Is it good etiquette for a student to write down his|her own notes?

[Eclair_de_XII]

I apologize for the vagueness of the topic title. Allow me to clarify what I mean. Let's say a professor is explaining a theorem while proving it on the board. He is explaining this to a fairly small class; he would hypothetically know what every single student is at his or her desk. Suppose there is some student who begins to write (or finish) his own version of the theorem that the professor is in the middle of proving. Would it be disrespectful, because the professor might be made to feel slightly redundant? Is this the sort of behavior that should be avoided in a college classroom environment?

 

[phinds]

How would the professor know that the student wasn't just taking notes on what he (the professor) is saying? Do you plan on announcing it, like "Hey, prof, your proof is dumb. I'm going to do a better one" ?

 

[Eclair_de_XII]

How would the professor know that the student wasn't just taking notes on what he (the professor) is saying?

The student would finish writing his version of the proof first, and would be too careless to not pretend to still be writing while the proof on the board is still being written.

 

[DaveC426913]

Did someone notice/care?

 

[Eclair_de_XII]

I'm musing about the possibility that the professor might notice.

 

[vela]

I doubt the professor would notice, much less care.

 

[Eclair_de_XII]

I doubt the professor would notice, much less care.

That works for me. Thanks.

 

[kuruman]

As a professor, even if I knew what the student was up to, I wouldn't mind and I would not consider it disrespectful. In fact I would be delighted to see a student not just passively following the lecture but actually getting ahead of it. I had such a student a long time ago. He approached me at the end of a lecture, after everybody else had left, and informed me very respectfully that I made a logical mistake in treating a proposition as if it were a necessary condition when I had only proved it was sufficient. He was correct of course in pointing out my sloppiness. I already knew that he was an exceptional student and his demeanor impressed me enough to appoint him "voice of my conscience." This meant that he had my permission to interrupt my lecture and correct me should he detect another such slip. Needless to say, he kept me on my toes for the rest of the semester.

 

[TeethWhitener]

I’ve also witnessed that sometimes, when bright students get ahead of the professor in lecture, they’ll use the extra time to formulate some really insightful questions that ultimately add value to the lecture experience for the entire class.

 

[mpresic3]

Probably not. However, it might be embarassing in the least, with various degrees of seriousness, if for example you asked questions, or brought to the attention (i.e. inentiononally or accidently misrepresented) the professor's teaching and presentation to other faculty or other authority.

I can imagine the professor's reaction to notes shown to him as ones he or she presented in class, when they presented no such thing.

 

[symbolipoint]

proving it on the board. He is explaining this to a fairly small class; he would hypothetically know what every single student is at his or her desk. Suppose there is some student who begins to write (or finish) his own version of the theorem that the professor is in the middle of proving. Would it be disrespectful, because the professor might be made to feel slightly redundant?

No. Professor either is not likely to notice or does not care.