BME 413 Bio-Transport (Open Course Videos)
Plasmid DNA Amplification and Isolation (Video Protocols)
Balancing research and coursework doesn’t require sacrificing one for the other. It's a matter of planning, consistency, and smart learning strategies. By using your time intentionally and studying in ways that actually strengthen understanding, you can excel academically while continuing to progress meaningfully in research.
What Effective, Smart Learning Looks Like:
Preview lecture content before class. (Read the relevant textbook sections or slides in advance. This gives you a mental map of the concepts and allows the in-class lecture to fill in gaps and deepen understanding rather than introduce everything from scratch.)
Stay highly focused during class. (Avoid texting, multitasking, or drifting off. Missing even a few minutes of explanation—especially in technical or concept-dense subjects—can break the logical chain of understanding and make future material harder to grasp.)
Take intentional, effective notes. (Focus on the thinking process, not copying the textbook. Write down how the instructor moves from point A to point B, common pitfalls, motivations behind formulas, and conceptual connections. Previewing the material beforehand helps you distinguish what is already written in the text from what is new and worth capturing.)
Review your textbook and lecture notes the same day. (Daily review combats the “forgetting curve” and significantly improves retention. If you have class nearly every day, you should be reviewing nearly every day. This habit prevents cramming and reduces anxiety before exams.)
Spread your learning throughout the semester. (Short, consistent review sessions beat marathon studying. Learning biologically works best when reinforced in spaced intervals.)
Use small pockets of time intelligently. (If you have back-to-back classes, review the previous lecture’s notes during the 5–10 minutes in between. For memory-heavy classes, carry index cards or a small review sheet. Two minutes while waiting for a bus is enough for a quick check of definitions or formulas.)
Avoid procrastination at all costs. (Procrastination causes stress, reduces learning quality, and steals time you could have used for research. Start assignments early, even if only by outlining the steps.)
Actively practice the material. (For quantitative or problem-solving courses, learning comes from doing, not watching or reading. Practice problems, concept questions, and self-quizzing matter far more than rereading chapters.)
Develop a genuine interest in the subject. (Curiosity drastically lowers the effort needed to learn. When you find meaning or value in the material, your brain naturally retains it more efficiently.)
What Pretending to Learn Looks Like:
Rereading textbooks and notes without active engagement. (This feels productive but yields low retention. Reading is not learning unless you are testing yourself, questioning the material, and making connections.)
Passively absorbing information without building conceptual links. (Memorizing isolated facts isn’t real understanding. You must integrate them into a coherent picture.)
Reading solutions instead of solving problems yourself. (This gives the illusion of understanding. If you can’t solve the problem independently, you haven’t learned the skill.)
Studying with frequent distractions. (Checking your phone or multitasking resets your focus and greatly reduces efficiency. What would have been one hour of quality learning becomes three hours of fragmented work.)
Sitting in the library with friends while chatting around your open materials.( This creates the appearance of studying, but little actual cognitive engagement occurs.)
Cramming right before exams. (Cramming can boost short-term recall but prevents long-term understanding and leaves you exhausted during the final weeks, which hurts both coursework and research.)