Steven Crane Compiled Section Handouts. Human Behavioral Biology 2012

Steven Crane Compiled Section Handouts. Human Behavioral Biology 2012.

Hello!

This is all of my section handouts I’ve made this year compiled into one document, giving a fairly detailed (though I can’t promise it’s comprehensive) review of class material. It’s 68 pages so if you’re satisfied with your current approach to studying, pay no attention to this and carry on; don’t let it distract or worry you. But for my money, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DO WELL ON EXAMS, this is what I recommend doing:

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  Look at this study guide as an example.
  
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  Create your own version of this. How?
  
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    Gather a comprehensive understanding of a given topic (extended notes, lecture handout, class notes, recordings), then go through and generate questions and answers that cover each piece of information you encounter. (So instead of just reading “dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia” and assuming you’ll remember that, write down “what neurotransmitters are implicated in schizophrenia?” then answer it. Then “what is the evidence that there’s too much dopamine action in schizophrenia” then answer it. Etc.)
    
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    Make them so clear you could share it with a stranger. Your mind will love to convince you that it
    

understands and will remember something when it actually doesn’t and won’t. Don’t trust it! Test it.

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  Write this all down. (or type this all up?).
  
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  At this point you’ll probably remember a LOT of what you’ve studied just by engaging the content in this way.
  
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  To remember everything, go through the study guide you just created and quiz yourself on it. Don’t just read it,
  

retrieve it. (see the papers I posted on the power of retrieval learning earlier this year).

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  Better yet, do it with a knowledgeable study partner. Your gaps in memory will hopefully be non-overlapping.
  

Plus it’s more fun.

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  Obviously focus on the more important things (like the stuff on the lecture handouts, or the stuff we spend half a lecture talking about instead of the stuff that comes up in one brief sentence). Make a realistic plan for when you will do the reviewing and the testing, and stick to it with diligence and discipline. Figure out where your biggest gains are and maximize the utility of your study time, save the minutia for your final go at it.
  
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  And if you don’t have the time/patience to create your own, using this in the same way (not reading the answers, GENERATING the answers and then seeing if you’re right) will also be helpful. Go through and delete the answers, and see how you fare.
  
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  When you’re confident you know something solidly, cross it off and don’t rehash it any more. Spend your time on the things you don’t know yet. And DON’T pass up things that you don’t yet know solidly without extra cues and prompting. Be rigorous.
  
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  Be sure to try out the practice final from last year to see what kind of shape you’re in.
  
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  Also eat lots of fruits, veggies, and fiber. Get lots of sleep. Get some exercise. They will all do wonders not only for how you feel, but for how you think.  Good luck!