Despite getting an A in all of my other classes, Biology was still problematic. Here is small list of things I tried to improve my grade:
I record the audio of every class.
I listen to it on the way home and on the way to school (unless in state of brain fried)
Went to tutors at school, too afraid of me.
Hired a tutor, meet multiple times a week when possible
Create custom Quizlets with each Bio chapter
Study slides from the class
Changed my eating and sleeping habits
Wear only short sleeves to class since it's always hot in there and it makes me want to go to sleep so I try to stay cold so I can focus
Tracked days with low focus to try to determine possible causes
Meet with Professors
Go to each class 2-3 times a day...yes you read that right. I go to my professors class twice if possible and another professors once except on Fridays when she has class activities planned
Space out study periods
Write out the slides by hand IN class to force myself to focus on what the professor is saying
Convinced Bio teacher to start holding review sessions before exams. I video them and give them to any students who couldn't attend.
Basically if something didn't seem to help, I'd try something else and if it did, I'd still try something else so I could combine strategies.
The results? It all started to work. While everything I tried helped one way or another, it really started to come together when I started working with Nate, my tutor. He's a professional who works in Bio/Chem for a drug company and he is probably the most responsible for it all coming together. I have been seeing him weekly ever since. Next in that line would be the review sessions the teacher gave. Made a massive difference to many students.
The results? I earned a B in Biology I and a B+ in Bio II !! My lowest grades but my most accomplished.
I have to say in one way I am really lucky, the teacher I had in Bio I had a better teaching method than the Bio II teacher but more importantly, when I went to her for help, she listened to me wine and didn't dismiss me. The learning methods I taught myself that semester have helped me in every class since.
A big surprise? A great deal of the content I learned in Biology has applied to almost every course, hell even English! I just had no idea. I'm now thankful for the hardest course I've ever had up to this point...
I record the audio of every class.
I listen to it on the way home and on the way to school (unless in state of brain fried)
Went to tutors at school, too afraid of me.
Hired a tutor, meet multiple times a week when possible
Create custom Quizlets with each Bio chapter
Study slides from the class
Changed my eating and sleeping habits
Wear only short sleeves to class since it's always hot in there and it makes me want to go to sleep so I try to stay cold so I can focus
Tracked days with low focus to try to determine possible causes
Meet with Professors
Go to each class 2-3 times a day...yes you read that right. I go to my professors class twice if possible and another professors once except on Fridays when she has class activities planned
Space out study periods
Write out the slides by hand IN class to force myself to focus on what the professor is saying
Convinced Bio teacher to start holding review sessions before exams. I video them and give them to any students who couldn't attend.
Basically if something didn't seem to help, I'd try something else and if it did, I'd still try something else so I could combine strategies.
The results? It all started to work. While everything I tried helped one way or another, it really started to come together when I started working with Nate, my tutor. He's a professional who works in Bio/Chem for a drug company and he is probably the most responsible for it all coming together. I have been seeing him weekly ever since. Next in that line would be the review sessions the teacher gave. Made a massive difference to many students.
The results? I earned a B in Biology I and a B+ in Bio II !! My lowest grades but my most accomplished.
I have to say in one way I am really lucky, the teacher I had in Bio I had a better teaching method than the Bio II teacher but more importantly, when I went to her for help, she listened to me wine and didn't dismiss me. The learning methods I taught myself that semester have helped me in every class since.
A big surprise? A great deal of the content I learned in Biology has applied to almost every course, hell even English! I just had no idea. I'm now thankful for the hardest course I've ever had up to this point...