If you are an A student and study well alone, keep it that way.
However, societies and work places function by the interactions among their workforce. So find a partner or group to study with as soon as possible. Don't wait until the week before the first exam.
Schedule weekly meetings with your group to compare notes. Use these meetings to explain the material to each other and get feedback on your understanding of the material. If things are not clear, brainstorm togehter and eventually ask your instructor for clarification.
Quiz each other and test your comprehension and retention by discussing the material.
Learn (internalize) each new term or word encountered. This means to use these new words often in writing and speaking. Write it and speak it at every opportunity. Use the study group to do so. Don’t permit anyone at any time to substitute words like “thingy,” “stuff,” “gizmo,” .... for the proper words required. You’ll defeat the whole purpose of learning.
Manage your Time
The general rule is to study effectively for 3 hrs outside of class for each hour of course credit you take
For A&P, this means 3 hours after each lecture and about 3 hours after each lab .
Or to put it differently 75% of what you accomplish is done on your own.
Prepare a weekly schedule of study/play/work time and stick to it. The amount of "free time" between classes is not really free: it is for studying !
Use Lab Time wisely
The lab portion of this course makes up 40% of your grade. However it never fails; every semester there are students that use lab time for socializing and goofin off and barely pay attention to what is going on. In addition, they consistently leave early and then come crying and whining to us that they performed poorly on the practicals because there is too much material and not enough time.
To do well in this course you need to take advantage of lab time. The well-prepared students understand how to take advantage of the time offered. This is a choice YOU make. You are the adult with responsibilities. It can not help you if you are wasting time, leaving early and/or are not attending lab.
Eamine your Exams
Everyone makes mistakes. But not everyone learns from their mistakes. Part of your education is to learn from your mistakes. If you did not perform well on an exam, GO OVER YOUR EXAMS AND GET HELP IMMEDIATELY.
A bad result on an Exam indicates that you need to change your study habits. Approaching a problem the same way only will result in the same result !
For each question you missed, you need to know why your answer was wrong, why you missed the question and what the correct answer is.
There are usually 4 reasons for a wrong answer (1) You had no clue (2) You were able to eliminate all but 2 answers but picked the wrong answer (3) You knew the answer but bubbled the wrong one in. (4) Your answer is correct but the instructor marked it wrong ! Each of those can be corrected for !
Surround yourself with Positive Thinkers
This course is most likely part of a requirement for a future carreer. Their is little doubt that you wilI be using this information in future classes and/or training. If your daily feedback comes from students/friends that think this class is boring, or cannot see the importance it has for your educationan, you may start thinking similarly. In order to do well, you need to develop an exciting interest in the topics, otherwise it will be be tough for you to love your future job. Take responsibilty for your own education and make learning fun !
If you are a struggling student, do not surround yourself with others that will bring you down. Attitude and fear are often self-fulfilling prophecies which are perpetuated by people who are unsuccessful in the class.
Anyone who constantly whines about the amount of material and questions the value of all this information is obviously not interested in anything related to the sciences. It is most often an indication that the student is is not prepared to do what it takes to succeed.
If sciences scare you and depress you, get out now and find a study area that excites you and makes you happy
If you are excited about the human body, how it all works, how it all integrates, how drugs work, how diseases develop,.... you have taken a first step to succeed.