Spring 2009
Section 3
Biology 40
Introductory Genetics
How to Succeed in Bio 40
Listed below are some suggestions on how to get off to a good start in Bio 40. Remember, the trick is to sustain a consistent and significant effort toward this class each and every week of the semester.
- Before coming to lecture read the assigned reading. This will familiarize you with the material presented in lecture so that you will not be hearing it all for the first time. With this preparation, you will have fewer questions during lecture and be able to take better lecture notes. After the lecture, return to the text and note the sections that were presented. Play particular attention to these sections when preparing for an exam.
- Come to each and every lecture and be an active participant. The material that is presented in this course will be unfamiliar at first, so it is not enough just to be physically present at a lecture. To be an active participant you must listen attentively, take thorough lecture notes, and ask questions when they arise.
- Go over your lecture notes after each lecture and identify questions you have. Within a few hours of a given lecture, quickly review your lecture notes. Take note of points that were unclear or raised questions in your mind. Taking several minutes to “correct” your lecture notes on a regular basis is very important since the exam questions are taken from material presented in lecture.
- Practice problem solving. Many topics in this course (especially in the classical genetics section) are best learned through problem solving. Consequently, problems will be assigned, and exams will consist primarily of similar problems. Do all assigned problems, and if possible others as well (problems, and answers, are featured in the text and the companion study guide).
- Attend mentor sessions regularly. Come prepared!
- Go to office hours with questions. Once you have identified questions in either your reading and/or lecture notes, go to the professor’s or mentor’s office hours to clarify these problems as soon as possible. Don’t wait until a few days before an exam!
- Form a study group. Since your performance in this course is determined on a set grading scale, you are not in competition with any other student in the class for grades. Take advantage of this and form a study group that meets on a regular basis. The best way to learn something is to explain it to someone else.
- Think up your own exam questions. Return to your lecture notes, readings, and problem sets to devise exam questions to test yourself and members of your study group. If you can’t design a good question on a given topic, that should tell you that you need to study this topic in greater depth.
- Remember that each section has its own exams. Do not worry about what other sections are covering; you will only be responsible for what your professor covered.
- Course material in Bio 40 is cumulative. Your mastery of material early in this course is essential to learning subjects presented later. This relationship will be reflected in the cumulative final exam for the course.
Page last updated 21 January 2009 by Nancy Hamlett.