Saturday, April 9, 2011

Test updates

Several tests have taken place since I last updated. Bones lecture, practical, and muscles lab. Bones lecture and lab test took place shortly after the baby was born so I did not really study for them that well. Compared to the class I still did well, but when compared to my other grades I tanked the tests. I had a 70 on the lecture test and an 80 on the lab.

I had intended to use my one drop that we get in the class on the 70 and then pray I got really good grades on the Nerve tests we have coming up. But then, the amazing happened, all of my classmates checked out and gave me a nice fat curve on the muscle lab, taking my grade all the way to a 123. (Which btw, was the highest score of any student taking A&P I this semester!) Current average in A&P is now a 95.5. With only three tests (plus a cumulative final) I hope that I can maintain the A.

The level of work required to memorize all the muscle locations required was more than I
anticipated. If it wasn't for my wonderful wife being willing to drill me on the 30+ muscle
plates I had created I don't think I would have gotten it done.

I wish I could put my finger on my style of learning. With muscles for instance, I could stare at the muscle plate with all the labels trying to learn each muscle for an hour, and not learn it. But give the labeled plate to my wife, and give me a blank one, and have her tell me which was which two, maybe three times and I have the entire plate memorized. That entire process might take twenty minutes. Which is sorta frustrating when I want to be able to do it myself, and not bother the woman who has VERY little time to her self right now with the newborn.


4 comments:

  1. Praise the Lord for wives, what would you husbands do without us. Good for you for getting good grades despite the lack of availability.

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  2. Indeed, my wife is an amazing woman. She puts up with a lot for me to go to school!

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  3. I think you put your finger on a really critical concept. Staring at the information does NOT equal studying. The interaction with your wife you describe is a really effective tool I've found. Not to mention it gets her invested in your progress, adding another degree of accountability for you.

    If she's just not available, you can quiz yourself much in the same way. Start with a blank plate, fill in what you can. Rinse and repeat until you can fill in the whole thing unassisted.

    Keep it up, sounds like you're doing great!

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  4. That's great with the test curving! I did great on the cellular metabolism test we had but I don't think I did super great on our bones test. We are taking our muscles test this week and I'll let you know how it goes. I like to study by flexing the muscle and making silly rhymes and associations with them. With the movements of the body - ADDuction ADDs to the body and abduction is moving away. Stuff like that. :)

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