Is this actually for me? (and other questions you wanted to ask me)

Hey Reader!

Hope you're enjoying your Friday afternoon (or evening, depending on your time zone) and are ready for the weekend 😎

As we teachers like to say, "If you have a question, ask it. Chances are, someone else has that same question too!"

But when questions are asked via email, no one else gets to hear the answers. So I wanted to take a minute and share the answers to some of the most common questions I've been asked this week about my new A&P 2 course, in case that applies to you :)

"Do I need to take A&P 1 before I can understand A&P 2?"

Nope, you can absolutely start with A&P 2!

A lot of people assume A&P 2 builds directly on A&P 1, like you need everything from the first course to understand the second, but that's not really how it works. A&P 1 and A&P 2 mostly cover different body systems, not the same systems at a deeper level. So the order you study those systems doesn't have to be strict, and I teach A&P 2 without assuming you already know everything from A&P 1.

If you want a little extra footing before you dive in, I've got a few YouTube videos that cover some of the basics that'll help, but they're not a requirement. You can just start.

"Can this really help me in my specific situation?"

If you're wondering whether A&P 2 is actually the right fit for you: yes!

Here's how: It's built to cover everything you need at a college level, the same content scope as a standard undergraduate A&P 2 class, with the videos, practice activities, and study tools to help you actually retain it. If you're a nursing or pre-nursing student, studying for OT, PT, massage therapy, or med school, or retaking A&P 2 to raise your grade, this is exactly what it's built for.

That said, if what you're really struggling with isn't A&P 2 specifically, but learning and retaining information in general, or if you just need a broad overview of A&P for something like a certification exam, The Memory Lab might actually be the better fit for you. It's the study system underneath everything I teach, and it works well as a standalone resource if you don't need the full depth of a college-level A&P 2 course.

But if you want to know for sure which one's right for your particular situation, just reply to this email and ask. I've already given honest answers to a bunch of people who've asked this exact question this week, so don't hesitate to reach out. I'm not interested in anyone buying the wrong thing for what they actually need.

"How much time do I need to put into this each week?"

It depends on how deep you go, but here's a real number to work from: for the Endocrine unit, the video lessons alone add up to about 3.5 hours. If you're also working through the practice activities after each lesson (the guided practice videos, labeling, sorting, sketching), plan on roughly another 3.5 hours on top of that, so around 7 hours total to get through a unit's input and practice.

That's not counting ongoing flashcards and practice quizzes. Since those use spaced repetition, you'll want to keep coming back to them regularly leading up to any exams, not just once and done. This is actually exactly what The Memory Lab teaches you how to build, a study system where retrieval practice happens automatically as part of your routine, instead of something you have to remember to do on your own.

It sounds like a lot written out, but it breaks down naturally into small sessions across the week rather than one big sitting. And you don't have to do every single practice option in every lesson. That's the point of having so many choices, you pick what you actually need instead of grinding through material you already know well.

"I'm confused about what The Memory Lab actually is. Is it just memory tricks?"

Ha, nope! This isn't about hacks or learning memory tricks to impress your friends.

The Memory Lab is a step-by-step system grounded in cognitive science and built around practical strategies you can actually use to learn classes like A&P: rewiring the mindsets and myths that get in your way, mastering encoding (how you take in new information in the first place), locking it in with retrieval practice, and systematizing your study routine so it actually happens consistently.

It goes deeper into the actual skill of learning and retaining information, which matters just as much in pathophysiology and pharmacology later on as it does in A&P right now.

That's probably part of why more people have joined the Tier 2 bundle than Tier 1 alone this week. It caught me off guard, but it makes sense. A lot of you aren't just trying to pass one class, you're trying to build a way of studying that carries you through the rest of your program.

"Do you have something for A&P 1?"

Yes, sort of, Memory Lab is actually the thing that'll help you most right now if you're in A&P 1. It's the study system, not A&P 1 content itself, so you can use it to build strong study habits for A&P 1 today. You can grab Memory Lab on its own at full price here, or if you know you'll be taking A&P 2 eventually, Tier 2 lets you get both at the best discount I'll ever offer on the two together. Since course access is lifetime, A&P 2 will just be sitting there ready for you whenever you're ready for it.

"I'm a teacher, not a student. Would this actually be useful for me?"

Short answer: it depends on what you're looking for. I actually recorded a video answering this one in detail, but here's the gist: this isn't built as a classroom tool. There's no way for your students to log in under your account or for you to track their progress, so if you need an all-in-one solution for your whole class, this isn't quite that.

But if you're looking to strengthen your own content knowledge, especially if you got assigned A&P without a deep background in it (which happens to a lot of teachers, myself included when I started), or you want fresh ways to explain concepts your students struggle with, better diagrams, different framing, this can genuinely help. I taught high school A&P for over a decade before going deep into undergraduate-level content for this course, and a lot of what's in here is stuff I wish I'd understood that clearly back when I was teaching it myself.

"Is there a payment plan?"

Yes...but it currently only works in the United States, and there are other restrictions involved.

However, we're actively building in an integrated payment plan option that will work anywhere! Keep an eye out for an email from me in the next day or two about it.

"Will the course be open again later this year if I can't afford it right now?"

I don't know yet when it will reopen. Once enrollment closes Monday night, my plan is to focus on finishing out the rest of the units for the students who are already in, and I don't have a set date for reopening. It might be a while.

If this is something you've been wanting, I'd rather you know that now than find out later the window was longer than you thought.

If any of this answered something you've been wondering about, you can join here:

👉🏼 Learn more and enroll in the course

And remember, everything I offer is for lifetime access, so any course you enroll in today is yours for good.

If you're on the fence, here's my promise: if you join and it's not helping, tell me within 30 days and I'll refund you, no questions asked. Doors close Monday, August 17th at 11:59pm CDT.

Talk soon,
-Justin

P.S. If your specific question wasn't answered here, just reply to this email, and I'll answer you directly!

Siebert Science

Is this actually for me? (and other questions you wanted to ask me)

Siebert Science