A&P I by 1st time A&P Teacher?

[Pathogems]

Hello,

I start Anatomy & Physiology I in late January. The teacher has taught Biology and Microbiology before, but sent us all an email stating that this is his first time teaching A&P, so things will be disorganized, and that because it's his first time teaching it, it will be a hard class but that "Future A&P II and Microbiology will not be as hard".

What do you think of this?

There are no other A&P classes available, this is the only one that I could get into so choosing a different professor isn't possible...and not taking A&P this semester would ruin a lot because this is 1/3 Pre-reqs that I have and I must take them in a sequence and pass them to take the next one, and etc.

I'm ONLY taking A&P this semester (I'm a single mom and have to work full-time as a nursing technician) because I really want to get an A in this class for better chances at getting into the nursing program, since the biology and A&P classes are really important. I also want to understand them so I do good on the TEAS.

Thoughts or Ideas?

[Herrington]

I think that when I took A&P, my professor was teaching it for either the first or second time, so I was in a similar situation (his masters was in Zoology, but he had taught med students some of their classes before, so he had some extent of know-how).

When you get the syllabus, make sure you understand everything that's being asked of you, and be prepared for due dates of assignments, readings, tests, quizzes, etc. to be shifted around if it's going to be disorganized. Get your readings done ahead of time so that there's some leeway in case something is pushed forward and due sooner. If it's your only class, I think you should be able to do your assignments and readings in a timely manner.

I would also talk to him often about the class, see if there's any other bits of information about the class (maybe not so much the A&P material itself, but just the class mechanics) that would help you do well in the class.

Look into possibly forming a study group. I used to never think of myself as that type of person (I'm more the introverted type), but I've found that they have their uses when reviewing. Someone may have a better grasp than you on a certain topic, and they'll be able to explain it in a way you get understand (though, I still usually prefer the study-by-myself approach).

Flash cards, Khan Academy, Quizlet, Youtube...make use of these resources at your disposal. Personally, I went with the flash card route and got A's in both of my A&P classes, but it's different for everyone.

I suppose the bottom line is to just stay on top of your work, especially if this is the first time the instructor is teaching A&P, and is consequently expected to be disorganized. May I suggest that you try taking this quiz that can help pinpoint how you learn best so that you can maximize your efforts in the class. Hope that helps. Good luck!

[dorkypanda]

The first time teaching a new subject is a learning experience for everyone.

if this is your only class and you do work I think it's doable. a and p requires a lot of reading and studying daily if you can do so it will be good. I suggest you to print out lecture slides before class and to bring a voice recorder if you have one. you'll need all the details you can get because info flies in and out during lecture, you won't catch all of it. Info will build upon itself in a and p so if you're stuck somewhere you need to figure out what's going on before more info is thrown your way. it's good that you're taking a and p during a normal semester you can have some time to let things sink in. the lab component of a and p may have models and landmarks that you need to know. It's good to keep track of what you need to know and don't know for the exams. if you can stay for lab it will only help you understand the material. I did find the physio part of a and p to be slightly confusing. there is so much info. Exams can be tricky if there's m/c questions with lots of similar answers.

Good luck to you

[caliotter3]

Since you are only taking this class, you should be able to adapt. Record lectures if your instructor allows it. Make friends with one or more students so that you have someone to approach should you need to borrow notes when you miss a class. Make good use of the instructor's office hours should you have questions that you can not get answered in class. He is being paid to teach the material, so disorganized or not, you can expect him to explain things during his office hours. Hold him to it. Get a tutor if you need it. Do everything you can think of in order to do well in the class. Your only alternative would be to take the course online at another school and that more than likely would be more expensive and not an easy undertaking. Good luck.

[ThatOneDude822]

The same thing is happening to me this coming quarter for Micro. I signed up for this micro class SPECIFICALLY for the professor because I heard he was great at teaching micro, then my university pulled a switcheroo and changed the professor. I tried finding this professor everywhere - university website, rate my professor, etc. - and eventually found her LinkedIn profile. From her profile, it seems that she has just this month been hired to our university as an ASSISTANT professor and has never taught ANY subject before. Before she was hired here, she was researching plant pathology at a university in Florida.

So I know how scary and nerve-wracking it is to be going into one of the more difficult sciences with a new professor. Especially when so much relies on superior performance in these classes, and there is no way to gauge how well the professor is able to teach the material. I suppose taking it one day at a time is the best way to approach this kind of scenario. Who knows, maybe they'll end up being a decent professor?