Question:
How do you deal with people who don't want to share notes? How can you approach the situation without making things awkward or in an argument?
Response 1:
Although sharing notes isn’t considered academic misconduct per se (list of common violations listed here: https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/integrity-students/what-misconduct), it is still up to each student whether they want to do so as they have the right to protect their intellectual property.
For example, if you are asking for notes created by other classmates that condenses material (lecture, textbook readings, etc) in their own format - that is their OWN work. It takes time to synthesize the material, condense, and format it so that it is easy to study from. Again, it is the creator’s decision as to whether they want to share this resource or not. Again, you can ask for it politely, but there should be no arguments or any hard feelings if they reject your request. Also, be cognizant that some people find it hard to say “no” and others often take advantage of their hard work. You are also ultimately cheating yourself if you study off of someone else’s notes as you didn’t put in the work to understand the material and create a study document yourself. I believe if you incorporated making your own notes into your study regimen, it would be greatly beneficial to you. Personally, I find it impossible to study off someone else’s notes!
In another scenario, if you missed a lecture and want to know if there were any important things that were said by the speaker, you can ask a classmate politely for a copy of their notes. You can also mitigate the situation by asking a friend to record the lecture as well (provided permission is received from the lecturer) or let them know about your situation beforehand. Most people are understanding if you couldn’t come to the lecture for a VALID reason (i.e. illness, appointments, etc.) and are usually willing to share lecture notes or recordings. If there isn’t a valid reason, then it comes down to accepting the consequences of your decision to not attend the lecture and thereby missing any important information.
If there are concepts that are difficult to grasp and you need extra material to understand it, there are various resources you can access aside from your colleague’s notes. You can email the professor or visit their office hours (heavily underutilized by students), post on the LEARN discussion board, post in your class facebook group, ask your friends, textbook readings, online resources like UpToDate (http://subjectguides.uwaterloo.ca/content.php?pid=243188&sid=3628399), GOOGLE, etc. I am sure most people would be more willing to help someone out with a specific concept rather than sending someone their notes/work.
Finally, instead of asking someone for their notes, you can perhaps ask if they’d be willing to be a study buddy! In this way you can benefit from sharing knowledge and stimulating discussion about course material to help both of you better understand it. I think this request is less awkward and more beneficial to both of you. I hope that helps and good luck with studying!
Response 2:
If you know ahead of time that you will be missing a lecture, it is important to speak to a close friend before the lecture, and request their permission to send you the lecture notes after class. However, keep in mind that often, peer support is a give-and-take process, and that in the future, if your friend knows that they will miss a certain class, your friend may request your lecture notes as well.