To my students next semester- I have two big suggestions:

A) study a little everyday (practice spaced retrieval/ active repetition)

B) preview/prepare before every class session

You've got this!

-Jayden Hunt

what I would suggest for next semester's students is.

1. Take a look at the materials for lecture and lab ahead of time so your prepared.

2. Feel free to go and talk to Caprice during her office hours, she is very friendly and wants to make sure you're understanding the content of the class.

-Luna

To students, next semester, don't be afraid to talk to Caprice and use her office hours. She is very understanding. Another piece of advice is to review the lecture materials/lab materials before the lecture and labs, as it makes them easier and helps you understand more.

-Colin

This course moves quickly sometimes, keep track of it as much as you can and don’t fall behind. Talk to professor Disbrow, she’s very friendly and accommodating, if you have any issues she’ll help you figure them out.

I recommend using all the tools that Caprice gives you. She has thoroughly set up a pathway for her students to succeed. Put care and intention towards all of the assignments and study tools provided. I found her study guide to be especially helpful. She gives it as an optional tool for “brains like hers” so it took me a while to use it. It would have saved me some stress and overwhelm if I’d started using it every week straight away. The other study technique I wish I started immediately was to review the slides before lecture. I eventually copied the slides the day before the lecture and found that especially helpful.

2. Don’t feel like you can just attend class and go off from there as part of your learning, it’s really not the way to go. I learned the hard way. Even just looking over your notes the same day as lecture really does help out and especially if you keep going back and refreshing your mind. Don’t forget to loo back and study your lab notebook because there are three lab exams throughout the semester that are based on those labs. I also suggest the tutorial center, if you are trying and having a hard time, they are able to help out a great number. I didn’t go to office hours but Caprice has always been welcoming and encouraging from the start. She’s always upbeat and caring about us students.

Some advice I'd have would be to participate in class any way you can. If you're anything like me and struggle staying on task then this will help. Whether its asking a question even if you know the answer or answering questions asked to the class it will help you stay on task. I would also suggest getting to know your professors, especially Caprice. Life will at some point get in the way of your schooling and she will help you get through it to pass the class.

Biology isn’t just memorizing terms, it’s about understanding how things connect. I used to think I could just memorize stuff and be fine, but that doesn’t really work. I wish I’d started reviewing little by little each week instead of waiting for exams. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions or join study groups, Caprice and TAs are super helpful. Stay organized, pace yourself, and don’t stress if you don’t get everything right away. You’ll get there!

My advice is to take time to study! It was challenging to find time to study since I work full time at the beginning of the semester, but after I did my grades and understanding of the class went up by a lot. Although it can be hard to motivate yourself to do it just dedicate a couple hours a couple times a week to studying Bio and you will succeed. Also if you are interested in something from the course, study and pursue it!

Some advice I’d like to share and would have liked to know is to not be scared about learning biology as it can be fun and really interesting as we can apply it to all aspects of life ! Bio 10 can be fun and easy, I suggest making new friends in class or lab and getting together to study as all of you can learn from each other and bond over struggles in learning, which makes it fun !

A misconception about bio that I didn't personally experience is that it's ALL about memorization. I think that in a lot of units in this class, it is more important to understand the processes at hand, rather than the definitions of those processes. As long as you work hard to understand the content at hand and prepare accordingly for her lectures, you'll do great.

For people starting this class, don’t treat it differently to other classes. It isn’t an easy class but it’s also not hard, just study an hour and a half and you’ll be fine. One last thing for people who drive, ether be ok with getting up early for a parking spot or be ok with walking from one end of the campus to the other.

Advice for next semester is to use all the resources available to you. Caprice office hours & the tutorial center! There are so many resources for students. My advice is to not get discouraged, it’s not as easy class but it is doable . You got this!

Caprice always has your best interests in mind and will do whatever she can to help you out throughout the semester. Don't be afraid to ask her questions, whether it's about the curriculum or the assignments themselves; she's always down to help.

My personal study habits but moreso thought process has changed, now I try to think about the topics covered outside of class, which helps me be emotionally invested enough to take the time study or make up work.

2.) Bio 10 was way more fun that I expected it to be. I took a bio class in high school and I really didn't like and I thought that I was never going to like bio after that. But taking Caprices class specifically I learned that it's actually a really good class and I loved the material! I would say that you should go in with an open mind and disregard any pre conceived notions that you may have had before taking this class.

Some misconceptions i encountered was that Bio 10 was going to be super easy class but there is some difficulty in it due to the time you have to take outside of class to study a lot of things you have never heard before. I would recommend to study right after lecture so you can build up all lecture knowledge right after. This goes for lab as well. You might not answer all questions in your lab manuel but I highly recommend going back and seeing what you missed and where you missed it right after lab class. Please take the time to study study study! Find good ways to study what best works for you because it truly will help you get a nice grade and seeing that good exam, quiz, or lab exam score will make you feel good about the time you took aside :) Don’t forget to take care of yourself and not forget that self care along stressful school/work days can really help you maintain yourself and make you feel calm and relaxed!

Biology has always seemed scary and difficult to me. I learned that it’s really not. When you actually make the effort to take notes in class and do all the assignments posted that are worth points, you can actually do well in the class. My tips for success within this course is to take thorough notes during lecture. Something that is helpful with this to stay on top of the slides is to follow along with the slides on your own device as well so that if you cannot keep up with Caprice you have your own device to rely on so you can take in all the information needed. Another thing I found very helpful is attending all lab classes. I learned that lab is a vital part of being successful in this course. Leaving lecture to then apply what you just learned in lab is a very helpful way to understand what you are learning on a deeper level. If studying is not something that works well for you, it doesn’t always work best for me, attending all lecture and lab classes can be still very helpful and beneficial. Do not be afraid to ask questions during lab hours. Staying silent when you are confused will only hurt yourself. You will find that if you are struggling, you are not the only one. Biology is a difficult course and almost everyone else around you is in the same boat as you are. Chatting with peers can always help make the course enjoyable and helpful when you seek help from those around you!

Good luck!!

12-1-25

What I have learned about my own study techniques is that it works, all you have to do is put time and effort. What works for me is going to tutors watching videos and studying with a group of people. What I have improved about my studying is that I changed my mindset, I’m majoring in nursing and I know that you have to put the hours in to get to where you want to be.

My advice to future bio 10 students, STUDY PLEASE! USE THE FREE TUTORS, DON’T WASTE TIME, USE EVERYTHING TO YOUR ADVANTAGES. Use your time wisely because I promise there’s no going back once it’s gone, “time will go by regardless, it’s either you make smart decisions or you don’t time isn’t going to wait for you.”

1. Making time for studying and studying with someone is very helpful because you can both help each other understand much better. Also not forgetting about taking advantage of resources that Caprice and the school provides.

2. Some advice would be to not overthink it too much and to come to class with an open mind. If you don’t understand something, don’t waste time trying to and instead ask Caprice or any classmates for help, it’s okay. Take advantage of extra credit and start connections with classmates. When I started this class I felt very lost and I thought the course was very hard, but it got better with positive thinking and understanding the material.

   The class in my opinion is easy if you make an effort to understand the material and if you don’t, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You can do thiss!!!!!

Also before I started this class I really hated drawing and always have but I found with all of the visuals in biology it made it more fun to learn so go back through your notes afterwards or during class and make sure you've got good pictures that describe everything because that'll be really easy to reach back to during all of the tests.

For labs take as many pictures as you can and go to the lab exam reviews, they are very close to the actual exam so you can pick up a bunch of free points there. quiz yourself on all of the slide questions, they are probably all on the tests in some form.

I would say a big piece of advice I can give is to review the lab the day before and fill out the pre-lab questions.

Also a thing that helps me to stay focused is work on Bio stuff, or just any of my class work, in a library study room. Spend the time to go to the libraries website and book out a study room for multiple days a week (I do at least two).

Spring 2026 Students, this class covers a lot of interesting information. If you miss a lecture or lab try to talk about the information with another student and/or look through notes/material, because some topics are a very brief part of the class. This has been a very fun and exciting class and I was surprised at how many aspects of Biology we've gone over. I recommend using Caprice's Study Guide while preparing for exams.

My advice for future bio 10 students with Caprice is mainly that this course does move fast and you cover a ton of material over the semester. Caprice is the nicest professor I have found at this college and she cares about your education, use this to your advantage and have conversations with her when you need help. Staying on top of the canvas page and checking it daily will also go a long way to help you in this course. As long as you stay up to date on all the assignments and study well for the tests, you will do great in this class.

To the future Bio 10 students I highly recommend looking at the content before hand, whatever is proved whether it’s slides or the textbooks or slides they are there to help you to succeed.There will be a need to study but if you manage your time right it won’t be a big burden if you wait till the last minute, find a study partner or group it’s helps to have others around you if there’s any questions. Lastly one big thing is don’t forget to ask for help if you need it! Caprice is super understanding and easy to chat with, and if ever any concerns or questions come about, her office hours really help!

I learnt that for me, I often just try to understand the lecture then I would get a piece of paper and write down all the materials that are engraved in my head after understanding the lecture and see what I missed and write it down in a different color and then try to the technique again until I feel that I have understood the lecture. I feel that during the first few lectures, I felt nervous thus I would study everyday but I learnt that I improved tremendously when I was able to set aside a day or two to just learning the material and understanding the concepts instead of just learning everything by heart because as I went on studying everyday, I felt more burnt out with trying to understand the material, then I just end up loosing motivation overall. One study technique that didn’t work well for me was flash cards as I tend to only remember the keywords and confuse myself with my learning.

2) Misconceptions of Bio & Anything I Wished To Know Earlier In Semester

The misconception of biology would be that to understand each material, you would need to dedicate all the time to studying the lectures, I learnt that with an equal amount of watching videos, answering questions and writing down key points it was easier and faster to understand each lecture. I wish that earlier in the semester, I wasn’t trying to learn every small detail of each slide and focused more on just key concepts and that learning biology isn’t just “learning things by heart” it’s understanding how each concept connects with one another. I also know that if you are indeed struggling moving forward, working with friends and using the study rooms in the Doyle library or just going to the tutorial center downstairs is an advantage a person could take to improve themselves if they are struggling. I know there is also a tutoring for Biology itself too but I don’t know the full details but always show up to office hours or even just do a zoom meeting if there isn’t a time you can meet up with the teacher themselves! Don’t be shy!

-Felix W.

This semester, I learned about HOPE all thanks to Caprice. Aside from that, she’s also taken the time to plan out and bring in other guests from other resources we can use. Something I would really recommend would be to stay on top of it! That would mean take a look at the lecture slides before lecture, pay attention and take notes that will help you review when needed and also review each lecture as often as possible. Review what you didn’t fully understand and find ways to make the class more engaging! If possible, join a study group and plan out dates to study before exams. Ask Caprice for any questions or advice, she always makes herself available even through tricky schedules. She also provides extra credit and is willing to guide/advice if you’re having a hard time in the class. Lastly, ask for help as soon as you need it, don’t wait to ask at the last minute. The sooner the faster you’ll be able to navigate and work on a solution. Good luck

I’ve learned a lot this semester. Aside from learning the course material, I’ve also learned a lot of helpful studying habits. Biology is a heavy-loaded course with a lot of important material but it is also very interesting. For that, it’s important to study ahead, pay attention during lectures and review daily! I now tend to review the slides before the lecture and try to explain to someone what I learned in the lecture after. I used to also study very last minute yet this course and Caprice’s advice has helped me understand that that doesn’t work with my type of learning skills. 

This semester, I learned about HOPE all thanks to Caprice. Aside from that, she’s also taken the time to plan out and bring in other guests from other resources we can use. Something I would really recommend would be to stay on top of it! That would mean take a look at the lecture slides before lecture, pay attention and take notes that will help you review when needed and also review each lecture as often as possible. Review what you didn’t fully understand and find ways to make the class more engaging! If possible, join a study group and plan out dates to study before exams. Ask Caprice for any questions or advice, she always makes herself available even through tricky schedules. She also provides extra credit and is willing to guide/advice if you’re having a hard time in the class. Lastly, ask for help as soon as you need it, don’t wait to ask at the last minute. The sooner the faster you’ll be able to navigate and work on a solution. Good luck!

-Stefanie