As a student who has not taken a biology class on these systems since approximately 5 years ago, (and not a great class at that), this is a little daunting to me. I hope that I can find or be provided with some good resources of models and images that I can refer to. I think that the combination of both new concepts and new visual ideas will be difficult but I hope that the in-class sketches with the sketch pads will be beneficial. In my experience, getting hands-on with the information helps you in long run in terms of recall.

While this can seem a little daunting at first, I know that it definitely helps. Repeated exposure to the information as well as metacognitive reflection on what strategies work/which don't, help as well. One strategy I like to use is diversifying what daily approach I use. For example, one day I make a Quizlet and do the reading for the next day. The next day, I study my Quizlet, and take notes from the podcast. On another day, I'll complete my homework assignment. By studying in this way I avoid burning out on just one area/avoid redundant work.

This seems to be an integral part of biological sciences and I can really see the intersections between the biochemical reactions we'll learn about in this class and other classes I've taken like BIS2B and ANS1. I think the gut microbiome is very interesting, especially in ruminants, so I'm interested in learning more about how the digestive system works on the cellular level.