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.

One student hot out his anti-perspirant when I was taking a seminar and sprayed his underarms as though public personal grooming was no issue. He was a fabulous 1st class student, though, I have to say.

Whenever people started chattering when I was talking, I'd stop talking and look at them: cue, 350 other students turning around to see who I was looking at. They quickly shut up.

who does not respond within minutes to their emails asking questions that had they listened during the lecture they would almost certainly know the answer to

I can go one better on that!

After an introductory lecture, I had a student email me to ask if the slides were on the Moodle (they were - it's what I use to lecture from). I responded by asking whether she'd looked at the Moodle. NO answer from the student, of course.

I blame the parents, frankly.

I was asked why I was taking notes the other day

Well, those disrespectful, immature students could have been me 20 years ago! [blush. I'm ashamed to say ] Different people take different amounts of time to realise their flaws and how to behave! The younger me was also pretty insecure and hyperactive, both of which drove my ridiculous behaviour!

Try and see their vulnerable side! And don't assume they'll drop out etc.... 20 years later and I'm now the lecturer. I was often drunk/stoned/asleep when I should have been at seminars! But somehow I scraped through those days, got a 2.1 (phew!) and eventually found my path!!

I do get pretty annoyed sometimes when I see those students like I used to be! But I try and remind myself that my job is to engage them, not judge them, and try and be that one person that can inspire them and change their direction to one which could serve them well in the future (rather than one which entails more booze and more hangovers).

A good lecturer can inspire even the most distractable student! If your students are talking, or not turning up, or walking out, you need to do something different!

There is nothing more rewarding than the drunk, 3rd/failing student who turns it around because you, or a colleague, actually inspired them to make a change :)

Although I can see that it's good to have the notes available electronically, it means that the students don't have to take notes and it's pretty obvious that a lot won't even listen, then. I taught A levels and I know half of my ex students would be bloody useless in that sort of environment (though they did go to university.) They weren't allowed to use their phones in the classroom in 6th form but I knew that if nobody stopped them at university, they'd be on them the whole time.

A good lecturer can inspire even the most distractable student! If your students are talking, or not turning up, or walking out, you need to do something different!

That's a bit patronising.

I defy anyone to make LARSP (Language Assessment, Remediation and Screening Procedure) gripping! It is intrinsically a very dry topic. But sometimes in life we just have to accept that some things are necessary and important but as tedious as hell! Nothing wrong with that, it is a Life Lesson

But must admit, one of my colleagues could even make Sociolinguistics (one of the most fascinating areas of human communication) into mind numbing boredom. He really DID deserve any poor feedback he got. He pretty much just photocopied the relevant textbook pages, projected them onto a screen, and read them. But like the (good) lecturer I mentioned previously who could fend off bad feedback because of his worldwide reputation, this one also brought in huge amounts of grant money from a particular patient group. He wasn't interested in teaching - just liked his research.

And don't get me started on "open door" policies . . .

OP - good note-taking is both a science and an art, and if you work to achieve a high standard it will benefit you FOREVER, even in situations you don't expect it to. Ignore the idiots - keep taking those notes! And write them up as soon as you can - elaborate on them and keep that material free and alive in your mind. You won't regret it.

Most lecturers want their lectures to be interesting but they’re not children’s entertainers FFS

I went to university at 18 and there were people regularly napping in our lectures, just laying down on the seats and taking a nap. One even fetched a travel pillow with him

I went to uni a couple of decades ago, and IME it was the mature students who were the most disruptive in my classes. Constant questions during lectures. And monopolising tutorials. Very annoying. Very...try hard. The rest of us just got on with it. Probably a bit of arsing about and having fun as well. We were 18.

Managed to get a 1st class degree from a good uni. So can’t have done that much harm. 🤷‍♀️

I agree that some topics are always going to be more boring than others. Where I am there is an excellent senior lecturer who has won more student voted awards and praise from students than I could ever imagine. One of the modules she teaches has a reputation for being dull and looking at the content I’m not suprised. But her other lectures are the highest rated. It’s not her, it’s the subject matter.

nursing?
Iv started this week and am amazed how many people are already saying they haven't attended anything or just don't want to attend half the stuff.
🙄

Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I remember feeling appalled when I was a uni student when people would chatter through lectures and seminars. I had a seminar whereby one particular group were making comments about the tutor and I felt really bad about it because she could hear them!

It didn't really improve either when I did my Master's degree and those disruptive students were typically mature students with a background in the social care industry!

In the end, I quit going to lectures and studied all of the material myself at home - best decision I ever made.

NoFucksImAQueen they will find themselves running into trouble with the programme’s attendance policy as you will know the NMC require this

@blueskiesandforests agree totally. It's more about 'student experience' (wiping bums) these days than actually learning. Universities are so desperate to retain people they will bend over backwards to appraise the 'student voice'.

*appease

Fuck it, Lecturers are not public entertainers. If you don't like the lecture, don't go. But it is no bloody excuse to be a rude idiot.
And this attitude stems from the idea that it is always the teacher/lecturers fault, and never the kid/students fault.

Here we go again with the ‘uni’ ‘university ‘ debate. There are some educational establishments where this would not be tolerated.
These days it seems that anyone who scrapes a few decent results can go to ‘uni’.
Why?
‘University status’ has become a joke.
If you want to go into further education to study then great, but if you just want to piss about there are plenty of other, vocational options out there.
Paper planes and giggling makes my blood boil!

I once interrupted a lecture to tell everyone to shut up or leave as I wanted to learn. I was a boring fart mature student amongst mostly 18 year olds and I did slightly regret it but they were being incredibly disrespectful and I was paying a lot in fees and wanted my money's worth!

Just want to add that I’m all in favour of mature students. It just pisses me off when people are given an opportunity and they just fuck it up and ruin everyone else’s learning opportunity

I was a mature student. A student who liked talking through lectures often sat behind me. He'd talk inane nonsense through every lecture and shhing him had little effect.

Eventually I lost patience, and one day I stood up and said to him, perfectly calmly "would you shut the fuck up. This is a lecture not the cafe".

And.... he shut the fuck up!! It was so satisfying. He said mostly quiet after that too. I think he hated me, but that's the beauty of being a mature student- no fucks to give!!

I will stop my lecture and tell the chatting group to either stop talking or leave, usually does the trick. Having said that I’m teaching in a medical school so they’re a bit scared of me (which obviously helps).

I do tell them to be quiet. If I asked them to leave the classroom, though, there’s a chance that they would refuse and tell me that they’re paying to be there.

So has everyone else in the room, and they have paid to listen to the lecture not the gigglers.

I never attended a single lecture during my time at uni. Graduated with one publication, several awards, and a scholarship offer for my Masters. Not attending doesn't mean a lack of interest or lack of commitment to the course.

That being said, I wouldn't attend a lecture and then behave like a brat. The same goes for classes.

But, I would give them the benefit of the doubt. They are 18. We've all been 18 once. We've all been trying to make friends and look cool, and perhaps we didn't all go about it in the best way. Whether or not the stay in the course is irrelevant. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Whether or not they will make good professionals 4+ years down the line is not something that you can judge now. People change immeasurably during their time at uni.

I am a mature student, very mature, and have just finished a degree in social work. The main issue for me was the constant taking of selfies in lectures, and talking when we had guests in. Just bloody rude!