I know how demanding this class can seem at times. There is a lot of information thrown at you and the exams on that information can be quite tricky as many of you will soon realize. Nonetheless, if you're in the mood to improve your studying strategies, here are my go-to tips for success.
Bored the moment I start talking in the video? I get it, I talk kinda slow...speed things up by adjusting the speed of playback to 1.5x or 2.0x speed in the video's settings. Plus, it's kinda fun to hear me talk like that.
START STUDYING ASAP. I always started "hardcore studying" AT LEAST two weeks before an exam, leaving me with more than enough time to tackle and truly grasp each lecture. And I would still have enough time to do that again and again until the exam!
You NEED to go to lecture. I know many of you love this site for its convenience and overall awesomeness, but please remember that this site is a SUPPLEMENT. It is NOT designed to be a replacement for lecture.
Study your lecture notes, not the textbook. You are strictly responsible for what's presented in lecture (i.e. the notes) on exams. Not the textbook. My videos usually align well with lecture notes. But still, you MUST have strong lecture notes. If you don't, you better kindly ask someone to share their lecture notes with you!
Use the textbook to clarify anything you don't understand. DO NOT LABORIOUSLY READ IT and take notes off of it. You're wasting your time!
Use the textbook for its figures. The figures are AMAZING. Most professors even tell you what figures are really helpful.
Use BIALIGY lecture videos to guide and organize your learning. This means write what I write AND understand what I write. You absolutely cannot expect to learn the material via passive absorption. You are not a sponge. Do NOT just sit there and watch me, hoping to become the next Charles Darwin. You need to be ACTIVE in your own learning, so be ACTIVE when you watch me.
Use BIALIGY playlists to drive home the lecture topics. Honestly, and I openly admit this, my flowcharts do not give biological processes enough justice. You need to visually "see" the processes. These playlists do this with incredible animations you won't forget. Before you sleep, watch a few of these videos instead of cycling through social media over and over again! Oh, and be sure to give me a follow and like ;)
You MUST MUST MUST rewrite your notes! This helped me so much. Whatever notes you feel most comfortable with, whether they're from BIALIGY, lecture, or both, rewrite them. This really forces you to clean them up, organize them in better ways, and overall, just makes remembering all the info much easier because you'll be actively making and reinforcing many meaningful connections.
There are tons of practice questions online. Just google "Campbell biology questions" and find the associated chapters. Voilà!
Form a study group with friends and reteach every lecture to each other. This is what truly made me learn the material. Believe me, it's really fun and it's the BEST way possible to learn in my humble opinion!
And that's about it. I'll end on one final note. I do not wish any of you "good luck" in this course. As I always say, luck is for the unprepared. I wish you all SUCCESS because success is the direct result of preparation. Now go study and happy learning!