I cannot read my biology textbook.

[Tawantinsuyu]

I literally can't read my biology textbook. It seems like after every section I read, I have to stop and take a break/use computer/etc. As I read, after every single sentence, only one thought sticks in my head, "This is such a waste of time. None of this is sticking with me. Why am I wasting time doing this when I could be studying for another class." I can't think while I read. I can only think about other things. None of the facts stick with me, I can't apply any of what I read. It's so useless and time consuming. I can't read through a whole section without getting all fidgety and stressed out. As I read, I feel like I think about myself conscientiously reading, and that gets really distracting, if that makes any sense, sorta like when you think about your breathing, which is supposed to be involuntary, and you start to control it.
I also think, "will the professor even test us on this? is this even important to know?" That is distracting as well.
Also, sometimes I get songs stuck in my head while I am reading and that gets distracting too.

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[deleted407021]

If you aren't learning from the book, are there any other resources available to you?

 

[jqueb29]

1. If you plan to go to medical school, you are not "wasting time doing this when you could be studying for another class". Biology is a critical foundation for almost every thing you will learn from here on out.
2. You may have ADD.

 

[deleted407021]

1. If you plan to go to medical school, you are not "wasting time doing this when you could be studying for another class". Biology is a critical foundation for almost every thing you will learn from here on out.
2. You may have ADD.

If you aren't qualified to make such an assessment, then please refrain from making such a statement, even as a joke.

 

[differentiating]

You don't necessarily need to read the text book at all (although this can depend on the type of course/teacher you have), so if it doesn't work for you I think your effort would be better spent finding alternative ways of learning the material.

 

[Tawantinsuyu]

Try drawing out quick diagrams of what you have read every page or so

I could see how you would diagram some kinds of information, like a process or something, but a lot of things are not easily diagrammed.

 

[BillyGee]

I had this problem too.. I would end up reading like a page or two for every hour. What I did was I would get three different colored highlighters and highlight passages I thought were important that I would outline notes on afterwards.
For example...

• (anything I'd highlight color #1)
  • (anything I'd highlight color #2)
    • (anything I'd highlight color #3)

I would then study the outlined notes that I made and study them. Yes it took forever, but it was the only I could get around the reading issue. Also, I would leave my phone/computer in my room/car before I head out to study so that there's literally no distractions. I don't really have this issue anymore, which might be because I actually enjoy my classes more now.

I would also suggest you to look for other methods that work better than reading books. Some professors post slides and students here literally memorize them word-for-word which doesn't really appeal to me. That might work for you.

 

[jqueb29]

If you aren't qualified to make such an assessment, then please refrain from making such a statement, even as a joke.

That was not remotely a joke. If you get into medical school, you will hear the saying "if you hear hoofbeats, think horses" many times.

 

[soccerusa]

I would try rewording each sentence/paragraph in you head real quick to ensure that you understand. You could even try to write a sentence or two for each paragraph as notes. I find this helps my comprehension and creates a nice, condensed set of notes to study later. Good Luck!

 

[Theafoni]

Ecology text book =

Try outlining your textbook, highlighting is too passive, write clear concise notes on important things. Once you're done reading, rewrite the notes you took. Are there other resources available such as lecture notes?

 

[Tawantinsuyu]

Ecology text book =

Try outlining your textbook, highlighting is too passive, write clear concise notes on important things. Once you're done reading, rewrite the notes you took. Are there other resources available such as lecture notes?

My professor posts lecture slides, but he basically just copies and pastes images from the textbook. I guess I can just focus on those.

 

[Conflagration]

Is this first year Biology?

I recommend Khan to anyone- he seems to have a nice collection of videos for biology. http://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology

I haven't used his Biology section; but his Organic Chemistry and Math sections are superb.

 

[deleted407021]

That was not remotely a joke. If you get into medical school, you will hear the saying "if you hear hoofbeats, think horses" many times.

what?? he said "may" not "you definitely have this". Most of the people that I know who actually have ADD went to the doctor because someone who wasn't "qualified to make such an assessment" made a suggestion

It's against the TOS, y'all. That's what I'm saying. You aren't in a hospital, jqueb29.

 

[deleted407021]

Ecology text book =

Try outlining your textbook, highlighting is too passive, write clear concise notes on important things. Once you're done reading, rewrite the notes you took. Are there other resources available such as lecture notes?

I've done this and it's super time consuming, so the OP should be mindful of that. However, it is one of the better ways to solidify stuff like biology.

 

[Goro]

As someone with a relative with ADHD, this was a valid hypothesis by jq.

Tawa, do the chapters have section headings, at least? Like
Ch 23
Respiration
I) Oxygen exchange occurs at...
II) Homeostatic mechanisms regulating CO2 levels.

Make a list of those as key points, then flesh them out.

If the text is hard copy, do you have access to an ebook? If so, try the latter.

If you aren't qualified to make such an assessment, then please refrain from making such a statement, even as a joke.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Reading the book word for word will tend to do that. These textbooks have so much detail and unncessary information that will fry your brain.

What I suggest is to make a plan. Say your exam is 3 weeks from today. An example of a study plan is going through the lecture the next day after attending class. This will let you revisit what was mentioned in class (hoping that you are paying attention during lectures). Use the textbook as a means to answer questions from lectures. Each time you review material make sure you add the old material so that by the time the test rolls around, you dont even have to study the night before. The information will be drilled into you by a methodical form of studying. If your questiosn are not answered by the textbook then go meet with your professor.This is how I studied for all my basic science classes.

1. Lecture notes
2. Write down questions
3. Refer to book
4. Meet with professor

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

I literally can't read my biology textbook. It seems like after every section I read, I have to stop and take a break/use computer/etc. As I read, after every single sentence, only one thought sticks in my head, "This is such a waste of time. None of this is sticking with me. Why am I wasting time doing this when I could be studying for another class." I can't think while I read. I can only think about other things. None of the facts stick with me, I can't apply any of what I read. It's so useless and time consuming. I can't read through a whole section without getting all fidgety and stressed out. As I read, I feel like I think about myself conscientiously reading, and that gets really distracting, if that makes any sense, sorta like when you think about your breathing, which is supposed to be involuntary, and you start to control it.
I also think, "will the professor even test us on this? is this even important to know?" That is distracting as well.
Also, sometimes I get songs stuck in my head while I am reading and that gets distracting too.

you sound like you have ADHD OP...i was the same way. With everything i read...regardless of the difficulty it went in one ear and out the other. Constantly stopping mid sentence getting distracted with something else. I would have trouble getting motivated to learn things that I deemed to be irrelevant, even if I needed to know them for a test. I also had problems at times with thinking about actions that should be involuntary such as walking and breathing. Once you start to think about those things it becomes hard to stop and you become preoccupied with them. People that have never dealt with that would not understand. Im not saying this is your case exactly but it may be. I went to my doctor and he prescribed me concerta. It has made a huge difference in my life academically, socially, and as far as increasing motivation. Big time for me personally.

Research the topic a little more and if you think you may have ADHD i would recommend the book Fast Minds: How to thrive if you have ADHD (Or think you might) as well as a visit to your GP.

 

[Gurby]

I literally can't read my biology textbook. It seems like after every section I read, I have to stop and take a break/use computer/etc. As I read, after every single sentence, only one thought sticks in my head, "This is such a waste of time. None of this is sticking with me. Why am I wasting time doing this when I could be studying for another class." I can't think while I read. I can only think about other things. None of the facts stick with me, I can't apply any of what I read. It's so useless and time consuming. I can't read through a whole section without getting all fidgety and stressed out. As I read, I feel like I think about myself conscientiously reading, and that gets really distracting, if that makes any sense, sorta like when you think about your breathing, which is supposed to be involuntary, and you start to control it.
I also think, "will the professor even test us on this? is this even important to know?" That is distracting as well.
Also, sometimes I get songs stuck in my head while I am reading and that gets distracting too.

The same thing happens to me - I find reading textbooks to be a complete waste of time. What works for me is to go through the chapters and create flashcards in Supermemo (or Anki, whatever spaced repetition program you want). I really enjoy learning this way because I don't have to worry about remembering things as I read them. Once I have a piece of information on a flashcard, the program will make sure I remember it forever (and it will show me the card over and over for days/weeks if necessary until it finally sticks in my stupid head).

As an added benefit of this method, you do really have to understand the material before you can make effective flash cards for it. You have to first read the information, internalize it and understand it, and then pick out what facts you can test yourself on to make sure you remember it. I find that going through this process really does a good job of solidifying the information in my head, and then constant reviews insure that you never forget what you learned.

Like making an outline, this method is very time-consuming. I think it's a fantastic way to learn from a book, though, and also a good way to make sure you retain the info over a long period of time which is important for the MCAT.