<p>I decided to enroll in Math 16A, but was confused about the "lecture" and "discussion" classes. Do I need to enroll for both a lecture and a discussion? How many units would each be, and which one should I sign up for first?</p>
<p>you sign up for both at the same time. the discussion doesn’t give you anymore units…it just breaks down the large lecture into smaller sections with a GSI</p>
<p>The process is this - the lecture is a time when the professor will talk about the topic - they ‘lecture’ to the assembled students. They can be very large assemblies of students, hundreds at a time, because there is very limited dialog with the students during a lecture, mostly it is one-way from the professor to you. Then, your discussion section is run by a GSI - a graduate student instructor - who will have a more interactive session with a much smaller group of students to help you ‘get it’. A discussion might be 20 people out of the hundreds in the lecture, which is why one lecture section is accompanied by several discussion section options. You pick the particular time for the discussion section you want to take - as long as there are open slots in it. In telebears, after you register for the lecture section, it will give you a list of the discussion sections that are still available for you to select. </p>
<p>In some courses, there are more than one ‘class’, more than one choice of lecture. There are often different professors teaching in each of the lecture alternatives - you reigster for the one that fits your schedule/seems most convenient/has the more recommended professor/does not have the professor rumored to be harsh or ineffective. The discussion sections are usually tied to a particular lecture section if there are multiple - since each professor may go at their own pace, the GSI gears the discussion to what the professor covered in the lecture that week. In those cases, telebears will only show you the open discussion sections that are aligned with the lecture section you picked.</p>