Study tips

[EvolutionaryRevolutionary]

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Anyone has great study tips for biology students?

 

[You're My Boy Blue]

Actually going to class works miracles

 

[You're My Boy Blue]

In all seriousness though spend your time reading over slides/notes. Most professors will assign more reading than humanly possible, don't do it. Your time is better spent in many other ways. Go back to the reading only if there is something you don't understand when reviewing. Go see professors and ask questions. Not only will you get to know them, but you might even get a little hint about what you need to actually study for.

 

[Gandyy]

Actually going to class works miracles

Actually this is a pretty good tip. Lots of people dont go to class and wonder why they arent doing well in a class.

Some people dont have to go to class to do well in school though.

 

[ananasmed]

Flash cards, repetition, and talking out loud to myself like a crazy person seemed to work for me 😉

 

[hyperDO]

I witnessed many people in undergrad spend hours and hours trying to blunt memorize information with slides and flash cards and I found this to be very inefficient and not effective. It works for some but for the ones that don't (like me), I found actively learning the material allowed me to study a fraction of the time and have better mastery of the material.

When tackling topics, I recommend thinking about how concepts fit in a whole picture. How are different things you learn interconnected? I found that creating a framework created multiple ways of memorizing concepts and facts. This way, when you recall information you can kind of use critical thinking and reasoning to help find answers. When you rely on blunt memorization it kinda turns into a simple "you know it or don't" scenario, which kinda puts odds against you at times.

When studying, I rewrote lecture slides and notes onto note paper (although it takes a bit longer it helped the information sink in much better than passively staring at slides) after the 3-4 time I could regurgitate all of the information onto the page. To make things faster, I oftentimes would create summary charts and relay blunt memorization stuff in my head rather than write all the material on paper, which saved time. Once I felt that I had a strong mastery of the material, I would create charts, graphs or figures that connected all the material. For example, in cell biology, by final time I was able to draw a cell and put all of the processes, organelles, structures etc into the picture (endocytosis, exocytosis, secretory pathways, etc). I felt that when a question popped up, I had at least 2, if not 3 ways of reasoning myself to the correct answer.

My method is probably kinda out there, but I hope I got the point across. I really recommend learning "actively" than "passively".

I tried to find a link that hopefully will help explain what i'm trying to get across: https://meded.ucsd.edu/index.cfm/ugme/oess/study_skills_and_exam_strategies/how_to_study_actively/

good luck!

 

[beeboops]

Definitely aim to learn the information rather than just memorize it, like Boednborin said. The way I studied for upper level classes with a ton of information thrown at you each exam was to go slide by slide on each PowerPoint after the lecture. I would read the slide, read my notes about that single slide, and then write a summary of the information presented on the slide, either in the notes section of the PowerPoint or in a notebook, from memory and in my own words. I would do this for every slide, even if it seemed unimportant. I would also flag things that I know we discussed in other classes so that I could link the two together and really strengthen my knowledge of that information. As it got closer to the exam, I would meet in a small group (2-3 people) and basically give each other mini lectures. We would bring up the PowerPoints or make summary PowerPoints and lecture each other, trying as much as possible to not look at our notes. I had another friend that would lecture to herself out loud on her drive to and from school everyday. Finally, the day before or even the day of the exam, I would read through the PowerPoints again. By that point, I should've gone over the information at least 3 times - once in lecture, once when I summarized them, and once when I had the mini group lectures. I find that just reading through your notes and recalling stuff in your own words is really helpful. Sometimes, I would make little summary charts or graphs that I would review up to the minute the exam was passed out. I know some people really don't like to do that though!

 

[EvolutionaryRevolutionary]

Wow! These tips are very helpful. I notice when I write my notes over and over. I kinda works better for me in most cases.

 

[EvolutionaryRevolutionary]

In all seriousness though spend your time reading over slides/notes. Most professors will assign more reading than humanly possible, don't do it. Your time is better spent in many other ways. Go back to the reading only if there is something you don't understand when reviewing. Go see professors and ask questions. Not only will you get to know them, but you might even get a little hint about what you need to actually study for.

Definitely with the slides! I noticed some of my professors giving us the copy of the slides on blackboard. I am very thankful for this.