Anatomy Summer 2006 Club

aHolisticStudent · Jul 22, 2006

YAY ME!!! I finished A&P I today with a cumulative grade of 95%. So I got an A. This was internet self-paced, and no extra credit. YAY ME!!! Now I'd like to sleep for 2 days.

Congratulations! Glad to hear you made it through with your A. Enjoy your R&R for a little while before next semester starts :).

I've only got a couple weeks left to go myself. Here's hoping I hold onto my A as well :).

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2006

Chris2008,
Good luck this fall. You should do fine, I've managed to maintain a high A in the class using the following system, which has worked for me in any class I've taken.
When I read the chapter I make notes, terminology reference, and study guide all at the same time. That way I only need to read the chapter once, but I'm forced to actually understand the material before moving on to the next section, and it ensures that I only go a page or three before applying what I've just learned so I don't daydream and have to re-read a whole section again.
So, here's the system. Organize your notes the way the chapter is organized using capitalization and/or bolding of sections and sub-sections. Italics for important information (I don't use color since my printer is B&W and I put all my notes in OneNote digitally rather than writing them). Now when you enter a section/sub-section I break down the info into Summary (which is the "content", in your own words, of what the section is telling you); Terms with each word that you don't know and the definition of the word tabbed over next to it. Keep your tabs lined up and it makes it simpler to cover over all the definitions and practice "flashcarding" without spending the time/money to make up thousands of flash cards. Finally under the terms section is your Questions/Review section. In the questions section you can put both text provided review questions and predict questions as well as develop your own questions. By doing this before moving onto the next section in the chapter you not only have created your vocabulary practice sections, good notes translated into your own words which helps to cement them in your mind, and a section by section study guide that you can use weekly/monthly/quarterly for review of the subject matter even after you've finished the course.
The main reason I really like keeping my notes digitally is the ease with which I can reference all the info. and detailed information I have from previous courses without trying to search through 30 notebooks of handwritten notes, and you can insert digital images, hyperlinks to websites, sound files etc. to increase the value of your notes.
Whatever you do however, find a system that minimizes the number of times you have to "touch" a resource and maximizes the amount of information you retain, while working to whatever way you are most effective at learning.
Best of luck.

This is fantastic advice.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2006

Congratulations! Glad to hear you made it through with your A. Enjoy your R&R for a little while before next semester starts :).
I've only got a couple weeks left to go myself. Here's hoping I hold onto my A as well :).

Somehow I know you are going to keep your A.

aHolisticStudent · Jul 23, 2006

i have an A in the class so far

Congratulations on your grade so far.

so am i the only person who did a 10 week a&p 1 this summer and is taking a&p 2 in the fall?

You're definitely not the only one. I'll also be taking A&P 2 in the fall. Along with Chemistry & Nutrition, so I expect to be up to my neck in equations and terminology come September. :)

adelajudith · Jul 23, 2006

I'm taking a 5.5 week Anatomy class. My college separates A and P. So far it's been going well... but it is an AWFUL lot of work. ALL memorization, and more memorization... I'm hoping to take Physiology in the fall, but I have to wait for the college to put in my chem assessment scores before I can register.

JaxiaKiley · Jul 23, 2006

I took just Anatomy years ago and now I am taking combined A&P. I like it combined much better.

I know I am keeping the index card companies in business right now! I've literally gone through 1k cards since I started A&P I.

diamondmeadows, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2006

Whatever you do however, find a system that minimizes the number of times you have to "touch" a resource and maximizes the amount of information you retain, while working to whatever way you are most effective at learning.

this is great advice for a lot of reasons. i agree with the part about doing something that "minimizes the number of times you have to touch a resource." i only read my chapter once. i sometimes go back and look at pictures if it's something very visual, but i make sure that i process and translate the information in a way that keeps me from having to go back over the chapter and my notes. also, i've heard people in my class complaining that they don't really know how to study and they aren't getting anything from just staring at their pages and pages (and if your teacher is anything like mine, it will be MANY PAGES) of notes. so definitely don't get stuck in that trap. it doesn't seem to be a very successful approach.

i also wholeheartedly agree with finding a study system that works with your learning style. writing things really helps to burn them into my memory more than looking at them or listening to them, which is why i handwrite flash cards. but of course that doesn't work for everyone...just make sure you develop something that helps YOU retain the information.

good luck!