You’ve just completed a semester of General Biology at the college level. You may recall that one of my former students came to class to answer questions regarding his success in the class. What advice would you offer to others in future sections of this course? Please comment on the following (by class on May 23):
- What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
- How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? Would you take the Blackboard quizzes more seriously?
- What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
- How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned?
– What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
Do I expect this class to be interesting, but overwhelming; fun, but intense? No, yes, no, yes – that would be my response before I took Biology 1. My answer on this question after the semester is over is absolutely, definitely 4xYES.
I took biology class in high school, but it was my first college level science course, and I feel like I made a right decision not to pursue it as a career. No offense, but it’s just something I’m not really good at.
– How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help?
I have to admit that vocabulary means a lot. I would definitely started to learn all definitions from the very first class/chapter, and try to just understand the concept, instead of just trying to memorize all information. I guess that’s where I failed and the middle of the semester was disastrous for me, and I felt like I was not able to continue. One day I just had to turn all pages back at the very beginning of the biology book, and study again.
Also, reading articles about flu vaccine, about different approaches of new tissue production, fatal diseases treatments, etc. brings general biology course on the new level in my opinion. It let me see a bigger picture, understand how everything what I’m reading about in book is actually relates to the world we live in.
Asking questions is another important aspect of successful learning. You can’t ask questions if you don’t understand, you have to understand at least something.
– What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned?
I feel like have two different professors in Lab and Lecture class made things a bit complicated. I feel like hearing the same information shaped differently by each professor didn’t let me fully absorb it and understand every single detail, rather then hearing the same things twice from one professor.
As I mentioned before, I was not doing well somewhere in the middle of the semester (Membrane structure and function, metabolism topics), but as soon as we started Genetics I was vey impressed by my high school knowledge. It made my studying for the test process a lot easier, since I already knew basics, just needed to understand and memorize some details.
. My advice to other in future sections of this course would be to read a few pages everyday. Focus on each topic in the chapter and make it your priority to focus on that specific topic. It is difficult to retain all the information a few days before the exam. Do not let the first exam discourage you and grasp the concepts at the summary of the chapter in order to understand the complete chapter as a whole.
My expectations of this class coming in would be that it was going to be a little easier than it was. I have taken Biology at a college level course before but it has been a few years since then. When I was in high school, I loved Biology but as soon as I entered college, my opinion started to change. I wanted to major in Biology because I love science but realized it was too broad and decided to focus on something more specific pertaining to biology.
Now that I have completed the semester, I would approach the class by investing more time into understanding the information I am reading in the text book. I would try to relate to everyday things so that I can grasp the concept better. I would also study a whole lot more even if it just a couple pages a day to retain the previously learned information. I would try to find a friend in class just to discuss the topics and find an alternate way to grasp some of the concepts. The most challenging part of the course would have to be Energy transformation. As much I re-read the info, I just found it so difficult to relate it to anything in order to fully understand it. It is also very difficult working full time and attending college full time due to the scarcity of time available for me to study.
My preconceptions changed over the course of the semester when I didn’t do so well on the first exam and the quizzes seemed to become more difficult. I was starting to feel that I had lost all the information that was taught to me in the previous years. My prior knowledge deterred me in the beginning because I assumed that I would breeze through the semester. I was completely wrong and felt like I had never seen 75% of the topics introduced to me before. I do appreciate the refresher thou because this time around I actually retained the information that I learned this time around.
Do you have any further tips regarding budgeting of time? Many students do have jobs and other commitments. This is a constant struggle. You were very successful in the course, did you have any special tricks for this?
Prof. Seto
My only advice concerning budgeting of time would be to write out your individualized key points from the chapter/notes and take it everywhere you go. Everywhere meaning travelling to work or school, studying during your lunch breaks, as well as any free time that you may encounter. Overall it is about managing your own personal time. I also kept track of any hw, quizzes, or labs that were due. It is very difficult trying to remember what is due and when. Keeping a log of what you need to do and the time you need to have it done by, helps budget your time as well.
When I registered for biology 1, I expected it to be as easy as in my previous college education. But my expectations fall right after second class with Professor J.Seto Ph.D. With every lecture, the information and vocabulary grew progressively, which made me realize how serious and intense this class will be.
In the beginning there was a lot of information to absorb. Luckily, my friend was taking the same class, which helped me organize and catch up on projects. Having a friend in class proved to be helpful for discussing chapters and homework. If I had more time, I would have read the book more.
The most challenging part for me was learning vocabulary and staying focused.
Going into the course I had a limited knowledge of biology, now I have a new found respect for this subject.
The advice that I would give to the future classes is don’t expect this course to be easy there’s a lot of reading to do.Reading the chapters and studying the voc is something that you have to do regardless if you like it or not, that’s the only way you’re going to pass. Now that I’ve completed the course I regret not studying or reading the chapters,or asking somebody for help when I needed help.looking back on previous exams voc plays a large role and actually knowing the voc helps you out a lot. I would say the most challenging part of the course was actually attempting to read the chapters and studying the voc .My preconceptions definitely changed as the course progressed,I did semi-good on the first exam and I actually did okay on the first quiz but as the semester progressed the quizzes got harder and the exams got harder and that definitely deterred my motivation in the class.So to the future classes if you want to pass the course then reading the chapters and studying the voc is the only way for you to get a good grade
What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background? I have come back to school after 13 years. When I was in college then, I was a broadcasting and journalism major, I had no intention of taking science classes then. However, when I was in high school I had enjoyed learning biology and found it to be intriguing. However, knowing that I would be entering a higher level of education for biology, I suspected it to be more difficult. I was aware that I would be married to the textbook.
How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? From day one of classes beginning, I have been reading the textbook and doing the practice tests/questions/quizzes, but at first I felt at a loss since they were not enough apparently. Making study guides are what helped me later on.
What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance? The one issue I had was that most of this course is heavily dependent on the computer use. Many times there were homework assignments that were due either on my Jewish holiday or the very day after. I made sure to do them on time, but there were times in which I could not complete it. Now many may ask, why didn’t you do it before your holiday? well, biology is not the only class I am taking, I found it hard to cope with other deadlines and preparations for the holidays. Judaism is not easy religion, I had to be away from practice tests for 2 or 3 days straight and that occurred 3 times in the semester. But overall I made those efforts and got it done and was able to sanctify the festivals.
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned? Because I took biology so long ago in high school, this felt like I was learning fresh material. However there were times when I had remembered certain topics.
Lisa, as someone who is Orthodox, you follow stricter rules than others. This includes observation of a larger set of holidays. When you mentioned to me before that there was a conflict, I provided you with an extension. I’m not insensitive to these issues and I have in fact utilized holidays to help others obtain extra time to submit assignments in the past.
When I first came to this class. I knew it was a hard subject that I would have to face. But in reality it is not. if you read the text book and understand the definitions of the vocabularies from each chapter you would pass this class easily. Because like our proffessor mentions its 30% of each exams.
The summary from each chapter and the questions after each chapter helps alot during the exams because they questions are very similar in nature. So I woukd advice you to check them out after each chapter.
Dont worry too much about money and get the text book I know most of my class mate dont have a book and its the last week of class already and they are struggling with this class. You need to have the text book if you want to pass this class with a good grade. Also you would have to consider the benefit of receiving a code when you get the book. This code would allow you to get access at a website where many proffessors upload home work and small assignments and they help you alot. There is a section from the same website which lets you make your own flash cards with notes from each chapter. They help alot as well. So like all my previous class mates and i mentioned before, you got to read the text book and try to understand as much vocabularies as you can.
Also, for those who don’t have a book, there is always one in the library and one in the learning center. I know of students in the past and present who have gone out of their way to utilize these resources from the school when they didn’t have the resources to own a personal copy. As I keep stating, learning science at the introductory level is like learning a new language. You can only succeed if you persist at practicing. That means, previewing and reviewing. Coming to class and not having heard many of the complex terms means that you’re listening to the instructor speak a totally different language. Thanks for your input, Naveen.
My tip for future student would be that this course is not that easy as it seem. You have to focus from the start of the semester. Buy the book and study from the book and do all the quizzes do all the extra credit. If you do all the from with flow there shouldn’t be any problem. You have to do good in the lab as well because its 40% percent the grades. Work hard ! Listen to the instructor and study for your exams from the book and the slide.
▪ What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
– I thought it was an easy class since it’s a 101 introductive class. In high school I took living environment in my freshman year but that was 4 years ago
▪ How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help?
– I would defiantly read the whole book from start to end, use post-notes and I would sit next to a student who would help me in anyway to understand the class better.
▪ What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
– In my point of view having two different professors was a challenge because both would explain each section in there own style. Also how the professor would lecture the class I think we should have just read the book in class even though it’s childish.
▪ How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned?
– My preconceptions changed over the course of the semester when I didn’t do so well on the first exam and the quizzes become more difficult. I felt like I could get anything in my head.
I’ll suggest new students to read every chapter and notes to understand the class from the start. And make study groups.
I’m glad you recognize this would be childish. What role do you have for an instructor? If I stepped into class and just watched you read instead of making myself available to you, how would you and everyone else fair? As I mentioned numerous times, the best time to read the book is prior to entering the class. This is referred to as Previewing. The point of previewing the material is so that it is somewhat recognizable when you do in fact hear or see it in the class when the instructor is presenting it. Effective studying occurs when you review your notes and then re-read the portions of the text you were struggling with. Unsurprisingly, this is referred to as Reviewing.
I have mentioned before that students have requested that I read the book to them in class. I’m glad you put it –or something equivalent– in writing. The true challenge with College in a first year course is the perception that it is more High School (or as I call it “High School Plus”). The goal of any educator in an institute of higher learning is to provide students’ the ability to take control of their own destinies by affording them with the tools known as independence. I’m sorry your piece was not as reflective as the others’.
1) What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
– I had fairly good expectations coming into this class cause science has been always one of my interest, specifically biology cause after all it is the study of life and we are part of life. Prior to this class my science background comes from high school and some yoga classes.
2)How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? Would you take the Blackboard quizzes more seriously?
– What i would do differently if I were given the chance to might be to read the textbook prior to class, although i was reviewing after. maybe “previewing” would have helped a bit more. Also, i would have not chose a three hour/once a week class since I think you are forced to absorb way too much information and let alone retain it.
And as far as the blackboard quizzes I did take them serious so I would do that same.
3)What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned?
– Personally the most challenging part of the course would have to be having two separate professors for lab and lecture, becuase I found that although we were being taught along the same syllabus the fact that every professor teaches and explains differently just confused me a bit more when trying to remember or understand concepts. My preconceptions changed becuase I realized I had to practically teach my self via the text book,if I want do good.
Kevin, are you saying that neither instructor was of any use since you went about teaching yourself?
My advice for this introductory biology class is do not underestimate the course under no circumstances. This class isn’t easy and it surely will be hard if you aren’t up to date with the current readings. Also finding a friend in the class who knows what they’re doing is ideal. Biology has tons of words to remember so it is advisable to use flash cards or any other method to remember key words and their definition. Also hound your professor down…literally, if in the slightest case you do not understand something, go check your professor for answers, abuse their office hours because they are probably lonely. The best advice I could give though, would have to be…GET THE BOOK. It may be costly but if the cost is more important than your grade then try getting a good grade.
What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
Registering for Biology was mostly that I had to fulfill before graduating, and I had already dropped Principles of Science due to it being in the summer and was more accelerated compared to a normal semester. Other than that the last class I took that was biology was in high school. I expected that the class was going to be one of my harder classes, and my workload for the semester was more than I could handle.
How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? Would you take the Blackboard quizzes more seriously?
I wish that I didn’t take this course while taking so many other time consuming classes, my focus wasn’t ever focused on one this. So I ended up trying to make sure I could get by. If I could study differently, I would have tried to read the textbook more often or tried doing the quizzes at the end of the chapter but my time did not permit.
What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
I think this course has a lot of information to take in, and I think it was a mistake of me registering for a class that was only once a week. Sorry to say but having a class that is a couple hours long, your attention starts to waiver. Also with my heavy workload as well as working full time made my time management skills decrease as it never has before.
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned? I still feel the same way, that if I took biology a different semester when I wasn’t rushing to finish all my credits. I think that if I had more time I would have been better with all the information I would have to retain.
Your overall advice is about time management, then. As stated in the course outline, there is a great time commitment. This is something that students balk at. But this really does include reading for the sake of previewing and reading fro review. I think you recognize that the standard attitude of your peers that sitting in class would mean they’d pass. But the time demands need to be taken into account.
What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
I though it would be an interesting and easier class than it actually was. I haven’t taken bio in over 10 years so I could barely remember anything. To be honest I even got my first F ever in Bio back in high school.
How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? Would you take the Blackboard quizzes more seriously?
I wouldn’t approach the class differently as I think in the end I did pretty good and it was effective.
What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
The chemistry part was definitely my least favorite topic and also the most difficult to understand.
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned?
I definitely know now that I would never ever become a biologist (not that I ever wanted to become one :D) In the beginning of the course I was on the fence about science but I realized now that psychology is the only topic in science that interests me a little.
Ben,
The point of this exercise was to give advice to others. Because you did do well, as you stated, it’s beneficial to others to learn from you. What was your approach? How can others benefit from your practices?
Efrain,
You were very brief in your answers. Is extra credit the only route to success? What about the regular coursework? After all, it’s the regular coursework you are taking the class for. You haven’t really successfully performed this exercise about reflecting on the semester and providing aid to others in the future.
My expectations for this class would that it would be very challenging because I had not taken a science class for such a long time, and it turned out to be exactly that. Something that i would do different now that I have completed the class would be that I would rely more heavily on the textbook. I began to really read the textbook from the third test and it really helped. I feel that reading the book from the start would have made things a lot easier. the most challenging thing for me was the topic of biology itself in that it is just a complicated thing to learn for me. My preconceptions for this class changed a lot from the start till now. I went in thinking that I can just memorize terms and get by, but realized that I have to really understand the terms because they all relate to one another.
I was impressed by your ability to answer questions in class. It became quite apparent that you were becoming conversant in class over time. I’m glad you realized that Reading the Text was the best way to reinforce the knowledge whether through previewing, reviewing or both.
What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background?
My expectations weren’t as high of the class because to be frank I am not a science person and I didn’t have much of a science background except for taking the required general science classes. Not to have any offensive taken about what I said but every person is different.
How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? Would you take the Blackboard quizzes more seriously?
the way I would approach this class differently is probably be more interactive in class and form study groups because you always learn better and faster when your with your friends. I would study differently, I wouldn’t completely rely on the required textbook and rely on more outside resources the teacher suggests. If I would read the book differently, I would probably not read it at all and just refer back to it for definitions. The slides the teacher posts are most relevant to topic and easiest to read. I would take the Blackboard quizzes and every help that comes my way more seriously if I know I’m struggling in the class. Some help is better than no help.
What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance?
The most challenging part of this course was probably the fact that we met once a week and by the time you would get to the next topic in your next weeks class, you’d forget all the material you learned last week. Keeping up was hard.
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned?
It definitely enhanced the way I learned because I learned from my mistakes.
What were your expectations of the class coming in and what was your previous college/science background? Coming into this class i expected to learn and do very well; I have taken several science classes in the past, such as concepts of Bio, Micro, and chem, but i underestimated the load of work and took on too many work hours and classes to focus the way i know i can.
How would you approach the class differently now that you’ve completed the semester? Would you study differently? Would you read the book differently? Would you be more active in pursuing help? Would you try to find a friend in class to help? I honestly can say, i wish i can retake this class. I would focus differently; due to the fact that there were so many ways you attempted to make it easier for us to understand the material, and the text is so intersting that i would honestly read the chapter, answer the questions at the end of the chapter then read the slides. in addition, i would try to find a friend to study with an keep up with the work with as well.
Would you take the Blackboard quizzes more seriously? YES!!! for sure!
What was the most challenging part of the course? Topic? Personal circumstance? The details of the material are always a bit challenging for me when understanding the lesson. for example; the vocabulary for the last 3 lectures were difficult to memorize. Also, it would be sweet if i had a stress free semester to focus more in this class, I truly love Biology and if the circumstances were different, I would have completed this class much better.
How did your preconceptions change over the course of the semester? Did your prior knowledge influence/enhance/deter the way you learned? I understand that no matter how many times anyone has been exposed to biology, there is always something to learn, and i am glad i have completed science classes in the past to help me put a puzzle together. studying is never enough, and in biology dedication and good study skills can help you achieve success in this class.
Going into this class, I knew personally it was going to be difficult for me. I was never really interested in Bio, but the level of challenge that I received from this class over took what I considered to be difficult. It is a completely whole new language, and knowing that, some serious studying has to be done to do well in this class. Take advantage of all the study material, extra credit, videos, etc. because without it, I don’t think I would be doing as good as I am. It does get easier towards the end, but don’t let the material scare you. Learn your vocabulary and terms and you will do fine.