Biology: How to Tackle The New Syllabus Like A Pro

Studying biology is like trekking a mountain, it keeps getting harder the more you learn, it has its ups and downs, but in the end, it's definitely worth it! Don't get me wrong, I love biology, so much so that I'm doing it as one of my units in University, but it definitely made me cry and wish I didn't do it as some points. And that's perfectly fine.

The new biology syllabus is one of the most content-heavy subjects I studied for my HSC. There is so many new focuses added, as well as plenty of diagrams and processes to remember. So what's the best way to do it all? This article will cover some helpful study techniques, how to go about studying processes, connecting ideas (THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT SKILL FOR THIS SYLLABUS!!!!) and some helpful resources to use.

We hope you love it as much as we did, even if it did mean one of us ended up resenting our teacher because of how many times she made us cry!

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Techniques

With biology, and just like every other subject, each person needs to know how they will study it. For some, that means pages of written notes, for others, it means diagrams and colours, With biology, you should always try and aim to do both, because of how content-heavy this subject is. As the year carries on, you will start to realise how many things you need to draw diagrams for and how many notes you need for each topic.

Drawing diagrams and tables:

- A super-effective way of visualising specific things such as the eye or kidney. Doing this in colour and labelling the different parts will help.

- You can get a picture off the internet (make sure it's labelled) but hand drawing one into a notebook or plain pieces of paper is also fine, whatever works for you.

- The example diagram below effectively outlines the different parts of a kidney. To further your knowledge, it would be wise to create a structure and function table alongside it.

- As you can see from the examples above, these types of diagrams are useful for your notes as summaries and quick notes. In your notes, you should not have paragraphs of information, instead, tables like the one above can help summaries your information for quick and easy learning.

- Your drawing or diagram does not need to be Picasso standard, it should be a quick outline.

Flashcards and quick notes:

- Flashcards are super useful when trying to learn a concept.

- On one side of the card, write a prompt word, such as 'Homeostasis', On the other side, write the definition of homeostasis along with an example.

Here's an example of what my flashcards would look like. On the left (one side of the card) I would have the subject, then on the right (another side of the card) would be the definition (and example).

Handwritten flashcards are best, as you can quickly create them on the go, but if you prefer to create them online, feel free to!

With flashcards, you can hole punch them and put them on a strong or key chain so they are easy to flick through without having to lose all the cards cause we all know that's a nightmare. Put them in your study folder and you're good to go!

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Connecting Ideas

The new syllabus is all about applying ideas and concepts as opposed to just regurgitating the information taught with "The intention is to promote deep learning of core disciplinary knowledge": making the skill of connecting ideas from across the syllabus so essential!

I found that making Mindmaps and flow charts really helped with connecting ideas from across the syllabus, as well contracting a better overall understanding of the course.

Start off by drawing three boxes with a decent space between them, labeled 'idea 1', 'idea 2' and 'idea 3'. In the first box, write down any word from the biology syllabus. Now in connect this box to the second box, and write a relating word (ideally from a different topic) in this box, and write a brief description on how they connect. Doing this with 3 (or more) boxes can be a very helpful way to develop this skill.

Here is an example diagram I drew up:

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Resources

So now that we've covered all the studying, here are some helpful resources to make it just that much easier:

• Amoeba Sisters - For those of you who don't know, Amoeba Sisters is a YouTube channel that created educational biology videos that cover basically everything. Now I know their videos may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are extremely informative and come with worksheets and activities to really help develop and understanding.

• Crash Course - Similar to the resource above, Crash Course is an educational YouTube channel that creates both interesting and helpful content on a multitude of subjects and topics. Crash Course give a great summary of biological processes as well as various functions of body systems, I would highly recommend watching the relevant videos prior to and after a topic in your syllabus.

• Bio Ninja - This website is honestly a life saver! As it is an Australian educational website, the subtopics in the menu bar of the website match the topics covered in the syllabus (and for me had the same topic names that my textbook used)! This site goes into great detail and is very helpful in gaining a better understanding of course material.

• Textbooks - I know some people can't be bothered lugging around their textbook or waiting for their online one to load, but trust us, your textbook is like a god. It was written specifically for the syllabus, so it will have pretty much all your answers in there. Don't be afraid to find other textbooks as well that your school hasn't set, the more you have, the better (borrow from a friend or library if you don't want to pay)

• ATAR Notes Lectures - I cannot recommend this organisation enough! They are fantastic! From free notes, to free lectures (yes, thats right, free lectures), tutoring, ATAR Notes covers it all! Do not miss the opportunity to attend one of their free lectures during the holidays where they cover a different module each holiday, they are fantastic and I walked out of there confident and with more tips and tricks up my sleeve!

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Well, there you have it, some helpful things about Biology and how to survive it! If you have any questions, we both took biology so feel free to dm us on our Insta page with any questions, we will reply!!

Good luck xx