“Why is the course taught this way, and what will I get out of this class?”

This course is going to be very different from other biology classes you might have taken. It is geared towards engaging creative thinking and problem solving to give students a feeling of how biology research takes place.

I have designed the course to maximize interaction with the material, each other and to promote metacognitive tools to learn better.

The teaching team of graduate associate instructors and undergraduate teaching associates are here to assist you throughout the semester.

In addition, we will be using learning groups to facilitate collaborative thinking. You learn best from one another!

It is critical for students in biology or related fields to develop a strong conceptual foundation and to demonstrate their ability to use it in contexts that may be novel to them.

We expect you to go beyond “fact-learning” and use what we teach you to solve problems that require critical thought.

• Students in L211 will begin developing the ability to identify and articulate the key scientific and biological questions that are at the core of the course content.
• Students will learn and use correct technical vocabulary in their discussions of course content.
• Students will begin conceptualizing course content from a question-driven and problem-solving perspective.

When you have time to learn and practice the “facts” outside of class, we can use class time covering the complex ways of thinking about molecular biology and practice the higher-order levels of understanding.