Expert: John Locke - 10/1/2007

Question
Dear Sir,
          My question is probably not like many that you have received before.  I am 35 years old and returning to school for nursing. I recently signed up for microbiology. To make a long question short, i am completely overwhelmed with all the information we are required to know. The instructor began our fifth class laughing and saying this week is ALOT of information and continued to outline five chapters in the textbook. Honestly, unless you have a photographic memory there is no way any of the 60 student in my class will retain what is needed to learn microbiology. If you do it will be forgotten by new years. Why does the college cram so much information instead of concentrating on half the chapters and actually learning something. I havent learned anything in five weeks. except how to take a test using hints and process of elimination. the scary thing is these student will be nurses someday. thank you for any of your thoughts.

Answer
Thanks for using AllExperts, Eric. I have some suggestions, both practical and more general, for your predicament, but I also wish to congratulate you on your desire to enter the nursing profession.

Microbiology, like the broader science that it's derived from (biology), thrives on detail. Physics, chemistry--these sciences seem to lend themselves to neat mathematical generalizations (the laws of thermodynamics, Newton's laws of motion), while biology tends to be significantly more complex. And it has to be, because while there are unifying theories that unite and simplify the study of biology, at some point you must confront the great biological diversity that exists in nature, and with it you must confront a great deal of detail. This is true on the microscopic level, as you are finding out from this microbiology class.

How to handle this? Well, there are some instructive lessons from related fields on how to handle the detail. I'm thinking specifically of physicians, whose studies in medical school require memorizing huge amounts of material, and lawyers, who must become familiar with case law in a variety of fields. First of all, the best results usually come from studying continuously--that is, a little bit every day, rather than a whole lot in a shorter time. The brain saturates with information after a time, and forcing yourself to study beyond that point often results in very little retention.

Memorization is usually aided by the use of mnemonic devices: you develop simple abbreviations or acronyms to condense information. You can outline chapters in order to memorize the salient points, then later fill in the detail at a more leisurely pace. You can put the information in the form of a narrative (this is especially useful for biochemical processes, which usually have multiple steps) and then explain it to yourself. Better, you can explain the  information to someone else. That's perhaps the best test of whether you really understand a subject. You may also wish to buy a review book when studying for your exams, as such books summarize what is really essential for you to know (while it may disillusion you to realize it, not everything written in the textbook is essential to understanding microbiology).

Also on a practical level, you can consult other students in the class now and former students who already took (and passed!) the class, if you know any. How do/did they handle all the information that you're required to know? Beyond that, of course, you certainly can discuss the class with your instructor: use a two-pronged approach, asking both how to do well in the class and whether the pace of the class must be so brisk. If you have a specific grievance that your instructor refuses to address, you can speak to the head of his department and ask for help in some fashion. Perhaps the most dire option would be to arrange to take this class or an equivalent at another school or with another instructor--while the information would not be any less complex, the presentation might help you to assimilate it better.

I'm including some websites below for your perusal. I wish you the best of luck, and I encourage you to ask me more questions about the class or the content if you do have any. Good luck!

http://www.studystack.com/studytable-15244
http://www.studystack.com/studystack-24186
http://medinfo.ufl.edu/year2/mmid/bms5300/cases/