BILD 4 - Introductory Biology Laboratory
Course Description:
BILD 4 is designed to be a collaborative environment for everyone to learn together and construct a shared understanding of the material. Active participation and contribution in classes and in the laboratory are essential because many ideas and laboratory methods that will be developed in these activities cannot be easily captured otherwise. Being able to communicate understanding, articulate confusion, and defend scientific arguments based on evidence and reasoning is both useful for learning and critical to success in any discipline. To encourage collaboration and community building, many class and laboratory activities and assignments will be done in teams, and grades will not be assigned on a curve. Instead of memorization, we will focus on developing an understanding of fundamental concepts and laboratory skills as they apply to different examples and learn to draw conclusions based on evidence and reasoning. We will utilize class and laboratory time to construct and apply our knowledge, troubleshoot challenging topics, practice problem solving, and develop skills in critical thinking. Laboratory reports and the research proposal will challenge us to think critically about data and experiments.