the girls straight out of their undergrad degree who would talk, use their phones lots and even do crosswords etc in lectures. I really wanted to ask them why they were even there. It was very frustrating to have their giggling and noise while you were trying to concentrate. Even if lectures are boring, you just let your mind drift off, not start a giggly game of hangman with your neighbour.

It’s also worth bearing in mind if you’ve come from a school with big classes, overworked / stressed teachers, more supply than you can shake a stick at, that is as much lord of the flies as learning and education - you may not approach uni expecting to be quiet and studious.

It took me YEARS to be comfortable with studying in silence. I used to listen to the radio (through headphones) in the uni library because I found the silence so unnerving. I was friends with plenty of students who felt the same way.

Maybe the people making noise in class don’t consider themselves disruptive because noise in class is normal for them.

Surely it was ever thus.

It wasn't thus when I was at university. In lectures, we behaved like the adults we were.

My DS s say all their lectures are recorded and put online

Lectures usually are but not the seminars or workshops. More awkward when someone is being a rude arse because you can't just move away to avoid them.