Once upon a time there was a conman who pretended to be a teacher at an American university. This went on for quite some time, but how could he bluff his way into teaching a course without anyone noticing?
"It was easy", he said later on upon capture. All I had to do was to read one chapter ahead of my class"
Interesting, and similar to this principle there is also a study technique (but for an honest purpose). In addition to making you seem well-educated, it also makes you learn faster. It only takes 10 minutes per day.
The trick is to skim through tomorrow's chapter/lecture the day/evening before. It's not really reading though, more like checking the headings and imagining what each chapter might be about. You may also see some new words and formulas.
This prepares your brain for tomorrow, which will be extra alert to things it recognizes. Our subconscious mind reacts to recurring impressions and will then interpret it as important information. Now your subconscious mind will work for you, puzzling throughout the night trying to make sense of what you skimmed. The result? By morning your mind will be ready to understand. Grasping for every clue it can get.
If you have any questions (as you probably do), you also have the perfect opportunity tomorrow to ask at the lecture. It usually feels easier to ask already having prepared questions.
As you skim, you will inevitably see new concepts and (what appear to be) complicated formulas. But remember, you're not supposed to understand this yet. The feeling you want is more like if you picked book at random from the shelf and began looking in it for fun.
Make it a habit of ending each study day with this technique. You don't have to be thorough, just open the book/PowerPoint and take a quick look. It makes a big difference for your subconscious mind and in the end learning will be easier and more fun for you. Without much effort, you will soon see amazing results.