Biology 110

1. Show up!

• Come to every class session. Don't forget to bring your laptop to class!
  • Take notes
  • Ask questions
  • Answer questions
• Contact me -- ask a question or just check in (see the section on "student hours" in the syllabus for how to contact me).
  • Have your Bio 110 materials so that we can look at them together.
• Attend the review sessions (see the section on "study sessions" in the syllabus).

Here are some helpful suggestions for how to appropriately email an instructor.

2. Be prepared at class time

• Read the syllabus and understand the policies and assignments.
• Keep up with your reading assignments BEFORE lecture.
• Complete every pre-class assignment. Take notes on any questions you did not understand.
• Write down questions and bring them to class. I might answer during class (or you can come ask me later!).

3. Study

• After lecture, review your notes and combine them with your reading notes or questions you had after reading the textbook.
• When you are doing your pre-class assignments, take notes on any questions you did not understand.
• Answer the end-of-the-section questions (HINT: the answers are in the book for you to use AFTER you attempt to answer them yourself).
• Answer the end-of-the-chapter questions (HINT: these answers also are available in the book).
• Attend the evening study sessions and ask about homework questions you missed and textbook questions you did not understand.
• Find a study buddy or study group or set your own individual routine -- find a set up that works for your study style.
• Take time DAILY to do at least a little bit of biology -- take 30 min. to quiz your neighbor, give yourself a quiz, take 15 min. to answer textbook questions, read an assigned section of the textbook....

4. Prepare for exams

• Remember all those notes you took and organized and the textbook questions you answered as we covered material in each section of the textbook? Now they are the perfect study guide!
• Review by writing your own questions. Or recite your notes out loud. Or re-write notes. Make a list of terms then write a sentence for each....
• Look at the lecture slides and write your own 2-3 sentence summary of the main point.
• ATTEND THE STUDY SESSIONS!
• If you are still having a hard time getting ready for an exam, contact me several days prior to the exam, especially with specific topics or concerns.
• Lastly, stay calm.

5. After the exam

• If you got an A -- that's awesome! Take note of the study methods you used and share them with a neighbor.
• If you got a B -- ask the A students for ideas to study, think about what study methods you used that worked best and do more of them, review the list above to see if there are other methods you could try
• If you got a C -- ask the A students for ideas to study, think about what study methods you used that worked best and do more of them, review the list above to see if there are other methods you could try. Also, please come see me at student hours or an appointment so that we can talk about how to improve your study skills or whether you need additional help with understanding the material.
• If you got a D or F -- please come see me at my office hours or make an appointment as soon as possible. Before we meet, think about what study methods you used. What seemed to have worked, and what definitely did not work? Let's talk about ways to improve study habits and get help with understanding the material. We can talk about the course in general and all the parts like exams, quizzes, homework and participation.