PhAST Track Orientation Module: Going to (and missing) Class

Please read:

Chapter 4: 'Lectures, Tutorials, and Laboratories' (pages 37-49).

Students should notify the subject co-ordinator of any absences. 

Generally absences are for medical grounds and students must submit a medical certificate to Pharmacy Reception as soon as possible and within one week of returning to class. 

Internal students can find the room numbers and times of their lectures and tutorials from here. Simply log on with your username and password and type in your subject codes.

Once you have opened your timetable you will see several lectures and tutorials for each subject. You do not have to attend ALL of these.

You will be assigned your prac groups and told which sessions to attend in the first lecture for each subject.

What do you think will be the biggest challenges for you at university?

While lectures and tutorials are not always compulsory for internal students, often a roll is taken.  Sometimes attendance forms a small percentage of your final grade and is given as participation mark. This roll may also be used as evidence of participation if you proceed to dispute any grade that you have received.

Even if you do not receive any marks for attending, it is best for you to attend. It's easier to make sense of the lecture notes and readings when you have someone explain it to you, or when you can talk about it with your peers. Often lecturers will talk about assessment in class too. So, a few hours of class time could mean saving a lot of time/frustration/confusion/anxiety trying to figure out what the lecture slides mean or what the assessment tasks require. 

Although it is very tempting to not attend class, it's better to try not to miss classes unless it's really necessary. Often students who fail are those who don't attend class, and it is so much better to spend a dozen or so hours a week in uni, than to repeat the subjects next year!

Lectures are the core of university teaching and are delivered by lecturers in large lecture theatres in front of large groups of students. During a lecture, which usually lasts 50 minutes, students listen and take notes. Most subjects will have 3 lectures a week. In this situation, there may be limited communication between the lecturer and the students. Lecture material is discussed during your tutorials.

"Take your lecture notes, a pen and a highlighter to each and every lecture of the year and use them!  Attendance at lectures is not compulsory, but it’s much harder to learn them yourself from the lecture notes than it is to sit and listen for 50 minutes.  I missed some lectures throughout my degree and found it could be quite difficult to learn from the lecture notes; you really need some things to be explained.  That said, it’s not the end of the world if you miss a lecture but it takes a lot longer to look up various textbooks and websites to gain the same knowledge you would have if you went to the lecture."

-        Matt Gibbs

Tutorials are often held to reinforce and clarify content taught in the lectures.  In the BPharm at JCU, tutorials are often structured around problem solving as opposed to large group discussions.  Students may be given questions and problems prior to the tutorial, and as a class the answers are worked through with a lot of involvement from the students.  In this case, it certainly is best to be prepared so you get the most from the class!  Otherwise, you might be given a set of problems in the tutorial to work through.

Most subjects have assigned one tutorial a week, and they generally run for 50 minutes.  Sometimes a roll will be taken, and in other tutorials it is not mandatory to attend.  It is important that you check the subject outline for each subject to determine this.  Even if it is not compulsory to attend the tutorial, it is strongly advised that you do - research with first-year students showed that they were 25% more likely to pass a course simply by attending and participating in classes on a regular basis!

"Tutorials are designed for you to understand the subject content from the lectures. You should not miss out on tutorials. In addition, actively participate in the discussions/activities in the tutorials."

-        Matt Gibbs

Practicals play an important role in university education, particularly in your first year.  There is a three hour practical for each subject.  In your first year most of your practicals will be held in various laboratories.

When you are in a laboratory there are particular rules and requirements that MUST BE OBSERVED.  You will be instructed as to what equipment you will be required to take with you to each practical, and it is your responsibility to make sure you know before each session.

As a general rule, you will ALWAYS be required to wear the following items in the practical laboratories:

• CLOSED-IN SHOES
• LAB COAT
• PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR

If you forget to bring these items, you will not be admitted into the practical, and you will be marked as a non-complete (or fail).  No exceptions will be made, and the instructors do not have spare sets that you can borrow. So it is a very good idea to make sure you have all of the required equipment before the first practical, and never forget to bring them to class!

"Practicals reinforce the theory you have learnt at lectures.  Use them to ask questions or better consolidate your knowledge on the specific topic.  Always do the pre-reading and have a look at the prac manual beforehand so you can go in knowing what you have to do in 3 hours as it will save time and you’ll be finished early!  This is especially important if you have a Friday afternoon prac from 2-5pm!"

-        Allison Jackson

"Tip 1: Prior to attending the practical, read over it and think about what you are going to do in the practical. Tip 2: Attend all the practicals, and, if they are group practicals, don’t just let other group members do the work. Tip 3: If you don’t know how to do a technique, ask! Especially early in the semester."

-        Matt Gibbs