For example, you can listen to someone, but not truly tune in to what he or she is saying. And the way you listen to a concert for enjoyment and appreciation is not the same mode of listening you’d find most effective if you’re trying to understand and absorb the material being presented. Thus, students who want to get the most out of your lectures can benefit from some straightforward advice that can help them focus their concentration as they listen.

In Essential Study Skills, Eighth Edition, Linda Wong encourages students to listen for six kinds of information as they pay attention to your lecture and take notes. These are:

1. Key or “signal” words. Keywords (or “signal words”) such as “causes,” “purposes,” “effects,” “ways,” “advantages,” “characteristics,” and “types” can be used as “headings” to indicate that the speaker is introducing a major portion of the lecture (e.g. “Now, I am going to discuss the top five ways that…”).

2 . Main ideas. Topic sentences indicate the main points or ideas that the speaker is trying to communicate. These are often indicated by such words as “First…” “Second…” “Third…” and “Finally…”.

3. Definitions and key terms. If the instructor is taking the time to define a term, it is almost certainly a critical concept that’s central to your understanding of the topic. If the speaker says something like “[the term] means…” or “[term], also known as…”, you’re hearing a definition. Wong recommends writing “DEF” or “=” in your notes to indicate that you’ve copied down a term defined in class.

4. Supporting details. Examples, dates, statistics, anecdotes and other details illustrate the key points, provide supporting evidence for the topic under discussion, and help clarify your understanding.

5. The speaker’s verbal clues. Most instructors will use certain keywords (as described above) to indicate important concepts. You may also notice that an instructor becomes more enthusiastic at a certain point in the lecture,  or that he or she “punctuates” key points with a louder voice, deeper tone, or particular gestures. The more familiar you become with the instructor’s speaking style, the more readily you’ll come to know his or her method of confirming that a particular point is important. (And of course, if the instructor says “This is important,” it’s important!)

6. The conclusion. The instructor will likely “wrap up” the lecture by summarizing the main points that he or she covered that day. Be sure to capture these points, and write them under the heading “Conclusion” so that you can readily find them when it’s time to review.

Source: https://blog.cengage.com/tips-for-students-how-to-focus-listen-attentively-to-college-lectures/

The brain has two modes of thinking that Dr. Oakley simplifies as ‘focused,’ in which learners concentrate on the material, and ‘diffuse,’ a neural resting state in which consolidation occurs — that is, the new information can settle into the brain. (Cognitive scientists talk about task-positive networks and default-mode networks, respectively, in describing the two states.) In diffuse mode, connections between bits of information, and unexpected insights, can occur. That’s why it’s helpful to take a brief break after a burst of focused work.

TAKE A BREAK 
To accomplish those periods of focused and diffuse-mode thinking, Dr. Oakley recommends what is known as the Pomodoro Technique, developed by one Francesco Cirillo. Set a kitchen timer for a 25-minute stretch of focused work, followed by a brief reward, which includes a break for diffuse reflection. (‘Pomodoro’ is Italian for tomato — some timers look like tomatoes.) The reward — listening to a song, taking a walk, anything to enter a relaxed state — takes your mind off the task at hand. Precisely because you’re not thinking about the task, the brain can subconsciously consolidate the new knowledge. Dr. Oakley compares this process to ‘a librarian filing books away on shelves for later retrieval.’ … ‘Virtually anyone can focus for 25 minutes, and the more you practice, the easier it gets.’

PRACTICE 
‘Chunking’ is the process of creating a neural pattern that can be reactivated when needed. It might be an equation or a phrase in French or a guitar chord. Research shows that having a mental library of well-practiced neural chunks is necessary for developing expertise.

‘Practice brings procedural fluency,’ says Dr. Oakley, who compares the process to backing up a car. ‘When you first are learning to back up, your working memory is overwhelmed with input.’ In time, you don’t even need to think more than ‘Hey, back up,’ and the mind is free to think about other things.

‘Chunks build on chunks, and,’ she says, the neural network built upon that knowledge grows bigger. ‘You remember longer bits of music, for example, or more complex phrases in French.’ Mastering low-level math concepts allows tackling more complex mental acrobatics. ‘You can easily bring them to mind even while your active focus is grappling with newer, more difficult information.’

KNOW THYSELF 
Dr. Oakley urges her students to understand that people learn in different ways. Those who have ‘racecar brains’ snap up information; those with ‘hiker brains’ take longer to assimilate information but, like a hiker, perceive more details along the way. Recognizing the advantages and disadvantages, she says, is the first step in learning how to approach unfamiliar material.

• To provide a ‘live picture’ of your growing understanding of a subject or experience.
• To demonstrate how your learning is developing.
• To keep a record of your thoughts and ideas throughout your experiences of learning.
• To help you identify your strengths, weaknesses and preferences in learning.

• Avoid transcribing notes (writing every word the instructor says) in favor of writing notes in your own words.
• Review your notes the same day you created them and then on a regular basis, rather than cramming review into one long study session immediately prior to an exam.
• Test yourself on the content of your notes either by using flashcards or using methodology from Cornell Notes. Testing yourself helps you identify what you do not yet know from your notes, and successful recall of tested information improves your ability to recall that information later (you will be less likely to forget it).
• Carefully consider whether to take notes on pen and paper (or iPad and pencil) or with a laptop. There are costs and benefits to either option.
• We are often misled to believe that we know lecture content better than we actually do, which can lead to poor study decisions. Avoid this misperception at all costs!

• Use class time as study time and what was formerly study time as self-testing time. At the end of the day, test yourself over content that was presented in lecture. On weekends, review the previous week’s content. 20 to 30 minutes of self-testing time is optimum, then break.
• Use targeted lecture capture review that involves conscientiously documenting the time into a lecture and the material that may be challenging/important/unclear.
• Don’t rewrite notes verbatim. Think about “generative” note taking, or taking notes using your own words and methods of summarizing material. Want to really know more about note taking? Check out this document from the Harvard Initiative for Teaching and Learning.
• Practice writing test questions for each lecture. (Do them in multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank form, depending on instructor.) Work in a group to share different questions.
• Review notes or notecards then put them away and attempt to recall material on your own. (Research shows this to be highly effective.)
• When reviewing notes, “chunk” the material, read through it, put it away and tell yourself a story about how that might affect/be relevant to a case or patient.
• Use a learning journal before you go to bed to think about how to solve particular problems and what went well during the day’s lectures.