{"id":40216,"date":"2019-12-03T07:18:43","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T12:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=40216"},"modified":"2019-12-02T14:21:04","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T19:21:04","slug":"tips-on-succeeding-in-science-labs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/12\/03\/tips-on-succeeding-in-science-labs\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips on Succeeding in Science Labs"},"content":{"rendered":"After a full year of first-year biology and chemistry labs (major ptsd right now) and a semester in second-year biology labs , I\u2019ve learned a couple of tips about how to be successful in these labs and general tricks to make my life as easy as possible.\r\n\r\nReview the pre-lab carefully: <\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe pre-lab information\/instructions are so<\/em> important (I cannot stress this enough) so I carefully read through it all<\/em> (even the cleanup procedures!) to familiarize myself with the pre-lab.\r\n\r\nNot only am I going to be tested on this material (there\u2019s usually a quiz before every lab), it makes the actual lab so much easier when I\u2019m really familiar with the procedures.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s also important to know why <\/em>I\u2019m doing this lab; what is the takeaway message? What are the learning objectives? When I\u2019m aware of why I\u2019m doing this lab, it makes it more interesting because it will really feel like I\u2019m getting something out of it, and not just doing the lab because I have to.\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nReview the course content: <\/strong>\r\n\r\nMost labs correspond to the lecture content that was being taught. This makes it really important to know the lecture material too! I realized that if I\u2019m behind on lecture content, there are some parts of the labs that I\u2019m confused about. Reviewing the lecture notes ahead of the lab just makes the lab so <\/em>much easier. In fact, most of the questions from the lab can be answered using the lecture notes. Knowing the course content allows me to make connections between the steps in the lab and what we\u2019re learning in class, which makes things easier to remember come test time (the lab material is testable for some courses, like biology).\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAsk questions: <\/strong>\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s really important to ask questions if something is unclear. In my first year, I was scared to ask questions because I thought it was assumed that I had to know everything. Thankfully, I had really nice TAs who were willing to answer any of my questions. When I\u2019m unsure of something, I would clarify with the TA before doing the experiment. Not only does this help me feel more comfortable and confident and in what I\u2019m doing, it\u2019s a safety measure since it prevents me from making a mistake during the lab.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nEnjoy it! <\/strong>\r\n\r\nScience labs are 3 hours, which is a long<\/em> time, so I may as well enjoy it! Instead of thinking of labs as a burden, I\u2019ve come to appreciate the context of the labs. This semester, I only had labs for my BIO230 course, and I really enjoyed them! The labs were all very interesting (we dissected fruit fly ovaries!) and overall, it was a fun experience.\r\n\r\n
\"Picture<\/a>
looking at fruit flies under the microscope!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nScience labs at U of T may feel overwhelming at first, but once I began to learn how to make the most of my labs, I found that labs are a valuable learning experience!","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nAfter a full year of first-year biology and chemistry labs (major ptsd right now) and a semester in second-year biology labs , I\u2019ve learned a couple of tips about how to be successful in these labs and general tricks to…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Tips on Succeeding in Science Labs”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
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