There’s more to learning Biology than memorizing vocabulary, however. The words are packets of meaning that may contain huge concepts. Understanding the concepts requires a lot of work and a willingness to let go of what you think the words ought to mean.

I’ve taught Biology for many years, and studied it myself for many years. There are some study techniques for Biology class that I and my students have found useful for mastering the concepts. Try these out and see what works for you.

VOCABULARY CARDS

You’ll have a lot of new vocabulary to learn. Make flash cards just as you would if you’re studying another language. Print the term on one side of the card and its definition on the other. If the definition your instructor gives you is a worded differently from the one in the glossary of your textbook, use your instructor’s definition. The wording probably fits the concepts the instructor wants you to master. Flip through your flash cards every day, any time you have a few minutes to spare.

CONCEPT MAPS

Research on human learning shows that when people think and try to reason their way through a problem, they can only hold a few ideas at a time in working memory. However, there’s no limit to the size of those ideas. If you learn facts in biology as isolated bits of information, you can only think with a few small bits. When you link those facts to other facts, that whole linked network is one “item” to your working memory. You can also remember facts better when they’re linked to other facts. One way to make a concept map is to use your vocabulary cards. Write the vocabulary words on small slips of paper. Arrange them on a large sheet of paper. With a pencil, sketch lines linking vocabulary words together. On the line, write in a phrase that defines the link. For example, if two of your words are “atoms” and “molecules,” you might connect them this way: [atoms] – linked together make up ->