When a teacher bombards you with lists of things you feel like you should already know and fails to link them properly to help you build your understanding, you have two choices: 1. Optimize for grades, and learn cheap tricks by heart so that you can pass. 2. Optimize for learning, and adding back context and meaning to everything that's presented. This involves a lot more work, intellectual detours and a general feeling of lagging behind. Pick yours, but at least be aware of the choice you're making. If this is something you're going to be using long term, chances are you're better off optimizing for learning.