The mission of the department is to educate students in biology to the highest level possible, consistent with their career goals and potentials.
We will do this through a program of core and elective courses, delivering up-to-date content, and encouraging active learning, critical thinking, application of scientific methods, familiarity with modern technology, and relevant field and laboratory skills.
It is too often believed that science is only about learning established facts rather than engaging in a questioning process. The inquiry-based laboratory components of our introductory, first-year Biology 012 and 013 courses represents a significant departure from traditional laboratory practice, and brings them in line with the national trend toward inquiry-based instruction in university science teaching. Our introductory courses have been carefully designed to give students considerable and repeated experiences in working the scientific method, scientific exploration, and scientific development in the life sciences.
During each of two eight-week laboratory blocks, in the fall and spring semesters, students have an in-depth experience in learning biology the way biologists do, namely by developing hypotheses, designing and conducting experiments, and testing them through accepted techniques and methods. This experience occurs both in the laboratory and in the field, in teams of about four students each. Of equal importance, student teams are expected to statistically analyze their collected data and present their findings to their peers through either a formal poster session, a formal PowerPoint presentation, or by submitting a paper at the end of each theme block. The four theme blocks, over the tow semester period, are designed so that all students will gain experience with three presentation formats.
The four theme blocks broadly represent the discipline of Biology: