How to succeed in Intro Bio
Yeah, Bio105 is a hard class. It is hard because you need to learn a lot of material. It also assumes you have taken (and remember) high school biology and chemistry. So what can you do to make it easier and maybe even fun.
I am sure you are hoping for an A in this class, use that drive to ask yourself what do I need to do to get an A in this class. Don’t strive for a letter grade, a letter grade is not a behavior but a goal. You need to identify behaviors that will help you to your goal. So what behaviors are helpful to reaching your goal.
Find a study buddy from lecture or lab, it is always best to have someone to bounce ideas off of. If you need someone to help you, you can always check in with a peer mentor.
To do well in this class you need to move beyond recognizing information to really understanding it. When I say understanding, I mean, really understanding. You know you understand something when you can talk about it. or do something with the information. Many bio105 students recognize the material but do not actually know it. Test yourself, can you point to a slide and tell a classmate most the slide was teaching you. Now can you do it without your notes, using proper biological vocabulary?
Ah the vocabulary, there are about 400 biological terms you be able to use properly in the class. Each lecture comes with a list of 20 vocabulary words. Make flashcards of those words and test yourself every day. Yes every day, just for 5 or 10 minutes.
Prepare for class by looking over the slides before class. Each lecture will cover an entire chapter in the book. That is a lot of material, if you review the slides and the book before class, even for 20 minutes, you will be familiar with some of the ideas and will be able to pay better attention in class.
Participate in class, even if it is just in your head. It is a long and sometimes tedious class, I try but I know it can be so keep yourself engaged by taking notes, asking question of the material. You can write them down and ask them them in class or during office hours. Try to guess what the instructor will say next, anything that keeps you actively thinking about what is being said. it is not a TV show, it is a class. Don’t let it wash over you.
Look for every place to gain points, some years there are homeworks or participation points. Listen closely to what you need to do to earn full credit in your lab class. The lab is worth 40% of your grade and there are lots of small assignments that really add up to improve your grade.
Start fresh every week. Done worry about last week. Set small goals for the week and do them every week.
Go to peer and instructor office hours. They can help you figure out how to study, help you see if you really understand the material plus they can help you with other topics too like “what can you do with a biology major?”
Commit to spending time on this class. College guidelines recommend you study 3 hours for every hour of lecture and 1 hour for every 3 hours of lab. This means you should be setting aside 6-9 hours a week to study for this class.
Not sure what to study? Well if there is homework, assume it was not assigned as busy work but to help you. If you cant see how it is helpful, stop by office hours, we can work with you. You should also review lecture slides weekly, study the vocabulary, tell yourself stories about the biology content.
