How do you study for biology?

[exilio]

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Hey all,

I am in my second year at my local CC and I am taking my first Bio class. I jsut got my first lab and lecture test results and I was not very happy.

89% on the lab, and 72.5% on the lecture. I feel this was partly due to my own studying and getting used to the professors way of asking questions..the professor is the type of person that likes to use semantics to trip up a student.

So, I wanted to get some opinions from you brainiacs on what works for you when it comes to prepping for biology class.

Thanks in advance.

 

[americanangel]

I like index cards (especially for organic) I've been using them for all my classes, but for bio they're really nice and a quick review...Best way to study for finals!!!

 

[GOBUCKY!]

Memorize memorize memorize. Unfortunately, for biology this is the only way to go even though it is inefficient.


GOBUCKY!

 

[txguy]

Hey all,

I am in my second year at my local CC and I am taking my first Bio class. I jsut got my first lab and lecture test results and I was not very happy.

89% on the lab, and 72.5% on the lecture. I feel this was partly due to my own studying and getting used to the professors way of asking questions..the professor is the type of person that likes to use semantics to trip up a student.

So, I wanted to get some opinions from you brainiacs on what works for you when it comes to prepping for biology class.

Thanks in advance.

Here's what I would do:

Setup a meeting with your professor to go over the questions you got wrong on the test. Are you missing concepts? Misunderstanding the questions? Or is it simple "semantics" as you say? Also, this will give you a chance to ask him/her how best to study for the class. After all, they would know best!

Now that you have a feel for the way the professor tests, you should be more effective and better prepared for the next test.

Good luck!

By the way, nice avatar lol

-tx

 

[jules0328]

Ahhh, the Bio hell has started. I am currently taking Bio I at a 4 year university and they re-vamped their curriculum completely and they have made it ten times harder. I also have taken Bio I at a community college and it is by far a log more challenging at the 4 year university. Anyway, my point being, when i was taking Bio at the community college, all i did was memorize and never really paid attention to understand the process of the function of whatever i was studying. Lets take understanding the endomembrane system of the cell. most people would just memorize, but if you can understand what is going on and repeat it to yourself out loud, then you know you have learned the material. Honestly, i hate flashcards, alway have, they are small and by the end you have tons of them and they totally overwhelm me, not enough material can be written on them.

My advice, UNDERSTAND the processes that you are covering in class. Dont just memorize, yes you have to obviously memorize but understand why things happen and try to picture the process in your head. Like the krebs cycle and why it does what it does. Also, go on to the internet and find animations of processes, that REALLY HELPS. If you are a visual learner, this will help you immensely, once again, understanding what is going on in the system.

Retaking this new biology class at this 4 year university has taught me to re-vamp my own thinking and study skills by trying to understand all the concepts, functions, pictures, structures, diagrams, systems, etc., in order to apply them to the test. Most teachers do not just test your memorization but how you can apply what you know to a scenario which will make you critically think and will test about whether or not you learned the information or just simply memorized the material. If you just memorized the information you most likely will not be able to link it with other things making it alot harder to apply your knowledge to the questions asked.

Study all the pictures in the textbook. if you have the Campbell book, they have their website and they have good animations. or, just search the internet for animations of whatever you are studying at that time.

I know I have written a lot but this really has helped me this semester. Good luck!

 

[wendywellesley]

this maybe excessive, but it has helped me a ton and i've since been a star bio student. I transcribe the lectures. buy a tape recorder, it doesn't have to be fancy but the ones were you can load the sound flies on the computer work the best in my opinion. i transcribe word for word usually the day after the lecture or at night. it REALLY helps pin down the concepts and if there is anything you don't understand as you are going over it, reference the book or email the prof. it also helps to have the text book there and your notes in front of you. it will also help prep for med school since at some schools students rotate transcribing lectures.
good luck!! bio isn't that hard its just a lot of memorizing. going over things a billion times helps as well.

 

[Dr. Starostik]

My bio prof records all of the lectures and also posts all notes and overheads online so I just download/print everything out. I listen to the lectures again and go over his lecture notes at the same time and make additional side notes. Afterwards, I compare his "revised" notes with my original lectures notes. Then I make index cards with all important concepts. Since he does not go by the book I also make index cards for the chapters we're supposed to read. Same goes for the labs. Mnemonics helps and explaining everything to myself (talking out loud) does, too!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

 

[samenewme]

Start a study group. You can explain the concepts to each other, and quiz each other. Nothing cements your knowledge like trying to explain it to someone else.

 

[Long Dong]

Memorize memorize memorize. Unfortunately, for biology this is the only way to go even though it is inefficient.


GOBUCKY!

👍 in med school you'll find this to be true too. When you don't understand it, just memorize it and eventually you well understand it.

 

[juber22]

At my community college, when a student had found a nice example of, say a basophil, or when someone's dissection showed a particular organ well, the professor would announce it and invite everyone to have a look. I would recommend that during lab, you share your microscope & dissection findings with others and also try to become familiar with that of others. This will help you all become familiar with the natural variation of the specimens (some of which will probably end up on the exam)...

 

[hnbui]

my professor post her powerpoints online on blackboard. 🙂 I like this since i don't have to worry about writting down everything.

Here's what i do.
I read and highlight the chapters ahead of time
I attend the lecture and write down everything that was mentioned but was not on the powerpoint presentation.
when i get home i recopy the notes in blue, red, and black ink. (Takes me atleast 2 hours since i'm a neat freak about notes.)
When the test comes around i cram like there's no tomorrow. I usually cram for 13 or so hours.
I basically memorize her notes and then give myself a lecture.

This has been working so far.

Also btw, When i took bio at UNO (Uni. of New Orleans) it was way more difficult than the bio i'm taking here at Tulane.

 

[ellia08]

Hmmm... some other posts may make me seem lazy but heres what I do:

First and foremost find out what they are testing ... just lectures, lecture & book, etc


Usually it will be just lecture or emphasis on lecture (at least at my school) so find a couple people you like, or at least dont hate, and who are also good students. Then meet every week and go over all that weeks lectures.

Also at the end of each week I like to take notecards on all the lecture notes. Why notecards? Choosing what to group on one card (do it by more than just fact: put a full experiment on one card -> on one side put the purpose of experiment then subheadings you will have to know like model organism, materials, methods result conclusionetc, > on the back answer those subtopic questions) Sometimes you dont even have to flash thru the notecards. By the time you have organised the info in your head and on the cards, usually it is stuck there anyway.

I find that any work beyond that is for giggles but generally in biology I memorize, then sythnthesize, then understand. Sometimes it just takes a while to put the information together in a way that is fixed in your brain.


Oh,.. almost forgot: if there is a reading componant do that before lecture, I find that even though this can be a pain it WILL save you time in rereading later. Also, highlighters are neat but just keywords are necessary. If other stuff seems important annotate it in the margin in pencil. I saw my younger brothers bio book and it was a sea of yellow (how he finds anything I dont know... but I guess it works for him.)