Study Techniques

    BIO 226 is an unusual course from several perspectives.  First - it is an online/hybrid course, which many students are unfamiliar with.  Second, it deals with images that are interpreted in three dimensions.  Although we all live in a 3-dimensional world, most of our visual interpretation is done in 2 dimensions.

    An added complication of BIO 226 is the fact that it is presented and completed in only 8 weeks.  This, combined with the fact that there are only two exams in that period of time, creates a setting that can be quite challenging to students.  (Stated another way - if you bomb the 1st exam, it can make it difficult or impossible to receive a passing grade!)

    In an effort to maximize your chances of success in this course, I have put together some suggestions or study hints for successfully completing this course.  If you discover other techniques that you find beneficial, please pass them along and I, in turn, will pass them on to the other students in the class.

•    Above all else - STUDY THE MATERIAL.  In addition, STUDY OFTEN.  Observations of previous students in this and other classes confirm the obvious - if you don't study, you won't pass the class.  Retention of studied material is increased if the study time is kept short (30 - 45 minutes), and repeated often (3-4 times per week, or more).  THIS COURSE IS ONLY ONE CREDIT HOUR, so many students feel that it shouldn't take much time or effort.  Unfortunately, such is not the case.

•    Although study techniques will vary from student to student, try to develop a system that works for you.  For example, if I were taking this course, I would organize a study session in the following sequence:

        -    Read the appropriate sections of the webpage, i.e., to start the course I would read the Head & Neck section first.

        -    Read the associated chapters in the text.  (For Head and Neck, that would be Chapters 1, 2, and 3.)

        -    Look at the Structure List associated with Head and Neck.

        -  If you really want to solidify your understanding of the structures and their relationships, go to the ONLINE IMAGE LINKS (Wayne Sate University/Detroit Medical Center) and study the Head and Neck sections there.  PLEASE NOTE THAT BOTH THE TEXT AND THE WAYNE STATE IMAGES COVER FAR MORE DETAIL THAN YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW FOR THIS COURSE!  Always refer to your Structure List, and only study/memorize those structures found on that list, i.e., DON'T STUDY MORE STRUCTURES THAN YOU NEED TO!!!!!  In general, consider the Wayne State images as a secondary form of study - a way of testing yourself or of learning material "above and beyond" what is required for the course. (Yes, there are students who like to do that!)  NOTE: All of the images for your exam will come ONLY from YOUR textbook images.

        -    Using a marker, highlight the necessary Structure List names associated with the images in your text.

        -    Go to the thumbnail images for the section you are studying.  Working sequentially, click on a given thumbnail to call up the larger image.  With a little effort, you will be able to correlate the thumbnail images from the webpage with the originals in your text. Notice that the thumbnail images have "leader lines", but the lines are not labeled.  BEFORE LOOKING AT YOUR TEXTBOOK, try to name as many of the structures as you can in that particular image.  Once you have done so - double check yourself by looking at the matching image in your text.  Again - this will be easier to do if you have already highlighted those structures listed on your Structure List.  THIS MAY TAKE SEVERAL SESSIONS before you feel that you can identify the structures required for the exam.

EXAM DESCRIPTION  

    The exams will be comprised of two major segments.  The written section will be multiple choice, matching, or short answer questions that refer only to information presented at the course webpage. The second portion of the exam will contain scans with certain structures (from your structure lists/text) highlighted in some way.  You will need to identify these structures.  There will also be a Bonus Question with each exam.  Information relating to that question will be e-mailed to all students prior to the exam.

    Remember the following:

•    You will be graded on spelling, so please take the time to double check your answers before turning in your exams.

•    If a structure is bilateral - you must put L. or R. in conjunction with the remainder of the answer.  (And - remember that all images are viewed from the inferior aspect!)

•    Structures for the identification portion of the exam will ONLY come from the Structure Lists at this site.

•   The textual portion of the chapters in your text is meant to "pull everything together."  The actual source for all of the written questions on the exams will be strictly from the textual portions OF THIS WEBSITE.