Biol 189 scares me!

rwbglock23 - I can't seem to figure out how to reply to your message. I don't remember any biology at all. The closest thing I have is a Biology for Dummies book I know I can't say the professors name here but it starts with a V.

man. i loved bio 189. i don't understand why ppl dont like it. its real science. its not dumed down. if it's been a while since you've taken it it might be a steep learning curve. if you put in the time, and try not to focus on memorizing, but rather focus on understanding concepts you will do better. but i liked it so much i went on to take 196. dont be scared of it. if you like science...i mean really like it enough to catch yourself thinking about it outside of class, not just getting thru it to get into nursing school...you'll be fine. if science is hard for you get a tutor. they are plentiful. try the TRIO office. i think that's free for some students. and i had the "V" professor too...such an awesome class. totally renewed my faith in the school and the RN degree as a real science degree.

i'm a biology tutor at csn and the two things i always tell my tutees is to record their lectures and get help as soon as they start to feel lost. don't know who that teacher is, but between your teacher, the tutoring center and the other students you're studying with, it's not that hard of a class and you might find it downright enjoyable!!

There is no reason to be afraid. All you need to do is stay on top of things and you will be fine. Flash cards, record your lecture, book-cd activities and self tests, and do not skip class, ever.

If you get an instructor that speaks too fast or above your head, sit in another lecture class until you find one that you can understand, and then attend both lectures until you understand it all. They will teach along the same lines long enough for you to either switch classes or understand the way they teach more.

You can also get a list of videos and dvd's from the librarian to watch- mostly in the henderson campus library-- you cannot check them out- but they are so good, you can self teach yourself bio 189. (I had to do this as I left school a week early from the summer 10 week course)

I had a teacher in hendo and she is awesome, she is the one that keeps those on reserve in the library, but it is all there-- photosynthesis, cellular respriation, dna, punnent squares--everything in the simplest format. The other campuses have some of them but not all of them.

I ditched the teacher I had originally on the chy campus because when I asked him about leaving for a family reunion he told me he did not know anyone who had taken the summer fast course and left a week early and still passed the class! He spoke too fast and way over my head.

I still sat in his class and took notes. Then I went home ate dinner and went back to school for her class and she made everything he said seem crystal clear. I did benefit from hearing it twice, I did that for about 5 weeks of the summer class. Then I just went to her class and the library to watch the videos- several times sometimes- and I took notes if needed.

You can keep up in the fall bio 189 class easily no matter how many classes you are taking. Summer lecture is 4 days a week 1 1/2 hrs a day, with lab for 3 hours 2 days at 3 hours each. You can do this easily. No prob. Do not fall behind. Plan your time wisely. you got this!

When I took 189 the retention office had a tutor helping anyone that needed help. I needed help! So I took advantage of the tutoring and it helped ALOT! Now that I look back and where I am now..Bio 189 was okay! It just gets you prepared for your journey in general! YOU CAN DO IT!

i think passing the class depends on how serious you are and the teacher leading the class. for example- i am an a student - i study hard- and by hard i mean - i obsess over my grades and tests- so i put in more than is required.

that said- i had a real bad teacher. he was cute to look at - but he liked to test on the little details he covered during 2 minutes of the class. his tests were crazy to prepare for - since we were covering 4 chapters a week and you had no idea what would be on the test. he was the type of teacher that would say - you need to know this - and then it wasnt on the test, but you would see questions that you barely recall hearing about.

it was a nightmare for me. but this was a summer session, a hard teacher and i was juggling 2 other classes - plus 3 kids. lol.

i am so scared to go back now. i dropped my class after the 3rd week - bc there was no way i would pass it.

that said- here is what i recommend

~ before taking the class go to rate my professor . com and review you teacher. if they have a decent grade and higher- go for it.

but if your teacher let says has a score of 1 -(like mine did) and you read 100 reviews that are 90% bad- i would not take it.

the first day of class my teacher bragged that 75% of the class would drop. as far as i know - his drop rate is accurate. i never understood why he would be proud of that - since his goal as a teacher is to teach understanding not confusion. but to each their own.

~ buy a biology made easy book and when you hit a concept of confusion in the text book - refer to bio made easy.

~i also used youtube to find videos of the material, if you are really struggling you could look up middle and high school websites that teach the concepts at a lower understanding level. (i believe some text books complicate the subject more than it needs to be)

~use the online study guide- it will help - know all of that material

~go to the tutoring- even if you think you are doing good. i didnt have time to - but i wish i could have.

if you are really struggling then i recommend

reading the chapter- without highlighting or taking notes

re-read with the highlighter (dont highlight every word)

re-read and summarize each paragraph. (this takes lots of time - but it has worked in all of my other classes and it might have helped me more if i wasnt in a short class- there was to much to study in a week to do the details of this one.

review you notes from lecture an hour after you get home

if you tape record play the notes while you are in the bathroom, going to sleep, outside, during meals, ect.

what campus are you at this semester? i will be in henderson.

one last bit of advice- if you get your book and start reading it and realize you dont have a lot of understanding in the topics- try to make bio your only class that semester.

I wanted to thank everyone for the advise they gave me before the semester started. Also an update on how I'm doing - a month and a half into it I'm able to hold an A. I hope I can keep it up. I ended up switching teachers at the last minute and now I am at the Henderson campus with a teacher that has really bad ratings on ratemyprofessors, but I like her style. Now I'm even considering taking 223 and 251 together in spring.