III. Curricular Development
We are developing a new interdisciplinary course, Bio174 Introductory Molecular Biology for Engineers. This course will be offered in the winter term, starting in 2008. The primary difference between this course and the standard introductory biology course is that Bio174 uses an active-learning format. Students are responsible for completing the assigned reading prior to each class session, and their comprehension of the basic, factual material is assessed by a daily reading quiz. The majority of class time is spent on problem solving and accompanying discussions. Student mastery of conceptual material is assessed by a second daily concept-based quiz. The frequent use of quizzes provides students and instructors with timely and formative feedback.
