Is Advanced Biology More Than Just Memorizing Facts?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bladibla
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the nature of advanced biology education, particularly in the context of the UK AS and A2 level systems. Participants explore whether advanced biology is primarily about memorizing facts or if it involves deeper understanding and application of concepts. The conversation touches on personal experiences, perceptions of different scientific disciplines, and the challenges faced in biology courses.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern that advanced biology may feel like mere memorization, similar to their experiences in AS level courses.
  • Others argue that advanced biology involves understanding complex concepts such as development, genetics, and genomics, rather than just memorizing facts.
  • A participant mentions that A2 biology is more challenging and enjoyable because it requires application of knowledge rather than rote memorization.
  • It is noted that introductory courses in any science typically involve significant memorization to establish foundational knowledge before moving to more complex applications.
  • Some participants suggest that the perceived rigor of different sciences should not be ranked, as each requires a similar level of critical thinking and scientific methodology.
  • One participant shares their experience with A2 biology, indicating that exams focus more on broader essay questions rather than specific facts, allowing for speculation and personal conclusions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of views, with some agreeing that advanced biology involves more than memorization, while others maintain that initial stages require significant memorization. There is no consensus on the overall nature of advanced biology education.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific experiences with different exam boards and the nature of exam questions, indicating variability in how advanced biology is taught and assessed. Some assumptions about the educational system and the nature of scientific disciplines remain unexamined.

Bladibla
Messages
362
Reaction score
1
When you go to advanced Biology, do you just memorize facts like i do for school tests? Or is there more to it?

I ask this because, i am currently doing 'AS' lvel Biology in UK, and it just seems...like that. With this keep going, i would just drop it at the end of AS for a AS in physics or another subject.

Naturally, it could be said i am biased, because i have a lot of repsect for physicists.
 
Biology news on Phys.org
I don't know your school system, but why would you have more respect for physicists than for biologists?

There is a lot to biology besides memorizing 'facts' (what do you mean by facts?) understanding development, genetics, genomics, proteomics (and other subfields) stands on the basis of understanding life, thus it is a very interesting subject to study.
 
A2 biology is harder than As it involves learning like before but you have to apply what you have learned rather than churn of facts. I am doing my A2 exams now and although they are harder and challenging they are more enjoyable because there not boring. I do physics as well and you would enjoy A2 biology much more than As physics and I am going to uni to study physics lol :smile:
 
Introductory courses in any of the sciences involves memorizing facts. Once you get the foundation, then you can start applying it in more complex situations in the advanced courses.
 
Bladibla said:
When you go to advanced Biology, do you just memorize facts like i do for school tests? Or is there more to it?

I ask this because, i am currently doing 'AS' lvel Biology in UK, and it just seems...like that. With this keep going, i would just drop it at the end of AS for a AS in physics or another subject.

Naturally, it could be said i am biased, because i have a lot of repsect for physicists.
Try posting here http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ - more relevant to the UK!
 
Bladibla said:
When you go to advanced Biology, do you just memorize facts like i do for school tests? Or is there more to it?

I ask this because, i am currently doing 'AS' lvel Biology in UK, and it just seems...like that. With this keep going, i would just drop it at the end of AS for a AS in physics or another subject.

Naturally, it could be said i am biased, because i have a lot of repsect for physicists.
If you’re double thinking about physics or biology, don’t think twice, physics is right choice (if you prefer “hard” thinking).
When you put it on scale dividing memorizing vs. thinking, believe me thinking part (esp. creative) arising from biology (classical or molecular…) is like box of matches’ vs Empire State Building (). But please NHF, because, it’s all about what you love or like, you can not say that biologists are stupid, it’s quite opposite, as I sad that’s question of flavor.
 
As Phobos pointed out, introductory courses in any science (I'm not sure what AS level is) is going to require a lot more memorizing just to get the basics established before you can begin applying them. Once you get to advanced levels, you're going to have to do a lot more than memorize to do well.

jhirlo, I think your bias is showing. You can't rank the sciences as "harder" or "easier" thinking; they all require the same rigor of using scientific method to develop questions and conduct experiments to seek answers.
 
Still curious to know why physicists earn a lot of respect.. :rolleyes:
 
Bladibla said:
When you go to advanced Biology, do you just memorize facts like i do for school tests? Or is there more to it?

I ask this because, i am currently doing 'AS' lvel Biology in UK, and it just seems...like that. With this keep going, i would just drop it at the end of AS for a AS in physics or another subject.

Naturally, it could be said i am biased, because i have a lot of repsect for physicists.

I did A2 biology last year (got myself a B) and I found that there was not a huge amount of memorising tedious facts to do. The worst were the photosynthesis and respiration pathways, but with some perseverence, I managed to do those fairly well. Exams are less about specific facts, and more broad essays or paragraphs, many of which are described as synoptic, which means that rather than wanting a definite right or wrong answer, they want you to speculate and come to your own conclusions. Essay questions are somewhat broad in A2, for example "Discuss the biological importance of water" being one that I have done. This is the case with my exam board in any case (I think it was OCR) but I'm not certain about the others. Ask your teacher if you can see the syllabus and some past exam papers, or talk to people currently doing the course. The exam board website may also have the past papers on it.
 

Similar threads

Understanding Biology vs Memorizing Biology
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
4K
Synthetic Biology, What Might It Do?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Can Bacteria Safely Produce Venom for Anti-Venom Research?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Possibilities of being able to break known biological limitations
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Mathematical process for protein folding
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Why does biology deal with why questions?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Studying Should One Memorize Definitions?
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
3K
Scientific Meanings of the Term "Agent"
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
Admissions Graduate school admission chances
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Non-Binary Traits: Is Biology Missing Something?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K