Mr. D.

Wang
Biology Teacher
Louise Arbour Secondary School
365 Father Tobin Road
Brampton, Ontario L6R 0R4
Dear Mr. Wang,
The content in this course was very interesting and it was also very relevant to the
Health Care profession. We learned about many topics in depth that are definitely discussed in
the health care profession. We learned about biodiversity and what unique traits make
organisms different from each other. For example, the sea sponge is a simple organism,
whereas a human is very complex. These are differences that are important to know for
someone who is into healthcare. Moving on, in genetics, we went into depth to learn about
how we gain the traits that we have. The karyotypes activity stands out to me because it felt
very realistic to be able to look at a persons karyotypes. Basically, genetics are very important
as they are responsible for so much and they are heavily looked at by health care professionals.
What we learned in the systems unit was very relevant to the health care profession because
we learned all about the inside of the human body. This is very important information as
everyones health depends on this. If the human systems were not discussed heavily, problems
would arise and no one would know how to fix them. Therefore, learning about the systems in
the human body and doing a pig dissection made it possible for us to look at things from a
doctors perspective.
Overall, my learning experiences in this class were very positive. I am glad to have
learned so much about myself in this process. My knowledge greatly increased in every unit
because I learned many new things. In biodiversity, I learned that organisms come in all
varieties and I learned how they can be told apart (e.g. kingdoms). Even though all organisms
may seem similar, there are actually many things that separate living things from one another.
Moving on, genetics is the unit that I learned the most new things in. I enjoyed learning about
how humans are given their traits and what circumstances cause this. It was very interesting to
learn how certain traits are received and I came home and figured out where I received my
traits from. Previously, I thought that traits were simply split in half from both parents and
given to offspring, but the process is actually much more detailed. This is because there are
things such as recessive and dominant traits. The evolution unit was also completely new to me
as it described how we came to be what we are. I have always believed in creationism, but
learning about evolution was interesting. Even though I didnt agree with the ideas being
taught, it was very eye-opening to see the world from other peoples perspective. All of the
theories were very well thought through and the people that created them were very educated.
I learned that the ideas about evolution were actually developed over many years. Previously, I
thought it was one person that suggested evolution, and everyone went along with his idea.
Lastly, human systems was my favourite unit as it gave us an insightful glance into ourselves.
We learned about how we function and how our organs contribute to this. I had previous
knowledge about human systems, but this class gave me a deeper look into the human
systems. I learned many new terms and I also learned that the human body is always working
and it is working very hard.
In this course, I learned a lot about successful learning strategies. This is a heavy
workload course and I was able to learn time management and good note taking skills. For
example, getting many assignments at around the same time helped me to work efficiently and
quickly in order to produce good work. At the beginning of the course, I had suggested that I
take good notes, ask many questions and try my best. Throughout the semester, I took detailed
notes and kept them very organized. Also, I asked questions whenever I was confused about
anything and I tried my best in everything I did. I also handed everything on time and stuck to
the deadlines. The strategy that helped me the most was taking good notes because they were
very important for our tests and in-class assignments. Even though I didnt reach my goal mark
in this course, I tried my very best and I kept my work habits on track. I was focused at all times
and I genuinely paid attention to what I was being taught.
This was a very enlightening course and it was a very interesting experience. This was
one of my favourite courses in high school because I believe that what we were taught was
actually valuable information. Most courses teach things that do not seem very important, but
everything we learned in biology is important. It is always good to learn about yourself and
where you come from. This course could be improved by having less notes and having more
activities that are hands-on. I learned that I understand things better when they are taught
through activities as this helps me visualize the topic. Also, there should be more practice for
multiple choice questions because I feel that is where I do the worst. Other than this, the
course was very informative and generally fun. I will always remember the things I learned in
this course and I am sure that this information has increased my knowledge. Thank you for
working so hard to make this a memorable semester for all of us. I genuinely appreciate the
time and effort you have put in place to make sure that we learn and understand everything we
are supposed to.
Sincerely,
Srishti Prashar