I'm taking a class in software engineering, but what the Prof. is saying doesn't make any sense to me.

Question

It looks like 2-3 people in class are getting it because they've been working in the field.
When this happens, what do you do?
I cannot read ahead b/c I don't know what to prepare for.
He just talks about whatever that pops up in his head.
The subject is too board for one to prepare for.
Thanks!

I took all the classes required to enroll for this one.
It's not just me. Like I was saying, a few people got it b/c this is what they do for a living.

Answer 1

Talk with several of the people in the class who understand what is being said. Because they are in the class, they are more likely to understand the knowledge gap.
After that, make an appointment to see the instructor outside of class. Ask him if you will be tested on the information that pops up in his head. He may assume that the course pre-requisites have prepared you more than they did.
You probably should go back and read the course syllabus and early handouts to see if they predict what will be covered in the course.

Answer 2

Software engineering is mostly just a glorified way of saying computer programming. Are you learning a specific language or are you working on program analysis and design in general? I suggest you backtrack and start over in the reading. You can't advance further until you catch up. I seriously doubt he is talking off the top of his head. In general, people who are teaching rarely stray off the course subject. Using "shorthand" like "b/c" instead of the word "because" and misspelling "broad" doesn't help when it comes to programming. Programming is detailed work, highly detailed, and it is exacting and does not tolerate an error in logic. Pay attention to detail. Start over with the coursework. Ask others for help. Find a tutor. You have a wealth of resources available to you, do some research and find them, and then take advantage. No subject is too broad to prepare for. There is no substitute for doing your own homework.

Answer 3

Get other books in the subject from the library. Sometimes textbooks can be terribly written and professors can be terrible teachers (some can be great) but many are in it for the research. Then for the chapter you're on, look up the same subjects in the other books. It can be an amazing difference how well one book is written and comes across for your learning style compared to another, especially in something technical.

Also the best way to learn programming is just to do it, and add lots output lines to give you feedback so that you whats going on at each step, then for the final program, trim or comment them out.

Answer 4

Are you sure this is the right field for you? if absolutely nothing makes sense to you, you might want to take a primer course first. if that's not possible, just take some notes on the main points he talks on, the google them. they are usually some-what related, and you'll get to understand what he's saying today better, if you understood what he was saying yesterday

Answer 5

Well, then, that indicates that this is way above your head, and you need to take some background classes first.