University A&P · Student Study Tools

Pre-Lab Checklist, Night Before

Checklist

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Use this checklist to preview the procedure, gather materials, and prepare your notebook. Allow about 15 minutes, or more for unfamiliar work and any preparation your course requires.

Lab session: ______________________________    Unit: ____________________    Date of lab: ____________

1. Logistics (3 min)

• Open the lab manual or course site for tomorrow’s session.
• Confirm the location. Some courses use different rooms for different sessions.
• Confirm the time. Arrive 10 minutes early when possible so you can set up and hear the opening instructions.
• Bring required materials: lab notebook, pen (ink), pencil (sketches), course manual, closed-toe shoes, hair tied back if long, eye protection if your course requires it.

2. Read the lab procedure once at normal speed (5 min)

• Read the entire procedure once, start to finish. Don’t skim.
• Don’t take notes yet, just read.
• Note the safety procedures if there are any (specimen handling, sharps, chemical, microbiological).
• Note any pre-work the manual says you should do (pre-lab questions, video, equipment quiz, etc.).

3. Preview the vocabulary (5 min)

• List the named structures or terms from tomorrow’s lab in your notebook (just the names; you’re not memorizing tonight).
• For each one, write a one-line plain-language definition next to it (you can look these up).
• For unfamiliar terms, break them into Greek/Latin parts (the terminology guide helps).
• If your course has a controlled vocabulary list (rubric, study guide, or syllabus), use that. The unit rubric packets on this site give examples of accepted terms and synonyms; check your course's own list.

4. Open your notebook to the next blank page (2 min)

• Write tomorrow’s date at the top, in ink.
• Write the lab session title below the date.
• Write three things in a “Pre-lab” section: the goal of the lab; the major materials/specimens; one or two predictions about what you’ll see.
• Add the entry to your notebook’s table of contents (front of notebook). Allow about 30 seconds; the entry will be easier to find later.

University A&P · Student Study Tools

Day-Of + What To Do If You Forget, Pre-Lab Checklist (cont.)

Checklist

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Day-of: arriving at lab (10 min before start)

• Find your bench station and lay out your notebook, pen, pencil, course manual.
• Recall the day's plan, then check your pre-lab notes. Use the section you wrote last night to confirm the procedure and questions.
• Greet your TA briefly if they’re available. Ask if there’s anything new in the procedure since the manual was printed (sometimes there is).
• Glove up before touching specimens if your course requires it.
• Take three breaths. Give yourself a moment to settle before listening to instructions and beginning work.

During lab: four ways to practice

For each new structure or technique you encounter, do all four:

• Look at it on the specimen, model, or slide.
• Touch it (or the equivalent), trace it with the probe, identify it on a partner, position it under the objective.
• Name it out loud using the canonical term (not the slang or shorthand). Check the name before recording it.
• Write it in your notebook with the date and any observation.

Look, touch, name, and write. This brief sequence connects the structure with its name and your observation. Return to it in later study sessions; one encounter does not make a memory permanent.

Before you leave the bench

• Write a 2–3 sentence summary at the bottom of today’s notebook entry: what you did, what you saw, what surprised you.
• Note one thing to revisit, a structure you weren’t sure of, a technique you want to repeat, a question to ask the TA next time.
• Clean up your station per your course’s policy. Leave it ready for the next group.
• Add the entry to your TOC if you didn’t already.

Within 6 hours of lab

• 10 minutes: on a blank piece of paper, draw or label the day’s structures from memory. Check your notebook only after you’re done.
• Use missed items to build your review list for the week. Add it to your study tracker (see study cycle template).

If you’re running this checklist for the first time

The routine may feel slow at first. Adjust the time to the complexity of the session rather than rushing to finish. If you have time left in lab, revisit an uncertain identification or ask the TA about an observation.