1. Understand the Philosophy of the Course. There are many goals for you in this course, among which is your learning of factual material about evolutionary biology and the diversity of organisms on earth. Another goal that is at least as important is to develop your skills in thinking about science in a critical fashion. Accordingly, you will be asked continually to synthesize material from different parts of the course. For example, on an exam you may be asked to draw on your knowledge of different topics from two or three separate lectures. At first this may come as a shock to students who have only been asked to memorize facts in science courses. Rest assured that we will guide you toward this approach to biology via exams. The product will be that you will enter your upper division courses far better prepared that if you were only to memorize a collection of facts.
2. Learn How to Use Data. Scientists collect data to support or reject assumptions that they make. It is critical that we are careful about what data tell us. For example, we often read or hear that the fossil record shows that "X" gave rise to "Y". This, however, is a misreading of the actual data. In fact, the fossil record can never provide this kind of analysis. The fossil record may suggest that "X" and "Y" have a common ancestor, or may show levels of homology, but it cannot tell us about the actual step(s) by which "Y" evolved. "X" and "Y" are, after all, represented by individual organisms that existed long ago.
3. Take a Positive Approach to the Course. Everyone who takes this course should be in it because they enjoy biology. It follows that the material in the course should be fun to learn. We certainly enjoy presenting the material to you.
4. Give All of Biology a Chance. Many students who enroll at a university as biology majors think that they already know what branch of biology they intend to follow for a career. That's fine, and we sincerely wish them well. It is important, however, that no one loses sight of the beauty of the integrated nature of biology, and the many levels at which we can understand how life works. The best biologists are those who appreciate all of these levels. If you feel at this time that you really are interested only in human biology, or you feel that the only critical level at which to work is the molecular level, or that you only are interested in whole furry organisms, or even that you are only here to prepare for medical school, we nevertheless expect that you approach this course with the idea that every part of biology, and every level of approach is equal. You will have ample opportunity to specialize later. Besides, more than a few undergraduates in biology have changed their emphases after taking a course like Biology 240.
5. Always Know Where You Are in the Course. Biology 240 is a rigorous, non-stop freshman-level course that requires your attention all semester. It is not a course in which to fall behind - those who do fall behind generally don't catch up easily. You all have the greatest of intentions when we start the course - you know, keeping up with the reading, studying for lab quizzes, etc. - but the work piles up as the semester goes along, and some of us (notice we use "us") have a tendency to let things slide. If you ever become concerned with your performance in the course or simply want to know where you stand at a particular time, you may visit us in office hours for a discussion (we actually enjoy talking with each of you one to-one, and often the only way this happens is when you come to see us). Your visiting us is often the only way we have of knowing about your concerns or problems in a class of this size.
6. Take the Labs Seriously. Labs are a very critical part of any biology course. Throughout your undergraduate major you will spend more time in labs than in lecture, and there is a good reason for this. In lecture you are usually a passive learner, while in lab you are an active learner. This makes so much sense to me that I won't say any more about it - except this: some students often feel that because the lecture part of the course counts for more grade points, that the lab can slide by with less attention. Too often I have seen these students miss a letter grade due to a lax attitude in lab.
7. Take a Positive Approach Toward the Exams. Exams are often the most perplexing part of a course to students. It might be useful at this time to reflect on a professor's philosophy of exams. They are, after all, the major tool that we have to evaluate your performance in learning the material. Forget all of the arguments about how exams don't really test your knowledge because you're so traumatized by them that you couldn't write a coherent answer. They may be interesting arguments, but unfortunately they don't change the need for exams. So how does one approach exams in this (and other courses) positively?
8. Use Lectures Effectively. Most of the material we want you to learn comes from the lecture. The book is designed to augment the lectures; thus, if you read the material in the book, you won't be hearing about the subject for the first time during the lecture. You should NOT spend lecture time taking dictation from the lecturer; rather, you should be at least a bit familiar with the topic; use the lectures to help you gain an understanding of the concepts.
— oh, yeah, and a sidebar on lectures available as pdfs. They do not replace the actual lectures, and they should not be considered as an alternative to attending lectures. Attendance in lectures affords you the opportunity to see the lecture in its entirety, to hear the questions and answers, and to get the nuances of the professors' delivery.
9. Learn, Don't Just Memorize (there's a big difference). This isn't to say that you won't need to use your memory or that facts are not important (they are); but, if you cram information into you, it will leak out, and the whole point of being here is lost. You must find a way to assimilate for the long term.
10. Show Up. You should approach lectures with the attitude that they are the highest priority item on your calendar. They are the glue of the course, the opportunity to have everything placed into proper context and perspective. Simply stated, you will not learn the material completely if you miss a lecture. Accordingly, coming to lecture late or leaving early are not acceptable in Biology 240. If you do not make it to class by 8:10, you might as well not come at all. Similarly, if you plan to leave early, we prefer that you don't show up at all. Late arrival and/or early departure are disruptive to the class and inconsiderate to fellow students.