Advising 
Freshmen Intro Bio Courses
Intro Courses
BIOG 1101/1103-1102/1104 (Biological Sciences, Lectures and Laboratory)
This is a two-semester lecture/laboratory course (2 credits for each portion
each semester) designed for majors and others who want to obtain a thorough
knowledge of biology as part of their general education. Plant and animal materials
are considered together rather than as separate units of study. The fall semester
lectures (BIOG 1101) cover the chemical and cellular basis of life, energy
transformations, anatomy, physiology, plant morphology, neurobiology, and behavior.
The spring semester lectures (BIOG 1102) cover genetics, development, immunology,
invertebrate diversity, evolution, and ecology. Each topic covered is considered
in the light of modern evolutionary theory.
The main emphasis of the laboratory courses (BIOG 1103 and 1104) is on the methods used by scientists to discover new biological knowledge. Students design and perform investigations in many of the major areas of biology. In preparation for this, students are exposed to basic biological concepts, research methodologies, relevant data-analysis techniques and statistics, instrumentation, and laboratory techniques. Research projects include investigative design, data analysis, and communication of investigative results and conclusions. During the fall semester, dissection of a doubly-pithed frog is included. Pithing is done by the instructor.
In the past three years, the instructors of BiIOG 1101-1102 at Cornell have made an effort to convert the course from a fact-based course which largely relied on memorization of facts to a concept-based course that challenges the students to be able to apply facts, to be critical thinkers about biology. Although our exams now contain a majority of conceptual questions, we have found that the greatest limitation to student success is a lack of training and practice on how to apply information conceptually. Beginning in the Fall Semester of 2004, we will begin using a new lecture format that relies upon group learning (peer instruction - so named because the discussion among peers is so critical to the instruction process). A large part of the lecture will be dedicated to answering several concept-based questions. Answers will be collected and displayed using an electronic personal response system (PRS) - the required transmitters will be included with the purchase of the course text.
Once we get through the initial introductory period (probably after the first four lectures), a typical lecture topic will be treated as follows.
- At the end of each lecture period, about 5 minutes will be spent in a brief introduction to the topic that will covered in the next lecture period.
- Before coming to each lecture, students will download a lecture topic outline from the course web site. This outline will clearly state the learning objectives (typically 3-5 per lecture topic) and the facts associated with these objectives that we would like you to know before coming to lecture. The lecture topic outline will also include a reading assignment from the text or from supplementary materials available on the course web site that the students will be required to read and use to learn the facts and begin their thinking about the learning objectives.
- Each lecture will start with a 3-5 question quiz which will be based on the facts that the students were asked to learn from their reading assignment. Answers will be collected using the PRS as described above Scores from these lecture quizzes will count for about 10% of the final semester grade.
- The majority of lecture will be spent on three or four concept-based problems. The problems will require application of the factual information the students learned in their readings to aspects of biology that may not be covered in the text. The instructor will introduce each problem and the students will be given time to think about the problem and answer it using the PRS. The results will be tallied and displayed, and then the students will be given another chance to answer the question, but this time they are encouraged to discuss the problem with their peers (the peer instruction part). The results will then be tallied using the PRSs, displayed and then the instructor will discuss the results as a means of trying to aid the students in the process of critical thinking.
- After each pair of lectures, the students will be required to take an on-line quiz which will cover the conceptual material from that pair of lectures (and may also require that the student apply information from previous lectures as well). The intent of the on-line quiz is to permit the students to self-evaluate there preparation of these lecture topics for the examinations. The on-line quizzes will consist of 12-15 questions, primarily in multiple choice format, that will be very similar to those that they will encounter on the examinations. The on-line quizzes will count for about 10% of the final semester grade.
- There will be three examinations during the semester, two midterms (or prelim exams as we call them at Cornell) and a final. Each of the exams will cover roughly one third of the course material. They will be cumulative in that students will be asked to apply knowledge from the first third of the semester in the subsequent parts of the semester. The exams will be multiple choice questions that will ask the students to apply their knowledge, not simply to repeat facts that they have memorized. Each exam will include at least one case-based problem in which the students will evaluate information (text and graphic) in the context of the materials they have learned in the course.
Over the next two years, we expect to be making significant changes to our introductory biology courses at Cornell. Whenever changes are made, it is possible that things will not always go as planned. We pledge to ensure that no students will be penalized for any aspect of the course that does not go as anticipated. Our goal is to make this the best learning experience for introductory biology as we can. We encourage and appreciate your comments along the way. Come prepared for a different way of learning, practicing and appreciating biology.
BIOG 1105-1106 (Introductory Biology, Individualized Instruction)
- Instructor: Darlene Campbell (dc78@cornell.edu), 255-1976, 209 Stimson Hall
- Course Office: Anne Plescia (acp3@cornell.edu), 255-7642, 201A Stimson Hall
- Study Center: 205 Stimson Hall
- Labs: 301 & 306 Stimson Hall
- Email: biog1105-1106@cornell.edu
- Course contract, core unit and lab material: http://www.biog1105-1106.org
- Announcements, reserve readings, gradebook: http://blackboard.cornell.edu/
- Flock and lab section enrollment: http://fit.cit.cornell.edu/biog105/student/
BIOG 1105-1106 is an introductory course designed for biology majors, preprofessionals, and other students wishing a challenging, broad introduction to fundamental concepts of biology. Physiology, anatomy (accompanied by appropriate dissections), and biochemistry are strongly emphasized in the fall semester. Subjects of study in the spring term include genetics, development, ecology, evolution, behavior, and the diversity of organisms.
BIOG 1105-1106 is taught in a modified PSI (personalized system of instruction) format. Students are given specific objectives for each unit, which they use as a guide for learning the material in the textbook, course study guide, and demonstrations. After a student has prepared, he or she takes a short written quiz followed by an oral examination during which the student's mastery of the material is judged as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If the performance is unsatisfactory, the student must restudy the material and take another test. Teaching assistants are available during the day and some evening and weekend hours for tutoring and testing. The course is self-paced - that is, within prescribed limits the student can choose when he or she wishes to be examined on a unit of work. This gives considerable flexibility in fitting in the work of the course with the demands of other courses. However, deadlines are provided to prevent procrastination.
Two formal laboratory sessions requiring written reports, one laboratory session evaluated by means of a practical examination, and a Microscopy Lab will be offered in the fall term. Additional laboratory work is included in the core units and is self-paced. For example, students will do a detailed dissection of the white rat. Four formal laboratories are offered spring semester. Because of the strong emphasis on organismal biology, there are dissections. No student is required to do a dissection if they have moral or ethical objections, but every student must attend a laboratory and all students must take the same examination, which will involve the use of previously dissected specimens. Students who object to dissections may opt to take BIOG 1101-1104. Grades in BIOG 1105-1106 are based on written quizzes and mastery of the core material (assessed via oral tests), laboratory reports or practical exams, and a comprehensive final exam.
Students should reserve TUESDAYS at 9:05-9:55 am for lectures and small group discussion sections. However, the first lecture/organizational meeting of the course is always on Thursday, the first day of the Fall Term, at 9:05-9:55 am. Attendance is required. This is a one-time-only Thursday lecture; subsequent meetings are held on Tuesdays at 9:05-9:55 am. Laboratories are scheduled individually throughout the semester; labs range from 2 ½-4 hours and are offered evenings and weekends, as well as during regular weekday hours.
Each student will be assigned a deadline schedule for completing the ten core units. All students will have a deadline for Unit 1 during the first week of classes. EVERY STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE HIS OR HER COMMITMENT TO THE COURSE BY PASSING THE UNIT 1 TEST BY THEIR DEADLINE DAY. STUDENTS FAILING TO DO SO WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE IN THE COURSE.
The BIOG 1105-1106 Study Center opens at NOON on the first day of classes. To prepare for testing on Unit 1, obtain a copy of the textbook, Biology, 2008 (8th edition) by Campbell and Reece and a copy of the BIOG 1105 Survival Manual (available at The Cornell Store). Carefully read "Course Information" in the Manual and then begin your study of Unit 1 using the concepts and objectives. The objectives provide a focus for the study of each unit and form the basis for unit quizzes. When you feel prepared to take a Unit 1 test, or if you have questions on the unit objectives, come to the BIOG 1105-1106 Study Center, located at the left end of the second floor of Stimson Hall. (Note: pdfs of the first three units for the Fall Term are available on the course website during the summer: http://www.biog1105-1106.org.)
BIOG 1109-1110 (Biological Principles)
This is a two-semester course designed for nonmajors. There are three lectures per week. The subject material is comparable to that in BIOG 1101-1102, but there is less emphasis on terminology and more emphasis on topics of general interest. The text is shorter, requiring less reading. The exams are also similar in format to those given in BIOG 1101-1102. Grades are based on two prelims, laboratory, and a comprehensive final exam. S-U grades are not permitted.
The main difference between the majors' and nonmajors' courses is in the laboratory. Laboratory sections enable small groups of students to meet with the course staff and are used for problem-solving experiments, demonstrations, and discussions. Since the laboratory meetings do not emphasize experimental design and only meet every other week, the focus is for nonmajors rather than biology majors. For this reason, students in a pre-med, experimental-psychology, or nutrition program, or any other field in which laboratory experience might be important, should not choose BIOG 1109-1110.
Although many upper-level biology courses require a year of introductory biology for majors or special permission of the instructor, there are many biology courses that can be taken after BIOG 1109-1110, including Biochemistry, Ecology, Genetics, Microbiology, and Plant Biology.
