chbare Posted January 18, 2014 Author Posted January 18, 2014 I've never had issues in undergrad with studying, reading or taking exams. Some of this may be that I didn't prepare over the winter break. I saw I was going to do several modules on metals so I dove into coordination chemistry and crystal field theory for a few weeks. Unfortunately, everything has been biochemistry, enzymes and pathways. Aside from being up on ligand coordination with enzymes and all the oxidation state stuff I find myself to be lacking in the relevant material. If this keeps up, it's going to be an incredible struggle. We are moving into pharmacokinetics, compartment modelling and kinetic equations, so hopefully it will be more straight foreword for the next week.
DwayneEMTP Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 You'll get it Christopher...I know that you will. You got caught with your pants down, but you'll overcome and be maybe even stronger for being forced to look at the material in a way that you weren't prepared for... Chin up Brother...
chbare Posted January 18, 2014 Author Posted January 18, 2014 Thanks man. I plan to see it through regardless of the outcome. I'm not going to have Cheryl post the results of this one on the refrigerator. I am still passing and didn't completely bomb the exam, but I certainly did not do well.
mikeymedic1984 Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Will sound stupid, but works for me. 1. Read the whole thing start to end (chapters, books, etc) but just skimming, not studying. This gives me context to things in the beginning, middle, and end (think of how immediately after you saw the end of the movie "sixth sense", how so many things clicked that didnt the first time through, and how your recognized things you did not pay attention to the first time -- like the color red) 2. Read through again, and write/create your own test questions as you hit what will obviously be a test topic (zerox your tests or keep on computer so you can take it over and over again). I do this a chapter/section at a time and then take the test I created days later to see what I retained. I never spend more than 1.5 hours on a section without taking a break. 3. After I take my test, I ask myself which question(s) I pray will not be asked on the real test, and then go back and study each one until I no longer have that fear. I then try to get a friend in the same class to ask me the toughest questions they can think of, and i do the same for them. 1
chbare Posted January 20, 2014 Author Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the reply. I am not sure exactly how to proceed. I only have a week to get through the reading, so I feel as though I need to read as much in it's entirety as possible. The unit exams are only 15 questions long and the entire exam has a 15 minute time limit, and can ask very specific questions from both the reading and our lesson guides. The exams are 75% of our total grade, so if I cannot obtain decent scores on these exams I will not be able to rely on projects and assignments to carry me through. I do highlight major topics and take notes, but I seem to get hammered on small details such as what gene codes for what enzyme and there are literally lists of these things. There are 57 major CYP enzymes alone and their substrates are broad in some cases and some enzymes are more specific to phase I chemical reactions while others are more specific to phase 2 chemical reactions. I could go on, but it's a large body of information and I am trying to find ways to get these small details down. Edited January 20, 2014 by chbare
Just Plain Ruff Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 Just do what Captain Ron said to do in the movie Captain Ron "If you get lost, just pull in somewhere and ask fer directions" Chris, you are one of the smartest guys I know, ways above smarter than I, and I have full confidence in your abilities to overcome this recent setback.
Tenma13 Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 Interesting post so far! MY 10c, I'm new to the whole EMS world (studying a paramedic atm, going into my 2nd year), and previously studied History and Linguistics at MA level. Something I've found really difficult is the sways of new information and the entirely new vocabulary set derived from latin and greek that is expected to be learnt and understood quickly. Something I've found really helpful is to try and turn my study into games as I'm a very visual learner. So lots of mix and match/ find the missing word or phrase/breaking down words phonetically then rewriting them in written form, pretty much anything that is not grinding a text. So, as one of the guys above suggested, break a topic down into the absolute minimum without any loss of meaning, then I'll make a game to play with a partner. This has the additional benefit me having to explain what everything is to my partner. I find this helpful as it is a real indication of whether or not I've properly understood everything. GL mate
EpicMedic Posted July 13, 2014 Posted July 13, 2014 I usually read the chapter thoroughly first and highlight all the important concepts. I then retread the highlighted parts and take thorough notes. I feel writing the material down is very beneficial. It's a lot easier to take the time to learn the main concepts and making since of everything then trying to memorize the material.
MP-EMT22 Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) I had to make a big overhaul on how I studied as a student when I was younger to when I studied as an adult learner. The advice I recieved was the same advice on how to eat an elephant...one bite at a time. Study the material for 45mins, then take a 15min break and repeat. Its alot to ask of your brain to retain new information, especially when the topics are so unfamiliar. When you are trying to learn a new topic, try and absorb the material by multiple avenues (verbal, visual, auditory). Read the material, talk about the material, watch a video about the material (khanacademy.com). Since you normally absorb about 20% of what you read, it helps to decrease the deficite with other ways to learn the material. Hope it helps and best of luck. Edited July 16, 2014 by MP-EMT22
chbare Posted July 16, 2014 Author Posted July 16, 2014 Thanks all. Still struggling a bit. The pharmacokinetics really hurt me last semester. I ended up getting help. There are many things that certain classes assume and I had to really dig deep and dive into the quantitative aspects. There are many models that we use and selecting or finding out how to select the right model can be tough. Been doing allot of graphing, slope equations and converting data into log linear graphs to find out how many compartments to model. Unfortunately, calculus, particularly integrating to find AUC's was not a big part of my undergrad. Big learning curve. This semester has been better.
Recommended Posts