Course Description

Biology 1B is part of the two-semester General Biology sequence required for majors in the sciences. The course includes Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology with a focus on plant reproduction form and function. The lab portion of the course engages students in the process of science, from making detailed and informative observations, to hypotheses, experimentation, and interpretation.

Creative Discovery Course Grant Experience

The students created video reports of their lab exercise instead of the standard written report format. The students used this exercise with the 3 colorimeters purchased with the Creative Discovery Course Grant. We've used these colorimeters in successive semesters as well. With online courses this semester and who knows how long, we haven't been able to conduct outdoor Biology labs in person during the COVID-19 lockdown.

I enjoyed the opportunity to try new ways to engage our General Biology students with a more free-form opportunity to investigate nature. The use of the colorimeters really helped target the problem of chlorine being introduced into Strawberry Creek and raised the awareness of students about anthropogenic pollution sources. Students actually enjoyed creating video reports of their investigation. I hope to try more of these exercises in the future thanks to your support.