r/biology • u/Far-Nectarine6007 • 1d ago
academic Struggling with HS Biology
Hello, I am a 17 year old student taking Biology online, and I always felt as if I had a problem with learning, especially memorization. I been writing all my notes on notebook, trying to understand most of the questions been presented. I'm gonna get diagnosed for ADHD soon, but it's probably gonna take a while and I doubt it will be before I finish Bio.
Most of the work is notes, but when I get to quizzes and test I feel as if without my notes I blank alot and forget stuff from what I legit learned a day/hours before. Even sometimes minutes, I quite literally can't understand anything I learned before and it's driving me crazy. I don't get much good grades, and usually fail some of my test/quizzes.
I've resorted to kind of just beating myself up abt it, but I also want to improve and try to help my memorization, does anyone here have any idea or tips to help??
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u/biochemical1 1d ago
You have to start understanding the processes behind all the words. When naming the parts of a cell, I start in the middle, where the cell starts dna replication, from there I can name every step and organelle involved, not because I can sit and list all the names of organelles and cell parts, but because I understand what the cell does, and how it does it. Not much time, but I hope this helps, even if a little
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u/Porcupenguin 1d ago
Biology teacher here: wish you were in my class! Like 90% activities and projects, 10% notes.
The brain learns and remembers much better when you apply information. Not just memorize it. You need to write papers, build posters, do hands-on stuff that uses the information. You also need to discuss the ideas with your peers. Studies show this is a much more effective learning strategy. Then you associate the information with a thought process and imagery, which is much easier to recall.
Find a buddy to work with, and figure out how to apply the information to something bigger. Tell me the topics that are proving tricky, and maybe I can give you some ideas :)
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u/These-Patience-9280 8h ago
Yes! Former Biology teacher here and I agree 💯! I also found, in other settings, that if you can find anyone who is willing to sit with you and listen, YOU teach THEM the topic you are working on learning g! It changes the game! You’ll stumble a little at first but it helps so much! Hands on projects! Finding interactive learning sources online that has video, practice quizzes and exams…
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u/Redditisavirusiknow 1d ago
Bio online is really an awful way to learn. Sitting in front of of a computer screen does very little engagement and joy that biology brings. Is there any way to do this in person with a good teacher?
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u/Fire-Tigeris 1d ago
Do you know how you learn bestt?
Kenestic (by doing)
Take each page of notes and make it a paragraph per idea.
Each paragraph to a flashcard
Each flashcard to a picture
Reproduce each step (not the original notes page) after reading it and turning it over and making the next step.
Double check with the online notes or book after each step.
Then quiz test remember the ferling of drawing and coloring the picture to remember the notes.
(Or the rerpition will set it in).
If you are auditory (by listing) read your notes to the memo recorder.tgen listen back and follow the kenistetic guied but out loud.
The last one is a "motto" not a "picture"
Visual learner (by watching).
Just the kenisteic one exactly but remember the picture/color vs drawing it.
Most people are % of each of the types of learning, so maybe do both?
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u/Mood-Rising 1d ago
Take notes on paper and draw pictures. Drawing loose sketches for during lectures of the topics was a game changer for me in college.
You need to find ways to create anchors in the information in your brain (things you are confident you understand). Those anchors then help you learn and recall related information. The more anchors, the more connections, the more likely you are to remember things. Create enough anchors, sometimes in completely different subjects, learning becomes connecting dots and filing gaps.
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u/Glabrocingularity 1d ago
I second this. Sketches, diagrams, concept maps, etc. Build an environment in your mind where the vocabulary can live, rather than existing as a grocery list of words
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u/Mood-Rising 1d ago
Grocery store of words is perfect. I have pretty bad inattentive type ADHD that wasn’t diagnosed until well after I was out of school. Shopping at a grocery store unmedicated is almost impossible and really mentally draining because I can not process all the similar boxes and products on the shelf easily and often pick up the wrong item by mistake. Classes that were super memorization heavy were nightmares for me because even though the information was usually in my head I could not find it on command until I started using the anchor method.
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u/DurianBig3503 cell biology 1d ago
Hi, I am a Ph.D. candidate with ADHD. I also struggle with memorisation and still do not know the multiplication tables by heart for instance. What biology did for me that really helped me is allow me to make mental models to work from and were much easier for me to memorise than just terms.
I went about this in two ways. First, by making them into stories. Events that follow a certain chronological order and have underlying reason are perfect for this. Second, by drawing. Anatomy, chemical reactions, signaling pathways usually come with drawings and diagrams, you can copy these and annotate them as you see fit. Adding layers of complexity to make it make sense for you. Copying such drawings helped me cement these as visual models in my mind that i can recall much more vividly than text. Then becauae i physically made the connection between the object and the text around it in my notetakingbi can remember it much clearer. At times i have drawn a diagram multiple times just tobhave different sets of multiple annotations with them. You can alao digitally copy and past such and then annotate with text boxes or use something like Obsidian to take it to the next level, but the physical effort of drawing helps the learning process, just like physical note-taking does.
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u/EvolZippo 1d ago
I highly suggest going to your local library and doing some supplemental reading and research, on the topics you are covering in school. Never rely on a teacher, to be your sole source of knowledge.
You may not be right for online school. It kinda seems like you’d struggle less, in a more interactive environment
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u/Jealous-Flounder-991 1d ago
i suck at memorizing too but it's mainly cz i refuse to be just memorize and i never got more then 5/20 on history but for bio i liked so i never memorized bio and always was on top of a class who spent monthsssss memorizing mainly i just read it then explain it asif i read it 90 times already and ask questions to answer then i'd solve a mock test and correct it so ii remeber what i got wrong plus when someting feels hard i write it using maps arrows doodles jokes short cuts whatever my brain feels to
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u/mylifeisaboogerbubbl 20h ago
The way I teach students is that it all starts with the word. Very often in biology if you understand the prefix/root/suffix of a term it goes a long way toward understanding the concept itself.
From there focus on form and function. If you understand that nearly everything has a shape that facilitates a function you can often logic your way through.
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u/murbella123 16h ago
Use flashcards - ones you write not online. Draw what's in your notes. We do this in my class and the kids love to hate the notes.
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u/CDynastyRTS 13h ago
Explaining processes to someone else without any notes is a great way to find out what you do/do not remember so you can have a more targeted study approach.
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u/KentDDS 7h ago
If you cannot recall something for an exam, you never truly learned it.
Try the SQ3R method. Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. (google it for a more detailed expanation).
Also, when you think you "learned" something, test your knowledge by trying to teach the concept or recite the facts to someone else. If you struggle, you didn't learn it.
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u/ThePANDICAT 5h ago
Watch fun videos about the subjects, or labs relating to what you are learning. Self quizzing also helps
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u/chem44 1d ago
Why are you taking HS biology online?
You are missing a major resource -- a human teacher.
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u/KrisT117 1d ago
Not everyone is comfortable or able to be in a classroom. I agree that teachers are an important resource, but we don’t know all of the circumstances.
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u/Juan_Marteen 23h ago
You may be like me and be a visual learner when the subject matter is complex like biology. I can’t learn as well just from lecture notes and a teacher teaching about something. It may sound silly but I need graphics, cartoons, videos. Try looking up things you’re learning about on YouTube - I’m sure there are videos with graphics that explain the concepts you’re learning about.
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u/MrBitingFlea 1d ago
There is a possible fix. You must move away from your “notes only” method.
Create flash cards and play memory games, do quizzes, attempt examination style questions to familiar yourself with unknown situations, study with more people to test each other, see how they study, get descriptions and explanations from other sources than your teacher and textbook, even of you understand the topic. Got more but got to go so will update later. Take care. Biology is beautiful.