I know you are mature and capable individuals who have a track record of being successful students. With that in mind, it is with some reluctance that I talk about study helps, since most of you have already found ways and styles that best suit your learning. However, many students ask me, "How should I study for your class?" With that in mind, let me offer some suggestions:

1. No technique will replace the necessity of frequent and somewhat toilsome study. It may not have made a difference in other courses in which you have been enrolled, but you MUST study frequently, preferably daily. Obviously, some days you will not have as much time as others. I understand, but just give physiology a little time of your time every day. Perhaps an analogy would be like your boyfriend/girlfriend. Sometime you have too full a schedule to spend a long time together, but you still might give him/her a phone call just to say "hello."

2. Success begins with taking good notes in class. There is nothing that will replace the value of your notes taken in response to my lectures during class. Some students find it a bit difficult to keep up with taking notes in class and rely on other devices such as tape recorders and old notes. Let me comment on each after telling you how I would take notes in this course. If I were taking this course, I would take notes in class as fast and furiously as possible. As soon after the lecture as possible, I would rewrite the notes using either an old set of notes or a tape recorder for reference. If I used a tape recorder, I would get one that would play back faster than it records (makes my voice sound high and weird). Also, I would choose one that had a tape counter on it so I could quickly fast forward to those places in my lecture notes where I had noted that I was having trouble keeping up. I have indicated a good use of tape recorders. However, if you sit semi-passively in class with a tape recorder running and then, at a later date, replay the tape as you take your notes, you will waste an enormous amount of time. Also, let me offer a word about old notes and the sale thereof at the copy centers. I don't care if you buy them and use them as I have indicated (to fill in gaps in your notes). However, if you simply highlight them during lectures, using them as a substitute for your own notes, I think you are doing yourself great disservice. NOTHING replaces the value of you hearing something, integrating it, and writing it down in your own words.

3. Although it is important to memorize, you must be able to use the information presented in this course Speaking Spanish entails a lot more than just memorizing a bunch of vocabulary words. I want you to be able to apply what you have learned in this course as you practice your profession. It is possible to memorize the notes verbatim and still not get a good grade on an exam. Always be thinking of the big picture of how something works as you study. Memory is important but not sufficient.

4. Study groups are excellent ways to study and to gain deeper knowledge of the material. However, they will not replace the necessity sitting down and learning the material. Also, study groups are of no value if the majority of the time is spent socializing or complaining.

5. There are old tests on the WEB, some of them with answers and some without. I encourage you to use them as an assessment of your preparation. All to often I hear students tell me they thought they were prepared for an exam when, in fact, they were not. Each section of the old tests proceeds through the course chronologically. It is fairly easy to study a particular section (e.g., skeletal muscle physiology ) and then attempt to answer the questions from that section on a particular exam. You may even want to do this with your notes. In any case, I strongly recommend using some of the old exams to assess your understanding of the material early on in a particular section, rather than waiting to use them a few days before the exam. This technique will help you identify gaps in your knowledge much earlier in the process and will give you a deeper knowledge of the material.

6. Never hesitate to ask me about things you do not understand. No question is stupid; it is stupid not to ask the question.