[magicalhippo]

I found the exact opposite when learning math. I need to write it down, and when presented with Power Point I have to transform it into something I can understand, and that means I don't have enough attention left to really listen to the lecturer.

On the other hand, the lecturers that used a blackboard at my uni all had prepared the lecture, what they wrote was meant to be written in a notebook. They wrote it at a pace that could easily be followed. This allowed me to go over proofs as I wrote them down, and I could then ask right away if there was anything unclear.

I also found several typos (usually a sign error or a missing term) this way, something which would probably have confused me a lot if I didn't catch it until I got home.

So, for me, well-prepared blackboard lectures is preferable, at least for math heavy stuff.

[Aromasin]

I also need to write it down, but not immediately upon hearing it per-se. I find that when I write, I often zone out and leave my muscle memory and a slight sub-consciousness to do the work - nothing actually goes in. If I just listen, it forces me to focus and it gives me time to build a framework of the concept in my head, that I can fill in later. I suppose it's similar to the methodology used in "How to Read a Book: The Ultimate Guide" by Mortimer Adler. He uses 4 steps-

1.Elementary Reading 2.Inspectional Reading 3.Analytical Reading 4.Syntopical Reading

The first 2-3 are covered in the lecture. The time at home can then be spent putting it to paper, applying it in practice (usually in MatLab or some other form of programming), then summarising. That's why I like the lecturers electronic hand-outs, as it can fill the gaps of knowledge that have formed between lecture and study. My background is in EE however, so assumedly this type of learning might not apply as well to pure Math/Physics!

[gowld]

Shouldn't you be paying full attention instead of taking redundant dictation during lecture?

If you weren't stuck with following a chalkboard, typos could be fixed once and for all time at the source, instead of reappearing at random in every lecture.

[magicalhippo]

But that's the point, I was paying full attention. By writing things down, I had time to process and think about what I wrote. I had time to fully follow the derivations. And that's in addition to the reinforcement effect that the act of writing has (at least for me).

Merely sitting there passively listening would not be paying full attention.

Of course, this required the lecturers to write in a suitable tempo.

[ubercow13]

In a way writing is part of thinking with mathematics. Try solving a long complex homework problem without writing anything.