History of Principles of Biology

  • In 1994, the Division of Biology embarked on a thorough evaluation of our introductory course, BIOL 198.
  • A task force of faculty members was appointed to look at current and developing models of instruction in introductory biology. All faculty members in the Division served on committees to advise the task force on topics that should be covered in our introductory biology course.
  • The task force decided to abandon our old format (Audio-tutorial- see photo below) and devise a course using the studio format, which has proven to be successful in other introductory science courses (e.g. Physics, Chemistry).
  • In 1996 we hired a faculty member to oversee the development of the studio version of BIOL 198. The new format of the course was tested in summer 1997, and fully implemented in the fall of 1997.

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