To do well in Biology you'll need to acquire logical and analytical skills, absorb a new vocabulary, and master a wealth of technical details and general concepts — all while keeping an eye on the big picture of life's diversity. The following tips will help you in Biology as well as in future courses.
 

Expectations

Although there is a large body of knowledge that you must know to succeed in biology, it is critical for you do more than just memorize "facts." As teachers, one of our primary goals is to emphasize critical and analytical thinking skills. We'll ask you to identify the similarities, differences, and connections between processes and events, interpret experimental results, and identify unifying concepts. We want you to understand how and why things happen--not just that they do. This sort of understanding requires more active involvement on your part than just taking in facts and regurgitating them back to us on exams. Typically, exam questions in Biology 180 are based on the following framework:

1/3 content
1/3 conceptual understanding
1/3 ability to apply concepts to new situations

1. How do we know this; how would someone find this out?
2. Is this a detail or a major idea; does it apply to only this situation or to others?
3. Does the concept or mechanism make sense? How does this fit with what I already know? For example, how does it relate to what we talked about three weeks ago? How is it different from or similar to other concepts or processes covered in lecture?
4. What is its significance in this particular context and in the bigger picture? If we are talking about something on the organism level, how does that relate to what is going on at the cell or population level and vice versa?

Attending Lectures

Lectures introduce topics and how biologists think about them. Lectures may not always follow the material in the textbook, but will give you an idea of what points the lecturer considers most important. Exams are likely to be based heavily though not exclusively on lecture material.

You are responsible for all material covered in lecture. Come to class and take detailed notes. Not all areas of biology are equally interesting to everyone, but work at maintaining interest and focus. Challenge yourself by asking questions and by relating the material to everyday life.

Review your notes as soon after each class session as possible. Fill in any missing information or points so that they are complete and logical. You should also be able to identify the two or three most important concepts introduced in each class session. These concepts are likely to be the focus of exam questions.

Using Your Text

Your text can be an extremely valuable resource at several stages of your study. Be sure to skim through the assigned material before lecture. You will be able to get more out of the lecture if you already have a sense of the context in which the material will be presented. After lecture, go back and reread the chapter, with an aim toward synthesizing what you learned in lecture, filling in the gaps in your understanding, and drawing connections between the ideas presented in this lecture and those presented earlier in the course. Highlight important points and/or make an outline as you go, numbering the key ideas and summarizing each section in your own words. Stop periodically and make sure you understand and remember what you just read.

Preparing for Exams

Study!

The general rule for university classes is that you should expect to spend at least 3 hours out of class for every hour in class.  These hours should be spent reading, writing, studying, or doing other activities related to the class. Don't wait until exam time to figure things out; there is too much material to master for cramming to work well. Spend time each day reading your text, reviewing your notes, learning new vocabulary, and working on problems or study questions. Simply reading the text passively will not do the trick. You must be able to work with the material, apply it to novel situations, solve problems, and perhaps most importantly, explain it clearly to another person.

Office Hours

Take advantage of instructor office hours and review sessions. We really want to help you understand the material and will be more than pleased to talk with you. A willingness to ask questions is the hallmark of a mature, serious student. We are here to help you. You have to do your part, though, and make the effort to come talk to us. And please don't wait until mid-quarter when you've fallen way behind. Start early.

Tutoring

Members of the Biology Club volunteer their time to work with students in the introductory Biology courses. These are upperclassmen who have been through these courses and they work with the faculty to make sure they are current with the course. We urge you to take advantage of their help. Hours will be posted at a later time.

Study groups

Study groups can be a powerful learning experience and can make studying more efficient, effective, and fun. Focused study with others allows you to pool your ideas and see material from a different perspective. It also gives you a chance to organize, verbalize, and explore your own ideas or questions and get feedback from the group. We strongly encourage you to form study groups that meet regularly to discuss the subject matter of the course.

To get a study group started:

• Talk to people in lab or use the course newsgroup to find others with similar schedules and goals.
• Aim for 4 – 6 students per group. Larger groups may not give everyone a chance to participate fully; smaller ones may not generate enough ideas or feedback.
• Choose a convenient, comfortable place to meet, with minimal distractions. Schedule the first meeting early in the quarter, to clarify the goals of the group (to go over weekly study questions, to study for exams, to discuss the reading and/or ideas generated by the class, etc). We recommend a weekly meeting, but other arrangements can work well, too. Make verbal commitments not to schedule other activities during the agreed on meeting times.
• At the first meeting, discuss how long you will meet each time, the kinds of activities you think would be most helpful, if you would prefer a structured group that might assign particular duties or questions to each person or a group that is more free-form, etc. If you find that the group you've signed up for doesn't have compatible goals or preferences, find another.

Some possible study group activities:

• Review lecture notes. Help each other fill in missing bits of information or raise questions or clarify confusing concepts.
• Go over the assigned readings. Make connections between lectures and readings.
• Answer study questions or problems provided, or questions from the text. As you do, concentrate on the reasoning process and the steps involved in reaching an answer. Discuss strategies for solving particular types of problems.
• Make up your own exam questions and quiz each other. Mix questions that require just memory ("what is an "allele?") with questions that require you to compare different concepts, combine aspects of different topics, or apply concepts to a novel situation.

Guidelines for a successful study group:

• Come prepared. Be sure that you've read the relevant material, worked through study questions or problem assignments, and reviewed your lecture notes.
• Remind each other of the agreed-upon goals, procedures, and time limits at the beginning of each meeting. Allow some time for socializing (this is one of the benefits of the group, after all), but then get to work.
• Take turns explaining ideas or problems to each other. The old adage "You don't really know the stuff until you have to teach it" is true. One of the best ways to check your own understanding of a topic is to explain it to someone else. Make sure that everyone participates by contributing ideas or comments.
• If the group can't resolve a question, assign someone to go to the instructor's office hours or use the course newsgroup for help.
• Take a few minutes at the end of each meeting to summarize what you've accomplished. Decide what questions need follow-up and how that is going to be done. Look ahead and set the agenda for the next meeting. Make assignments or agree on what each person needs to do to get ready for next time.