You must go beyond remembering; the goal is to understand. Remembering is just the first step in your learning. To understand the material presented in the course you must bring some knowledge to class. Lecture material is to complement the text and is not self-contained. A lecture in a science course may be deceptive because the instructor may make it look easy and you may think it is possible to understand the material without reading the text. This is usually not so. Reading science for understanding is slow and requires re-reading, questioning, and absorbing. As you read you must think about the material and see if it makes sense. A paper and pencil should be used. A general purpose dictionary is very helpful.

The following steps are suggested in your study:

A.            Skim the appropriate pages in the text before class. Read them in detail after class, making                 comparisons with your notes. Try this approach when you read: skim, ask questions, read in detail,                 and summarize.

B.            Follow the outline and figures in the Study Guide as instructed. They assist in understanding difficult
                topics, supplement information not found in the text, and supply facts efficiently.

C.            Plan to take careful notes. To take effective notes you must hear what is being said and understand                 the leanings. Avoid simply writing notes in the margins of figures in the Study Guide. Learn to use                 phrases abbreviations, and symbols.

D.            Read the lab exercises in the Study Guide before lab. They contain introductions, assignments,
                procedures, and questions about the lab. Be prepared for a quiz over the introduction to each exercise                 at the beginning of the lab period. Much of the learning of each exercise comes from the introductions.

E.             Study daily. This will allow you avoid cramming for the next hour exam, and increase the chances you
                will understand the lecture the next day. Ideally you should spend two hours out of class for every hour                 of class time.

F.             Exam tips. As you study think of possible ways questions might be asked. I will ask many of the
                following.
                Relationship questions - “What is the anatomical relationship between   the shoulder and the elbow”
                Difference questions - “The liver is different from the pancreas because the liver...”
                Homeostasis questions - “An increase in...will cause...? (select an answer which leads to a                 decrease).
                Cause and effect questions - “The epiphyseal plate leads to bone elongation”, not “bone elongation                 causes the epiphyseal plate to grow”.