Sometimes learning isn't easy
To study well and really learn material, most of us need to make a significant commitment. This is a time commitment as well as a commitment to be productive and focused. There is no easy shortcut to learning. You have to put in the time and the effort, but the rewards include gaining a deep understanding of the material and doing well in the class.
Try to read ahead
Before coming to the lecture, read the assigned pages. Do not study the text in detail, but look over the headings, examine the figures, and read the text like a novel.
Learn the language
In many cases, biological terms are extensive enough to constitute a new language. Tackle this the same way you would if you were learning a second language. Make flash cards or find some other way to quiz yourself on terminology and vocabulary. But be careful that you learn the concepts as well as the terms. Just as fluency in a second language is more than simply learning vocabulary, so understanding biology is more than being able to define terms. Learning the language of biology is an important starting point. It is a foundation on which to build your learning.
Explain the concept or process in your own words
This works especially well for larger concepts and processes (e.g. cellular respiration or action potentials):
* Explain it out loud (to a sympathetic listener or to yourself) or write it out as if writing an essay.
* Include larger concepts, relevance, context and details. This will let you know where your knowledge gaps are. Also, if you can explain something, that means you REALLY know it.
Reorganize your knowledge
You understand better and recall more if you find new ways to organize your knowledge. Several activities may help:
* Convert your lecture notes or readings to outlines.
* Convert your notes to diagrams.
* Solve problems. They bring together many separate facts.
* Condense a topic that took several lectures into a summary paragraph.