Have you ever observed that teachers at schools or professors at universities tend to take students as genius while in reality they are not. Have you ever thought why your teacher thinks that some particular students are intelligent and are serious about their studies?
If you also want to look smarter in class then you will have to adopt certain habits. The first thing which you should start doing is asking your teacher questions. You may think it’s irrelevant but teacher takes it as a characteristic of learner.
The more you engage with your teacher on particular topic the more he will think that you are taking your education serious. But don’t ask questions that may indicate that you know nothing about the topic rather ask questions which may indicate that you are curious.
You should also maintain your notes on each subject because nicely written notes are appreciated by teachers.