How did you guys study for Gen Bio to get an A?

[diamondsonmedancing]

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I just took my first test and I got a 80, and I have to get A's on the next few tests. How do you guys study for biology? Do I have to memorize every bullet point? Thanks!

 

[medstudent257]

What I did:
1. Went to class and wrote down everything s/he said
2. A few hours later, relistened to the lecture, filling in information I missed
3. Studied the lecture, making sure that I knew information cold so I could apply it
4. Did her practice questions
5. Went to office hours
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I'm now a second year TA for him/her.

 

[rxrd]

Use OneNote if you're allowed to use laptops in class and your professor uploads powerpoints. It has been amazing for me because I can in essence have the entire lecture there to review from whenever I want because the professor usually has the main points on the slides and I can quickly edit in anything they say that isn't on the slides and highlight important things.

Additionally, every slide becomes an individual page on OneNote if you print the powerpoint to OneNote and so you can rename each page/slide to be the main idea of that page/slide

 

[DBC03]

I think a lot of this depends on the professor and the exams. I found that my professor was asking questions based on things said during class, but not necessarily covered in the book or slides. So I started converting his pdf slides to power point lectures and typing basically everything he said in the "notes" portion under each slide. I also tried to record lectures, but often forgot and never listened to them again. I also tried to read the chapter before going to class so I had a general overview of what he was covering, then I did the practice problems to be sure i understand the concepts. a few days after the lecture I would write the slides down and all notes I made that seemed pertinent into a notebook to remind me of what we went over. Then I took blank printing paper and created concept maps of what we had learned. I found that having a study group right before the exam was very helpful - we quizzed each other on each slide. You have to pick your study partners carefully, though. You don't want to waste time.

 

[DameJulie]

Podcast, read the textbook, practice exams, and occasional office hours.

 

[863168]

I see a behavioral issue, not an academic problem. It's the disposition that B's are bad and A's are apathetic. Grades are everything: feedback is meaningless, content is meaningless, learning is meaningless. Do I have to memorize bullet points? No. You have to understand them. Do I teach this person a learning paradigm? No. Let me tell you about this one time at band camp.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Second the OneNote advice, I use OneNote for every class that uses powerpoints. It's awesome because you can follow along with the powerpoint and make your own notes directly on them.

I have never gotten less than an A in any biology related class (including upper-division cell bio and genetics) or lab. The secret really is memorization, but not just of facts. You should definitely know the "bullet points", as you say, but you need to know how they relate to each other. Biology is the study of a living thing, and every part of a living thing is interconnected. I used quizlet to study for every exam; it helps a ton with memorization and you can customize the flashcards to go beyond just memorizing terms. For example, I would make fill-in-the-blank type questions and short answer flashcards as well. Study them under the "write" mode until you're getting nearly 100% and you should see a big improvement. Of course, the effectiveness of quizlet relies on you being good at making good flashcards.

 

[Lardy Boy]

friends

 

[Coltuna]

Brute memorized off lecture slides. Went to the lab early and often to study for lab tests.

 

[Rhabdoviridae]

It's all memorization. Get old exams if you can, but the concepts really aren't too hard to master if you stick to the lectures. If you aren't currently using the Campbell book, see if you can obtain it as the chapters are concise and easy to read. Practice questions are very helpful in preparing for exams. 80 is not too bad and you may still end up with an A if you continue to perform at this level depending on how the rest of the class is doing.

 

[Dylanation]

A large part of learning biology is memorization; there is no running around the amount of material you have to memorize. A lot of great advice has been posted about using OneNote, Quizlet, and someone will eventually post something about Anki. A method I used to learn and understand biology, even more, was to pretend like I was giving a lecture. I would go to an empty study room and begin by collecting my notes. I would briefly look at the topic, then recite things as if I was lecturing about that topic. The key is when explaining, explain everything you know without hesitation. You will be forced to regurgitate what you can remember as clear as you can. Imagine if a professor was hesitant with their lecture and wasn't clear about what they were talking about; this would make you question their knowledge and credibility. The moment you start hesitating, take a quick glimpse at your notes to see if you can pick it back up, and if you can't, study it more until you can.
It also helps to become the student as well. After explaining a topic, if you yourself have a question, ask it out loud, and then proceed to answer. If you can't, then you can go back to your notes to see if you can; if not, then save it until after you're done lecturing everything else from your notes. This is a method that works for me and it still does. However, everyone has a unique learning style so this may not be effective for everyone.

Note**People might also think you're a mad genius or in short crazy, for talking out loud and answering your own questions especially if you become REALLY interactive.

Good luck to ya!