Pay Attention Like a Pro

Posted by Harry Tran on 08.19.09 @ 16:34

You are sitting in class and couldn't care less about what the professor is saying. Unfortunately, he/she is catching on and its time to make it look like you’re interested in the material because you know this professor picks favorites. What are a couple things you can do to regain the status of “good student” in the eyes of your professor?

1. The Head Nod
Ah yes, nothing gets the teacher's confidence higher than the simple head nod. It is completely nondisruptive and boosts the speaker's confidence. You essentially give the professor the false sense of seurity that what he is saying actually makes sense. All you have to do is wait until eye contact is made, place one hand underneath your chin and bob your head up and down. "Yes! at least I am reaching one of these kids," the professor thinks.

2. Asking a question without really asking a question
Nothing shows effort more than a student who asks questions in class. The problem there is that you actually have to be paying attention to ask a question without looking like an idiot... or do you? One of the best ways to come up with a question is not to come up with a question at all. The task at hand is to listen for maybe just one minute(that's not too much to ask) and then repeat exactly what the professor said but in the form of a question. here is a simple example:

Professor: Thevenin's Theorem states that a circuit of voltage sources and resistors can be converted into a Thevenin Equivalent which is a simplification technique used in circuit analysis.
student: So what you're saying is that by using Thevenin's Theorem you can take a complicated circuit and convert it to a simpler form to make analysis easier?
Professor: Brilliant!

3. The Shoulder Tap
You're going to need the assistance of your equally-not-paying-attention neighbor for this one. If you really need to make your professor feel like youre paying attention, this will work 100% of the time. Simply lean over toward your buddy, whisper something random into his ear, point to the board, pause a second, act like you had an epiphany, and lastly, scribble something in your notebook.

Example: After tapping your friend on the shoulder, you whisper, "Hey, I'm pretending to ask you a question to make it look like we're paying attention. your friend responds, "Shutup creep," to which you go, "Ahhhhh, I get it" and go back to practicing your signature and drawing 3-dimensional figures.

There you go, three foolproof ways to make it look like you're paying attention in class. Be careful though, don't let any of these backfire. If the professor asks if you have a question, just say you already figured "it" out. Good luck and may your student-teacher relationships continue to improve.


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