Tips

This class covers a myriad of scientific subjects, incorporating ideas and concepts from a multitude of different disciplines.  It is essential that you keep up with the material as we cover it, so as not to get lost in the maze of scientific arguments and concepts.  Here is some tips on how to do well in this course:

1. 1. Attend every class and take good notes.  You will notice that my slides might be a little different from what you are used to in other classes.   I have always been a visual learner and this is reflected in how my slides are designed.  You will find few words, and even less bulleted text.  I hope that this makes the lecture more visually interesting, engaging, and helps to keep your attention.  On the flip side of that coin, however, is the fact that without hearing what I say about each slide, it is virtually impossible for you to reconstruct that information just by looking at the slides.  It is therefore ESSENTIAL that you attend every lecture, follow along carefully, and take good notes.
   2. Review with and compare your notes to those of your peers.  Due to the circumstances you might chose to do this via Zoom or phone.  An incredibly effective way of assuring that you know  your notes are complete and what they refer to, is to go over them with at least one other (more is better) student in the class.   See if you agree on what you noted as important, what parts did your peers emphasize, that your notes are complete, that you caught the important parts of each lecture, and that you understand?
   3. Make Flashcards.  You will be immersed in a myriad of scientific terms and jargon in this course.  Treat this class like you would ANY foreign language class.  There are the vocabulary (terms and definitions), and the grammar (processes, mechanisms, relationships).   Make notecards with all terms and concepts and take multiple 15-minute intervals every week (while waiting for the bus, for example) to go over them.  You could cram all of them the day before the exam but that’s a poor way of creating lasting, long term memories and skills.
   4. Create your own exam.  The way I write my exams is by going slide-by-slide through my lectures and writing ONE fact-checking question and ONE conceptual question for each slide.  Then I go through and pick 100 of those questions.  Do the same.   Take a look at each slide and think about what particular terms or facts are important.  Then be able to put them into the process and/or context the slide seeks to explain.   This is best done with a partner who then asks you their questions and you pose yours.
   5. Take the online Canvas review quizzes repeatedly.   Each lecture topic comes with its own online review quiz.   You should make every attempt to finish them with perfect scores.