A&P 1

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2013

It really varies based on the type of learner -- visual, kinetic, etc -- as well as what you are studying. For me, as I'm a combination of the various types, was to do the following:

For lecture:

1. Record every lecture, and re-listen to the lectures as often as possible -- driving to school, to church, while shopping, at home, etc. I especially made it a point to re-listen to the very last lecture just prior to the upcoming new one so that whatever was said would join up in my mind.

2. I took notes, and would compare the notes to what I recorded when I got home. I would then take my hand written notes and type them up.

3. I would read the chapter(s) in advance of the lecture. During the very first chapter reading, I would preview the material focusing on terminology (often bold or italic), section headings, figures, and tables along with noting what study tool the chapter itself might have available. I would then highlight the terminology. During the reading (after the preview), I would use different color highlighters to highlight what I believed to be extremely key areas (trying to be careful not to over highlight or otherwise create a rainbow on the page). The highlighting was meant to help for future re-reads in terms of focusing only on the highlighted areas for reading.

While reading, I tried to follow the following plan:

Reading 25 minutes or less

Review 5 minutes

Break 5 minutes

Then rinse and repeat

Where I would try to do something physical during the short break and actually be away from the material. Physical for me does not mean turn on the TV ;-)

4. I would take the terminology and processes and put it into flashcards on quizlet. BIO121 Anatomy and Physiology 1 Lecture, Professor Mason, Fall 2013 | Quizlet are the flash cards I created for the lecture portion of A&P 1 that I finished -- thanks to Jesus -- this past fall semester. I would print out those flash cards (typically in table format) for quick review while at school prior to any test.

5. I would do the quiz material at the back of every chapter; and our book had a web site that would generate practice quizzes and exams; I would do those within three days of the lecture exam to test how well I was getting the material.

For lab, I would do the following:

1. Stay the entire lab time to focus on learning the models and material. Often times before the end of the lab, there would just be two to four of us left not including the professor. I believed staying through each lab for the entire time allowed really helped and took off pressure for any form of cramming.

2. Use the learning center -- they had some of the lab models -- twice a week for approximately one hour each time.

3. Take pictures of the model, and where appropriate create a study guide. I did the study guide for muscles where I included insertion and origin along with the muscle name and picture -- often several different views of the model, and it really made a difference in passing that exam with a good grade. BTW, for the skeleton model, I found actually kinetic - hand holding, caressing (not in any sexual / romantic way) the bones even with my eyes closed so I could tell the orientation, feel the markings, etc. to be very helpful.

4. Use Google Images to look up pictures, models, and what not of the lab material

5. I would also use quizlet, but most of the flash cards that I used I found made by others, and just added to the class. BIO121 Anatomy and Physiology 1 Lab, Professor Mason, Fall 2013 | Quizlet are the lab flash cards I used for A&P 1.

In both lecture and lab, I was also blessed to have mostly consistent study partners where we would ask each other (test like) questions to see how well we knew the material and models.

Do read https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html as it is an excellent foundation for all classes.

Thank you.

NCH, RN · Dec 16, 2013

pmabraham gave great advice, I did pretty much exactly what she said, other than handwriting my own flash cards instead of using quizlet, as writing helps me remember better than typing does.

I want to stress two things that she suggested though, read the book and use all of your lab time to learn. I noticed in my class very early on that people weren't reading the book and would then complain about questions being on a quiz or exam that wasn't in the notes. Our professer told everyone multiple times to read the book, and most of them got it towards the middle of the semester, but by then they had to struggle to get their grades up.

And almost everyone left early during lab, wasted all of that time, stay and use your time wisely.

whealer · Dec 16, 2013

I was little more relaxed with my studying; but what it comes down to is knowing two things:

1: What is your learning style? Do you find yourself understanding things better when it's visual or does the mental lightbulb go off when you hear your professor explain how something, like, how the excitability process of muscle contraction works?

2: Flash cards! It's all about memorization! I wrote the definition out on the front of the card and would write the term on the back. Rather than just learning the word, understanding what the term means and how it's applied is best.

From there I did the following:

-I didn't overdo it on the studying. There is such a thing as studying too much, to the point where it got me confused or I wasted time. Keep it simple and consistent. Flash cards and study notes.

-I downloaded powerpoints for the day of class, made a couple of notes during lecture, studied from the book intensely and did the homework immediately after class. That way it was fresh in my mind, if I had questions I can ask them early on, and I had enough time to briefly review points for the next class.

-I tried to not cram study the day/night before tests. Between schoolwork completed in class, homework, and my own notes the study for the exam should really be a review.

-I didn't study anything that wasn't mentioned in class. If I come across a point in the book that wasn't mentioned in lecture, I'd make a note of it and just bring it up during the next class - again, it's all about time management. If it was something interesting, or a great topic for a research paper, I'd make a note of it and move on. When I have free time I'll study this topic further.

-I used my ipad mini to take pictures of diagrams and models in class. I didn't make a formal study guide; I just went through the pictures whenever possible and tried to identify what I could on my own.

-I tried to draw as much as possible. Not that I'm a real artist or anything; but when it comes to studying cell structures or processes like a reflex arc, drawing it (correctly!) means I understand it.

-Talk, talk, talk. Luckily my boyfriend has taken this class before so our conversations were around applicability of what we learned. Try and talk about it in conversation, preferably around people who know what you're talking about. If there's not of those people around, then that's okay too! I remember just the other night I was having a discussion about eye surgery with friends. Since I performed an eye dissection before, I was able to talk about the different layers of the eye and whatnot. Of course, I admit when I'm not sure if what I'm saying is correct; in these cases I make a mental note and review my notebook to quickly fact check.

-I keep my study notebook around whenever possible. It's small enough to fit in my bag. At the end of the semester I saved the last few pages to print out pictures and use them as an index.

Hopefully some of this inspires you!

DadStudentPerhaps · Dec 17, 2013

I did it online, so my experience may be a little different. My A&P 1 class was through McGraw Hill. I had a reading assignment, study questions, and a quiz every week. It took hours to complete my weekly assignments. In addition, I lost my mom the first week of the semester so I got behind right out of the gate. It took me to mid-term to get caught up. Due to a mistake made by the instructor before he left for Spring Break (he put the wrong assignment due dates on the assignments) I couldn't submit my assignment the week of Spring Break. Once again, I was behind a week and it took me to the end of the semester to get caught up. This cut into my study time for Finals...

The reason I shared the above story was to let you know Ive experienced how hard A&P can be if you ever get behind.... Don't do it !!!

Other than that, I suggest dedicating a minimum of 2 hours study time everyday. You can tweak that number depending on how well your doing in class.

Each chapter builds off the previous chapter. It's important to have a good understanding of the material before moving to the next chapter. Ask questions, join study groups, or take advantage of the many free websites to help you better understand topics your not sure about. I recommend Khan Academy.... It's free and he has a lot of great videos.

Did I mention don't fall behind???

When I studied for test, I highlighted the answers to my study questions in my book. I went back and reviewed the highlighted material to study for my exams. I'm not a big Flash Card fan, but most students in my online class used them, so I suppose it's a matter of preference.

If you get frustrated while doing your work, take a break, then come back to it. You need a clear mind!!!

Did I mention don't get behind ???

Stay positive and don't psych yourself out. You can do it... I got an "A" in spite of getting behind.

Last thing, don't get behind !!!