a&p+study+success

Each semester students ask me how to study and properly prepare in **BIO 107 and 108**. Often this occurs after the second or third test when it takes a Herculean effort to seriously change the grade. Anatomy and Physiology may be the hardest course you have ever taken, even if you have many science courses under your belt. Imagine, you will be learning the detailed anatomical structure of the human body, together with the functions and control mechanisms which keep it all working to maintain homeostasis. This course requires a level of preparation and commitment many students are unused to.

=BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO CLASS=
 * 1. Prepare** for class and for studying. Read the textbook close to when the material is covered in class. Some students prefer to read before class, others find the book more understandable after they've heard the information in class. **Make notes on the text or outline it.** Pretend you will present the material to a group. You learn best when you are expected to teach someone else, so prepare as if you are. Include everything in these notes or outline you will need to know. Use the objectives as a guide to what to include. You may need to read passages twice for understanding, but once you have made the notes or outline you shouldn't have to go back to the book except to look up specific items or to review the diagrams. **Reading the text over and over is not studying.**

=BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO CLASS=
 * 2. In class.** Take notes in outline form in class too. But try to listen to what is said. Often the inflection or context of what is said provide information about relative importance. Later you can go back and fill information in to the notes. Some students like to tape record the lectures and then go back and fill in details they may have missed. The **Class Notes** on the **ANGEL site** can give you some details and answer many questions you may have.. The notes from class and the notes from the book can be put together into a body of material which you have written that you can then study.


 * 3. The actual studying** starts now. There is **passive studying** and **active studying**. Passive studying involves reading over the notes and going over the material mentally. Everyone does this at first. The next step separates good students from mediocre ones. Active studying means developing the material in some way. Some topics lend themselves to making charts or perhaps using index cards to organize lists of related items. For example the names of muscles and their locations and actions. Or the list of hormones with sources, targets, and actions. For control mechanisms and complex processes use flow charts with components linked by arrows to indicate connections and direction. It's important that the student make these his or herself from memory, rather than just studying charts already made in the book or in class. There are a couple of reasons for this: first because it helps you organize it in your mind, and the physical act of creating the chart puts it in memory much more strongly than simply reading it. Secondly, it tells you what you don't know if you can't put it together from memory.

Your text should come bundled with a review question CD for each Chapter of the TEXT. This is often an excellent way to **follow-up**. Each person has learning techniques which work best for him/her. Unfortunately you learn what these are from experience. If you follow the above steps you will discover what works for you.
 * 4. Follow-up.** Many students emphasize **study groups** for reinforcement. These can work but only **after you have learned the material**. In any case, with or without other people, ask yourself questions **from the objectives**. If you can describe and explain what the objective asks, out loud, to yourself or to others, without notes or the book, then you know that one. If you cannot then you know what to study. Ask yourself all the questions you can about each item: what, where, how, functions, relationships, etc.


 * 5. Review Questions . At the end of each chapter** Use these as an indication of the **types of questions** which will be asked on the subject. Use them as an indication of where you are in your studying and knowledge. Think of what different questions might be asked on the same topics. You are responsible for the material presented in class this semester There may also be mistakes. I have tried to eliminate them, but if you see something which you don't understand or you think might be a mistake, call it to my attention or ask about it. Don't wait 'til the night before the test to do this.


 * 6. Take advantage of resources.** But don't expect them to do the work for you. There are abundant resources available to you to add to your learning. But you can make an **A** without using any of them and, conversely, downloading all of them will be of no use without genuine studying.

The **class notes (reviews) AND POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS will be posted in the CONTENT SECTION of ANGEL on the server** : these cover material discussed in class and are often updated each semester to include new information or give better explanations. In some instances, these notes can help clarify what is said in class and give you a backup resource if you can't make it to class. In other instances they are good outlines only. Some people bring the class notes with them to class and this allows them to listen carefully and pick up important points, however you must **BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS. It will be a __GREAT__ (as in TONY THE TIGER GREAT!!) help for you in following most lectures.**


 * The Chapter** **objectives and outline**: (each chapter) these give you a comprehensive list of terms and what you need to know about them. If it's in the objectives, you're responsible for it on the test.

The **[|histology modules]**: Understanding the structure and function of cells and tissues can help you to truly understand the organs and systems of which they are part. If you want to really learn anatomy and physiology learn what the cells and tissues do.


 * 7. Avoiding Pitfalls**
 * Don't become complacent**. Don't assume that an anatomy course taken for another program will make this course a breeze for you because you already know it. In fact you'll have to be careful that you aren't unwilling to learn new facts and details.


 * The "100 level" myth**. A course's number has virtually nothing to do with its difficulty. Courses are numbered according to their position in the hierarchy of departmental offerings and, sometimes, the year you might be expected to take them. **Bio 107/108** is an introductory biology course. But you will find some 100 and 200 level courses to be very comprehensive and difficult, and some 400 level courses to be pieces of cake**. Anatomy and Physiology is one of the former because, unlike many other lower division courses which stress generalizations and oversimplifications, it is heavy on specific terms and information you will need to know to be successful.**

In general, **there is little or no curve**. You are expected to learn facts and understand concepts about the human body which will be the basis for success **in your career**. **The ATM and Physical Education programs** rely on this course, among others, to prepare you. There may occasionally be a few points added to a test score to compensate for confusing questions or low overall performance. But by the time the lowest test is dropped and the final exam is included, the class average will be normal. **I will adhere to the grading scale listed in the syllabus. You will be able to access your grades on the ANGEL server (password protected) to know where you stand.**


 * Learning vs. Memorizing.** I always get asked for suggestions how to //memorize// the subject matter. My immediate response it that you shouldn't be memorizing it. **Memorization certainly is needed for some topics such as bones, muscles, and nerves**. They may lend themselves to using mnemonic devices, but,**for the most part** it is much better to learn the meaning of terms. If you let those terms tell you what the muscle does and therefore where it must be located, or where it connects and therefore what is must do, you will be far ahead in your studies. Learn the general rules for the relationship of structure to function in a particular organ or system. Don't try to memorize a bunch of facts or parts **as unrelated pieces of a jigsaw puzzle**. Most every aspect of anatomy and physiology makes sense if you study it in an organized way.

Another reason for not memorizing is that the test questions will not necessarily be quoted in exactly the same phraseology as given in class. There are usually several different ways of expressing the same concepts and I will often use a different phrase on a test than the one used in class, or I may use an example rather than a definition. If you're looking for a key word or phrase to recognize for each item and don't understand the way the item fits into the overall structure or function of the organ or system, then you may be out of luck.