You've probably already heard that this is a tough course. Unfortunately, that's true in just about every college in the country. And in many, a lot of students do fail. But you don't have to be a statistic. If you do things right the first time, you won't have to repeat the course later and then learn by your mistakes. So remember, time is money. Use your time wisely in this course. Take all the suggestions I will be giving you and
You will succeed.
Before you do anything else in this course, BE SURE to have a POSITIVE ATTITUDE all the time!!
1. Do not to miss any lectures or labs. No matter why you might not want to go to class, or for whatever the reason, don't cut. You'll need to find out what you missed and that may not be fun.
2. Be on time for class. A teacher always gives instructions for a class in the beginning. If you're late, you're already behind. You also get better seats if you are on time.
3. Never, but never sit in the last row of seats. For some reason, those students seldom pass this course. Try to sit as close to the front of the classroom as you can. This way you can hear better, see better, and will be more likely to be attentive to what is being presented.
4. If lecture notes are not provided, try to outline as information is given. If you have trouble outlining, take the notes that seem important. Use plenty of space in your notebook, especially in the margin. Abbreviate your notes with your own method, but avoid taking notes word for word.
5. Ask the instructor if you can tape his or her lecture notes. If you can, put your tape recorder on the front desk so there's no static. You can use it later to clear up any notes that may have been confusing. You can even listen to it while you're driving home(if you're tired of the same old junk on the radio).
6. Don't be afraid to ask questions during lecture or lab. If you're afraid to speak up, ask the student next to you to do it for you. If the teacher routinely asks questions of the class, do your best to break the ice and answer a if you can. Don't let the same students do all the responding; you do it.
7.
Be a serious student in class. That means don't waste your time jiving with your classmates about stuff totally irrelevant to what's going on in the classroom. Use all your time critically. Study the anatomy models, do the dissections, involve yourself in the various lab exercises and the like. Remember, you paid for this instruction, so if you waste it by horsing around during classtime, you'll really suffer when you attempt to answer questions on a lecture or a lab test.
8. Spend the most time on the most difficult topics. In A&PI, that'll be osmosis, active transport, bone formation, joint actions, muscle excitability and contraction, nerve impulse formation and conduction, visual principles, and hormone actions. In A&PII, the topics will most likely be coagulation, blood groups, heart irritability, blood pressure control, hemodynamics and tissue fluid formation, immunology, control of respiration, digestive enzymes, metabolism, urine formation, acid-base balance, counter-current mechanism, menstrual cycle, and stages of pregnancy.
