Some advice with a class

[someafrican]

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Hi!
So I needed some advice on something. I am currently taking cell biology, and even though i did better in my second test than the first, which i have failed, I still didn't get as good as I hoped. I still have two exams and i will keep trying my very best because i really dont want this to ruin my GPA
i changed my strategy to literally rewriting notes, typing, listening to lectures, but still didnt do as well as i hoped. the one thing i will change though is try to study daily, and not just mostly the last week-10 days before the exam.

But does anyone have any other strategies for studying for cell bio? i dont know why its not as simple for me in grasping the material like the general biologies, or micro, etc.
Just thought its a good idea to ask here since most of you probably had experience in some annoying science classes, and to maybe get a new perspective because I clearly need to change something. Thanks!

 

[fogorvostan]

I remember a lot of cell bio being memorization and Anki is the best for me when it comes to memorization. You may find it also worthwhile to look for supplemental ways to review and practice. YouTube videos, old exams, online student resource for your textbook, back of the book problems, etc. Lastly, in case your class isn't a lot of memorization but instead more focused on critical thinking and connections, I would see if you can draw concept maps. That may help you organize the relationships between different processes.

I never wrote and rewrote my notes in either undergrad or grad school. I tried a few times and basically would just blank out and blindly copy. Plus it was super time consuming. Some of my friends would rewrite them like 4 or 5 times and it seemed pretty unnecessary. I think using that time to make Anki flash cards and concept maps would be way more useful.

 

[JLT223]

Office hours

 

[OrphanageCaretaker]

Cell Biology became my saving grace for my GPA and my academic career. I never really knew how to effectively study for a course until I took Cell Biology, my undergraduate has Cell Bio as an upper division course so I knew from the start, I would need to bust my ass to do well in the course. What works for me doesn't work for everyone, that is the most important concept I have to tell you right now, you need to figure out what works for you and then capitalize on it. Essentially, what I did was, attend lecture, record the professor on my iPad with the app Notability (the cool thing about the app is that for less then $5, it lets you record someone and then you can have powerpoint slides playing over it) and type notes on the iPad. What that means is, after lecture, I would press play on the recording and as the recording went on, the typed notes became highlighted which meant that it went in sync with whatever I typed as my prof was speaking during class. I would type up my iPad recording + my own notes I took in class + some powerpoint main concepts onto a word document and for a midterm or so, I'd have 8-9 pages of detailed notes with pictures of concepts, let's say junction components or movement of vesicles etc and then that would be enough for me. 3 or 4 days prior to an exam, I would simply read through the notes I have, the idea being that I know most of the information because 1) I already attended lecture and was paying attention, 2) I heard my prof speak again via the recorded lectures and 3) I had typed up everything that was available for me. So prior to the exam, 3-4 days, I would already know more than half of the information, the rest of the time I would read my notes and quiz myself asking questions such as why does this happen, etc. If you're unclear, don't hesitate to visit office hours, I bugged my professor but she was nice enough to explain the material over again and was even more pleased to see my understand the material, retain it and score in the top 2% of the class. I'll caution you on group studying, it's only effective if you're with a group of people in class that actually know the material, because 3-4 people who are clueless on the subject will hurt you in your process of trying to understand information. I would study with my friends whenever we knew the information (after reviewing my notes), that way if we were 90-95% sure of the material, hopefully that remaining 5-10% missing information would be filled by simply quizzing each other or explaining processes and terms to solidify the concept. Last but not least, think big picture, most of cell bio lectures are very detail oriented and that's what you'll study for the exam, but for the most part, the exam material tends to be 70% big picture concept while 30% detail oriented.

 

[someafrican]

Cell Biology became my saving grace for my GPA and my academic career. I never really knew how to effectively study for a course until I took Cell Biology, my undergraduate has Cell Bio as an upper division course so I knew from the start, I would need to bust my ass to do well in the course. What works for me doesn't work for everyone, that is the most important concept I have to tell you right now, you need to figure out what works for you and then capitalize on it. Essentially, what I did was, attend lecture, record the professor on my iPad with the app Notability (the cool thing about the app is that for less then $5, it lets you record someone and then you can have powerpoint slides playing over it) and type notes on the iPad. What that means is, after lecture, I would press play on the recording and as the recording went on, the typed notes became highlighted which meant that it went in sync with whatever I typed as my prof was speaking during class. I would type up my iPad recording + my own notes I took in class + some powerpoint main concepts onto a word document and for a midterm or so, I'd have 8-9 pages of detailed notes with pictures of concepts, let's say junction components or movement of vesicles etc and then that would be enough for me. 3 or 4 days prior to an exam, I would simply read through the notes I have, the idea being that I know most of the information because 1) I already attended lecture and was paying attention, 2) I heard my prof speak again via the recorded lectures and 3) I had typed up everything that was available for me. So prior to the exam, 3-4 days, I would already know more than half of the information, the rest of the time I would read my notes and quiz myself asking questions such as why does this happen, etc. If you're unclear, don't hesitate to visit office hours, I bugged my professor but she was nice enough to explain the material over again and was even more pleased to see my understand the material, retain it and score in the top 2% of the class. I'll caution you on group studying, it's only effective if you're with a group of people in class that actually know the material, because 3-4 people who are clueless on the subject will hurt you in your process of trying to understand information. I would study with my friends whenever we knew the information (after reviewing my notes), that way if we were 90-95% sure of the material, hopefully that remaining 5-10% missing information would be filled by simply quizzing each other or explaining processes and terms to solidify the concept. Last but not least, think big picture, most of cell bio lectures are very detail oriented and that's what you'll study for the exam, but for the most part, the exam material tends to be 70% big picture concept while 30% detail oriented.

Thank you! Yes i've been doing something similar, but what I need to do differently is do it right after class, and not a week or so before the exam. I appreciate your advice, and hopefully it goes well for me!

 

[someafrican]

Office hours

Yea I went once, but need to go more often especially when I'm not sure of something. thanks!

 

[someafrican]

I remember a lot of cell bio being memorization and Anki is the best for me when it comes to memorization. You may find it also worthwhile to look for supplemental ways to review and practice. YouTube videos, old exams, online student resource for your textbook, back of the book problems, etc. Lastly, in case your class isn't a lot of memorization but instead more focused on critical thinking and connections, I would see if you can draw concept maps. That may help you organize the relationships between different processes.

I never wrote and rewrote my notes in either undergrad or grad school. I tried a few times and basically would just blank out and blindly copy. Plus it was super time consuming. Some of my friends would rewrite them like 4 or 5 times and it seemed pretty unnecessary. I think using that time to make Anki flash cards and concept maps would be way more useful.

That's what I'm planning to add to my regular notes, flash cards are really helpful. Thank you!

 

[OrphanageCaretaker]

Thank you! Yes i've been doing something similar, but what I need to do differently is do it right after class, and not a week or so before the exam. I appreciate your advice, and hopefully it goes well for me!

I find that after one day or so, I would have lost all of the gained information from lecture so try to type up the notes as soon as possible. Best of luck in Cell Bio.

 

[someafrican]

I find that after one day or so, I would have lost all of the gained information from lecture so try to type up the notes as soon as possible. Best of luck in Cell Bio.

Yes you're right, and thank you!