“But I really studied hard last night ....”

We (instructors) have heard these or similar words countless times, and we greet them with a sigh of resignation, thinking if our students really studied, they would be successful. The next time you hear this phrase, though, take a moment to ponder what is behind it. I hear it in all my classes and have learned that it doesn’t matter whether it comes from remedial or advanced courses: they are almost always serious --- and frustrated!

Many students don’t understand what it means to study. Many are straight from high school where they sat in classes five days a week for a whole year. Most of their learning occurred in class and many never needed to open a book outside of class. We get them just a few hours a week for one semester, so most learning must occur outside of class. What looks of shock have you seen when you tell students they should study 2-3 hours for each hour in class? They have never had to study this much before, so this is a challenging transition, and they often don’t understand why it is necessary. Other students may have been out of school for a while, leading established lives with daily responsibilities, as well. Finding time for studying may seem impossible.

In short, students today often lack basic study skills. They must move past mere memorization to recognize relationships between concepts and how to apply their knowledge, but they may have had little practice doing so. Consequently, our students often really do spend hour upon hour memorizing information, but then the information becomes jumbled as it tumbles out of their brains during the exam, or they fail they know the answer to a question just because the wording is not just exactly as memorized. Also, our students do tend to cram the night before or the day of the exam. For many students, this is the first time they have looked at the material outside of class, and it is too little too late. They just don’t understand the importance of routine daily studying.

TO THE STUDENT FROM YOUR INSTRUCTOR

1. Understand what the expectations are in this class. Be prepared to devote 2 to 3 hours of study time for each hour spent in class. Outside of class time, Biology 10 requires 12 to 18 hour of study per week!
2. Know what will be graded, how it will be graded and the level of mastery expected.
3. Listen to and follow up on suggestions about how to study.
4. Know all of the resources available and which are most important. Establish a priority of which resource to give the most time and effort, and follow that priority list during your study hours.
5. Use your "Guide to Examinations" (in the Biology 10 Syllabus) and find out which topics will be covered before each exam. Then cover those topics thoroughly with in depth understanding (don’t just memorize).
6. Set up a strict study schedule and be relentless about following that schedule. Do NOT follow random and aimless study habits. Make out a spread sheet that shows your daily activities, including work, school class times, study hours, family, exercising/sports, socializing, meals and sleep.
7. Make clear to your friends and family members the importance of your success in school and what your priorities are that contribute to that success.
8. Do not allow distractions disturb your studies (brothers or sisters, parents, friends, pets, telephone, television, movies, parties, computer games, or surfing the internet for entertainment).
9. Follow the suggestions described in the Bio10 web site; the section titled “How to Improve Your Grades.”