Biology 180

Welcome & Course Logistics

Dubs II

- Video A starts here -

 Evolutionary
Analysis
FIFTH EDITION

Jon C. Herron
Scott Freeman

Jon C. Herron, Ph.D.

Assoc. Teaching Prof. in Biology
evound.com
herronjc@uw.edu
Course staff
• Lecturer: Prof. Jon Herron herronjc@uw.edu
• Lecturer: Prof. Elli Theobald ellij@uw.edu
• Coordinator: John Parks jwparks@uw.edu
• Assistant Coordinator: Christine Savolainen
• Teaching assistants/associates: See course website
Everything is online
Everything.
Key Resources
• Course website - Please monitor it closely
• Piazza discussion forum - The first place to go for help
• Husky Health & Well-Being and their campus partners
https://wellbeing.uw.edu
http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/
Key Resources
• Course website - Please monitor it closely
• Piazza discussion forum - The first place to go for help
• Husky Health & Well-Being and their campus partners
• The supportive learning community you create
Course goals
I was not
prepared for what
was about to
happen.

Nothing in high
school can
prepare you for it.
You can’t learn
all of biology.
No one can.
But you can learn
to think like a
biologist. Helping
you do that is our
primary goal.
 igher order thinking
Bloom’s taxonomy 6) Can I make udgments on the relati e
alue of ideas and information?
of learning 5) Can I put ideas and information
together to create something new?
4) Can I recognize underlying
patterns and structure?
3) Can I use these ideas
in a new situation?
Remember Understand Apply Analyze ynt es ze al ate
2) Can I explain these
ideas to someone else?
1) Can I recall key
terms and ideas?
ower order thinking
 Our 2nd goal is to foster your professional development by preparing
you to succeed in Biology 200 and upper level courses ... and possibly
a career related to biology.

Criteria for recommenders - Mayo Medical School MD/PhD Program:

Motivation for training in research Ability to work with others

Intellectual potential and curiosity
Ability to analyze/problem-solve
Creativity and imagination
Communication skills: oral
Communication skills: written
Maturity
Emotional stability
Industry and persistence
Planning & organizational skills
Ethics and integrity
 Our 2nd goal is to foster your professional development by preparing
you to succeed in Biology 200 and upper level courses ... and possibly
a career related to biology.

Criteria for recommenders - Mayo Medical School MD/PhD Program:

Motivation for training in research Ability to work with others

Intellectual potential and curiosity Maturity
Ability to analyze/problem-solve Emotional stability
Creativity and imagination Industry and persistence
Communication skills: oral Planning & organizational skills
Communication skills: written Ethics and integrity

- Video A ends here -

Navigating Biol 180

- Video B starts here -

A typical week
Starts at 6:00 pm the previous Friday when the materials go
live on Canvas.
Lectures are pre-recorded
1. Do the reading indicated on the syllabus
2. Complete the Readiness Questions - due at 6:00 pm on
the day of the lecture.
3. Watch the lecture (with classmates, virtually)
4. Complete the Guiding Questions - due at 6:00 pm on the
day after the lecture.
5. Use the supplementary materials
Labs are online, asynchronous
• Lab materials go live at 6:00 on the previous Friday and
are due by 6:00 pm Thursday on the week of the lab.
TA Sections are online, synchronous

• Meet by Zoom at time indicated in time

schedule.
• For privacy reasons, not recorded.
• Be sure to attend the first one (during
Week 2) or you may be dropped.
• Sections will include Q & A with your TA
& assigned questions to work on in
groups—some of which you can get
only in section.
• Credit is awarded for good-faith
preparation and participation.
• TA Sections are your best opportunity
to create community.
Exams are online
• At the end of most weeks, there will be
either a Practice Exam or an Exam.
• Exams open at 6:00 pm on Thursday
and close at 12:00 noon on Friday.
• Focus on lecture material and lab work.
• Most questions are open-ended, free-
response.
• Exams are open book, open notes,
open internet. They are also open
Biology 180—but to ensure that you get
the feedback you need to succeed in
Biology 180 and beyond, we ask you to
limit your exam working groups to a
total of five students.
Instructor Office Hours
• Office hours provide extra opportunities to practice the
material and learn from each other.
• Meet by Zoom - see website for times.
• For privacy reasons, not recorded.
• Tri-Beta and CLUE sessions.
• If you cannot attend office hours, use Piazza.
Additional assignments
• Example: Course Policies Quiz.
• Monitor the course website and your @uw.edu email.
Why so many things to do on such
a strict schedule?

Why so much structure?

 Risk of failure by ethnicity and EOP status

Low risk (%) High risk (%)

Low structure
sian 58 (297) 36 (130)
37 (190) 54 (199)
5 (28) 10 (36)
100 (515) 100 (365)
us
OP 91 (531) 69 (274)
9 (50) 31 (123)
100 (581) 100 (397)

re expressed a percentage, with n in parentheses. Chi-

sts, p ! 0.001.

High structure
A indicated that the predicted grades for students in
ng 2003, spring 2005, and fall 2005 did not differ
antly (data not shown), indicating that student pop-
were comparable in these three quarters. Note that
d subsequent analyses do not include students who
d the course or were caught cheating on exams or
ents; for a small number of students who were
d to the university without an SAT score, we substi-
e class average SAT verbal score to generate a pre-
rade.
se some instructors choose to focus their time and
n on high-achieving students who are most likely to
graduate or professional school, it is instructive to Figure 2. Students in a course (spring 2005) with daily, graded,
multiple-choice questions and weekly, graded practice exams did
who the high-risk students are. In our course, 56%
better on an identical
Student midterm exam
performance on an than students
identical in aexam.
midterm course
students and 71% of EOP students are at high risk (spring 2003) with daily, ungraded, active-learning exercises (t test,
Scott Freeman et al. 2011 CBE—Life Sciences Education 6:
g (Table 1). URM and EOP students are much more p ! 0.001). 132–
han Caucasian, Asian, or non-EOP students to be at
k of failing (Chi-square test, p ! 0.001 for both
y and EOP status).
 Risk of failure by ethnicity and EOP status

Low risk (%) High risk (%)

Low structure
sian 58 (297) 36 (130)
37 (190) 54 (199)
5 (28) 10 (36)
100 (515) 100 (365)
us
OP 91 (531) 69 (274)
9 (50) 31 (123)
100 (581) 100 (397)

re expressed a percentage, with n in parentheses. Chi-

sts, p ! 0.001.

High structure
A indicated that the predicted grades for students in
ng 2003, spring 2005, and fall 2005 did not differ
antly (data not shown), indicating that student pop-
were comparable in these three quarters. Note that
d subsequent analyses do not include students who
d the course or were caught cheating on exams or
ents; for a small number of students who were
d to the university without an SAT score, we substi-
e class average SAT verbal score to generate a pre-
rade.
se some instructors choose to focus their time and
n on high-achieving students who are most likely to
graduate or professional school, it is instructive to Figure 2. Students in a course (spring 2005) with daily, graded,
multiple-choice questions and weekly, graded practice exams did
who the high-risk students are. In our course, 56%
better on an identical
Student midterm exam
performance on an than students
identical in aexam.
midterm course
students and 71% of EOP students are at high risk (spring 2003) with daily, ungraded, active-learning exercises (t test,
Scott Freeman et al. 2011 CBE—Life Sciences Education 6:
g (Table 1). URM and EOP students are much more p ! 0.001). 132–
han Caucasian, Asian, or non-EOP students to be at
k of failing (Chi-square test, p ! 0.001 for both
y and EOP status).
Already enrolled, want to change sections
    See the Time Schedule
    No changes after Sunday, October 4
 Adding the course or changing
into a full section…
Non-matriculated students
JWPARKS@UW.EDU
All other students
Most sections are full, but
students drop every day.
Use Notify.UW.
Enrollment open through
midnight on Sunday October
4.

- Video B ends here -

Part 3: Grading System

- Video C starts here -

Grading: What best describes the 180 system?
1. Curved via pre-set median (usually ~2.7)
2. Curved by pre-set percentages (5% As, 15% Bs, etc)
3. Standardized (90-100% of total points A, 80-90% B, etc)
4. Competitive
5. Non-competitive
Hypothetical grade distribution (different every quarter)
Could this
happen?

Yes—and it
would be
AWESOME!
Could this
happen?

Yes—and it
would be
AWESOME!
UW grading system
(http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html)
A 4.0-3.9 Everyone could get an A!
A- 3.8-3.5
B+ 3.4-3.2
B 3.1-2.9
B- 2.8-2.5
C+ 2.4-2.2
C 2.1-1.9
C- 1.8-1.5
D+ 1.4-1.2
D 1.1-0.9
D- 0.8-0.7 Lowest passing grade.
Grading: What best describes the 180 system?
1. Curved via pre-set median (usually ~2.7)
2. Curved by pre-set percentages (5% As, 15% Bs, etc)
3. Standardized (90-100% of total points A, 80-90% B, etc)
4. Competitive
5. Non-competitive

- Video C ends here -

How to Get Help

- Video D starts here -

Questions about Biology
• Check textbook and lecture materials.
• Discuss with your study group.
• Ask a question during TA Section or Instructor Office
Hours.
• Post your question on Piazza.
Questions about Course Logistics
• Check the website, syllabus, course policies
• Check Piazza
• If not confidential, post your question to Piazza
• If confidential, email John Parks — jwparks@uw.edu
How to write a professional email
Date: 5 October 2020
From: yourNetID@uw.edu
To: herronjc@uw.edu
Re: Biol 180 - Optimal email length Informative subject

Dear Dr. Herron, Formal greeting

I was interested in the example from class today about …

Sincerely,
Your name Formal farewell Concise, informative body
Include quoted text
Your name, Pre-major, Class of 2024
Something about you
University of Washington Brief bio
yourNetID@uw.edu
What is the optimal length of an email for
maximizing the chance of getting a reply?

1. Less than 50 words

2. 50 to 125 words

3. 125 to 200 words

4. More than 200 words

http://blog.boomerangapp.com/2016/02/7-tips-for-getting-
more-responses-to-your-emails-with-data/
“Social software” like e-mail “is not better than
[synchronous] contact; it’s only better than
nothing.”
– Clay Shirky, as quoted by Daniel Goleman. 2007. Email is
easy to write (and to misread). The New York Times: 7
October.

“The best advice is to treat every email as though

it were open to the public to read. Don’t say
things you don't want others to read, and remember
that even after you’ve deleted your emails, they
will be available for years from other sources.”
– http://consumer.findlaw.com/online-scams/email-privacy-
concerns.html#sthash.xR875BTI.dpuf

- Video D ends here -