glossary?

[miyukiaura]

Do y'all reccommend keeping a glossary for all the key terms? VCAA doesn't really emphasise rote learning definitions so I'm wondering if I should bother.

[whys]

Rote-learning often has a negative connotation since people often believe rote-learning means you aren't understanding the content. I would have to disagree with this, as controversial as it might be. There were definitions that I memorised last year for psych, which is a subject that also has a lot of content to remember, similar to bio. This didn't mean I didn't understand the content: in fact, I did, there were just things I needed to memorise. So many people said they didn't memorise anything and just understanding the content is enough (and hated the idea of rote-learning), and for some people it is enough. If rote-learning definitions works for you, then, by all means, go ahead, but don't substitute this for understanding the content. Once you understand the content, it won't be difficult to rote-learn some important definitions (note: some. Don't go memorising everything word for word, this is counterintuitive). Creating a glossary is a great idea if it helps you familiarise yourself with the key terms you need to know. I personally don't create glossaries because they don't work for me, but for many people it does work and it is something they swear by.

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Do y'all reccommend keeping a glossary for all the key terms? VCAA doesn't really emphasise rote learning definitions so I'm wondering if I should bother.

Hey!
Last year for bio, I didn't use a glossary but instead a mistakes logbook. I'd often write the general steps to commonly asked questions in this document in dot points, as you will find VCAA can be quite repetitious over the years (eg. steps in PCR or translation). Sometimes, you can apply the same steps to different scenarios too, for example, for natural selection:

1. There is variation in a population (some with and some without trait).
2. Selection agent leads to the favouring of individuals with a specific trait while acting against those with a selective disadvantage (do not have trait).
3. Those that have the selective advantage (better suited to environment) are more successful at survival and reproduction. Hence, they pass their alleles to their offspring and contribute to the gene pool more.
4. Over time there is an increase of the frequency of the allele (that determine the particular trait) within the population’s gene pool.

I memorised the basic structure of these points and applied it to different scenarios to enable me to gain full marks in areas I may have struggled with (not because I didn't know the content, but because I wasn't including everything required in the answer). That's quite a detailed example and you can make your steps shorter and easier to remember if that works for you. I feel that utilising steps and going through a process to remember content can be applied to a wide variety of concepts in bio as it is quite content heavy. For me, remembering things in steps and chunks definitely helped.

My mistakes logbook also included a few key definitions for example, defining herd immunity. However, as you said, VCAA is much more focused on applying questions, so practice is way more important than knowing definitions. That said, you can't answer the questions or practice before knowing content 

Overall, to put that jumble of words into a conclusion, I would say don't create a glossary for the sake of creating one. Instead, actively utilise a revision document where you record your past exam mistakes and any definitions that you know will personally enhance your understanding of the content!

Then again, everyone learns differently so if you do have trouble remembering terms and you know that using a glossary will be an efficient way of learning, then go for it 

Hope this helps 

[miyukiaura]

Hey!
Last year for bio, I didn't use a glossary but instead a mistakes logbook. I'd often write the general steps to commonly asked questions in this document in dot points, as you will find VCAA can be quite repetitious over the years (eg. steps in PCR or translation). Sometimes, you can apply the same steps to different scenarios too, for example, for natural selection:

1. There is variation in a population (some with and some without trait).
2. Selection agent leads to the favouring of individuals with a specific trait while acting against those with a selective disadvantage (do not have trait).
3. Those that have the selective advantage (better suited to environment) are more successful at survival and reproduction. Hence, they pass their alleles to their offspring and contribute to the gene pool more.
4. Over time there is an increase of the frequency of the allele (that determine the particular trait) within the population’s gene pool.

I memorised the basic structure of these points and applied it to different scenarios to enable me to gain full marks in areas I may have struggled with (not because I didn't know the content, but because I wasn't including everything required in the answer). That's quite a detailed example and you can make your steps shorter and easier to remember if that works for you. I feel that utilising steps and going through a process to remember content can be applied to a wide variety of concepts in bio as it is quite content heavy. For me, remembering things in steps and chunks definitely helped.

My mistakes logbook also included a few key definitions for example, defining herd immunity. However, as you said, VCAA is much more focused on applying questions, so practice is way more important than knowing definitions. That said, you can't answer the questions or practice before knowing content 

Overall, to put that jumble of words into a conclusion, I would say don't create a glossary for the sake of creating one. Instead, actively utilise a revision document where you record your past exam mistakes and any definitions that you know will personally enhance your understanding of the content!

Then again, everyone learns differently so if you do have trouble remembering terms and you know that using a glossary will be an efficient way of learning, then go for it 

Hope this helps 

Hi! Thanks for the reply 
I can see the benefits of making a revision/mistake document like what you mentioned, especially with the repetitive nature of VCAA questions. Just wondering, did you type your mistake logbook in a word doc, or did you use a physical book, and how did you set it up?
And besides natural selection, what are the more "formulaic" questions VCAA tends to ask?

Thanks again  (and btw congratulations on that 50!! please teach me your ways  )

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Hi! Thanks for the reply 
I can see the benefits of making a revision/mistake document like what you mentioned, especially with the repetitive nature of VCAA questions. Just wondering, did you type your mistake logbook in a word doc, or did you use a physical book, and how did you set it up?
And besides natural selection, what are the more "formulaic" questions VCAA tends to ask?

I typed my document (but hand wrote my notes) as I feel like this is easier to add your mistakes (as you do practice questions) and key points, etc under each topic that you cover. I set it out so I had a table for each of the "chunks" in the study design. Essentially chronologically to the study design.

First, I want to stress that while I did set the answers up in steps/key dot points points, they were mainly to ensure I'd covered the key content of the course and wouldn't forget anything important. This definitely helped with revision at the end of the year (as I could review it to see whether I still remembered all I needed to know). However,  VCAA will focus on applying info to a range of scenarios which will require you to think in depth about the information presented to you and repsond accordingly! Most of the questions you won't be able to answer by "recalling" info, but using the info. I'm sure you already know this but just wanted to emphasise (as I could have known everything on my revision document and in my notes but without the ability to truly understand and apply this content, I wouldn't have been able to answer a lot of the questions.)

So basically use your mistakes/revision document alongside a tonne of practice questions!

Anyway, some topics I focused on were:
UNIT 3
Protein secretory pathway, translation, transcription, RNA processing, Light Dependent/Light Independent stage (very simplified for the VCE course), Transduction of a hydrophobic/hydrophilic signal, Stages of apoptosis, Intrinsic/Extrinsic pathways of apoptosis, role of complement proteins, Inflammatory response, Cell-mediated response, humoral response, action of antibodies, Sensitisation to an allergen/later exposure to an allergen.

UNIT 4
Natural Selection, allopatric speciation, conditions of fossilisation, DNA hybridisation. Oh and make sure you're used to ethical/social/biological implication type questions too.

Essentially these are a few of the key points on the study design that I put in my revision document (certainly not everything so don't rely on the above info). Also, take my advice cautiously as you might find better ways that suit your style of learning 

Hopefully that wasn't too confusing 

Thanks again  (and btw congratulations on that 50!! please teach me your ways  )

Haha all the best for bio this year and feel free to ask any more questions. If you haven't already you can check out my Bio guide here as it could be a useful read (maybe haha)

[miyukiaura]

I typed my document (but hand wrote my notes) as I feel like this is easier to add your mistakes (as you do practice questions) and key points, etc under each topic that you cover. I set it out so I had a table for each of the "chunks" in the study design. Essentially chronologically to the study design.

First, I want to stress that while I did set the answers up in steps/key dot points points, they were mainly to ensure I'd covered the key content of the course and wouldn't forget anything important. This definitely helped with revision at the end of the year (as I could review it to see whether I still remembered all I needed to know). However,  VCAA will focus on applying info to a range of scenarios which will require you to think in depth about the information presented to you and repsond accordingly! Most of the questions you won't be able to answer by "recalling" info, but using the info. I'm sure you already know this but just wanted to emphasise (as I could have known everything on my revision document and in my notes but without the ability to truly understand and apply this content, I wouldn't have been able to answer a lot of the questions.)

So basically use your mistakes/revision document alongside a tonne of practice questions!

Anyway, some topics I focused on were:
UNIT 3
Protein secretory pathway, translation, transcription, RNA processing, Light Dependent/Light Independent stage (very simplified for the VCE course), Transduction of a hydrophobic/hydrophilic signal, Stages of apoptosis, Intrinsic/Extrinsic pathways of apoptosis, role of complement proteins, Inflammatory response, Cell-mediated response, humoral response, action of antibodies, Sensitisation to an allergen/later exposure to an allergen.

UNIT 4
Natural Selection, allopatric speciation, conditions of fossilisation, DNA hybridisation. Oh and make sure you're used to ethical/social/biological implication type questions too.

Essentially these are a few of the key points on the study design that I put in my revision document (certainly not everything so don't rely on the above info). Also, take my advice cautiously as you might find better ways that suit your style of learning 

Hopefully that wasn't too confusing 
Haha all the best for bio this year and feel free to ask any more questions. If you haven't already you can check out my Bio guide here as it could be a useful read (maybe haha)

Wow, thanks, this helps a lot!
I was about to check out your bio guide but turns out I've already read it hahah  I'll be sure to apply bits of your advice throughout the year