Learning new things may be blocked by old ideas

Learning new material like that presented in anatomy and physiology may be blocked by old ideas of what is already known. In today’s world, the accumulation of new data about human function is very fast. Advances in technology have seriously expanded the reach of human senses. That means some of what you already have in your memory about human anatomy and physiology may block learning new things.

What you already know needs to be updated to fit your instructor’s current explanation. Scoring an ‘A’ in anatomy and physiology will depend upon how open you are to new information. The first thing you need to do is come to terms with what you think you know.

Here is a way to do that. Get a current textbook, go to the table of contents and read the book’s chapter titles. Jot down what you already know about the subjects listed. Do not sneak a peek in the chapters yet. After you finish your list, check out whether each of your beliefs match what the textbook says.

Study groups

Forming a study group to help you organize new learning is essential. A study groups allows you to compare the beliefs about anatomy and physiology that you bring to the course with previously held beliefs of your classmates. This can be a fun project and an easy way to begin getting acquainted.

Then check out what your textbook has to say about what the group thinks. Where items on your list differ from the textbook explanation, make up some questions in advance for use in class. If you do this as a group, each person can take just one questions to ask.

If you wait to get your questions ready until class, it will be very hard to come up with good questions on the fly in class as your instructor is moving quickly on to the next topic. Also, when you are not the only one asking questions this is a more comfortable task, and you will be slowing down the lecture to give yourself more time to think.

Feel free to say out loud what you thought about this subject in the past, and that you need to clarify the instructor’s view of the real story. Then rephrase the instructor’s answer to make sure you have it right. Rephrasing will also slow down the pace of the lecture, which is a good thing.

More than likely your classmates have their own issues with ideas being taught and are as reluctant to bring them up as you are. Your opening up the discussion will help everyone. . . including your instructor. Your instructor will welcome your feedback. Better yet, predictable test questions where everyone has the best answer will surface.

Anatomy and physiology exams

Remember that teachers focus exam questions on the major ideas in human anatomy and physiology, the topics that they work hard to communicate. There is limited time to teach, so teachers carefully select a few ideas to focus upon from all of anatomy and physiology that the textbook covers.

There are some core topics all instructors feel they must teach, and then there are other parts of anatomy and physiology which get less attention. When teachers write exams, their questions will be heavily weighted toward the material given the most time in lecture and lab. Notice the subjects your instructor seems most excited to present.

Do not try to learn everything in your textbook. The more questions you ask, the clearer your instructor’s message will become. Also, this dialog will make it less likely that new learning will be blocked by old ideas.

Further reading

10 Tips for How to Learn Anatomy & Physiology

What Syllabus for Anatomy and Physiology?

Note Taking Skills

Do you have questions?

Please put your questions in the comment box or send them to me by email at DrReece@MedicalScienceNavigator.com. I read and reply to all comments and email.

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Margaret Thompson Reece PhD, physiologist, former Senior Scientist and Laboratory Director at academic medical centers in California, New York and Massachusetts is now Manager at Reece Biomedical Consulting LLC.

She taught physiology for over 30 years to undergraduate and graduate students, at two- and four-year colleges, in the classroom and in the research laboratory. Her books “Physiology: Custom-Designed Chemistry”, “Inside the Closed World of the Brain”, and her online course “30-Day Challenge: Craft Your Plan for Learning Physiology”, and “Busy Student’s Anatomy & Physiology Study Journal” are created for those planning a career in healthcare. More about her books is available at https://www.amazon.com/author/margaretreece. You may contact Dr. Reece at DrReece@MedicalScienceNavigator.com, or on LinkedIn

Dr. Reece offers a free 30 minute “how-to-get-started” phone conference to students struggling with human anatomy and physiology. Schedule an appointment by email at DrReece@MedicalScienceNavigator.com.