Microbiology, Bi 234
Assessment Survey
(My comments follow a summary of a students question or concern starting with a hyphen.)
1. What was the muddiest point (or most unclear point) in the lecture? Please describe in detail what it was, and if possible why you are unclear about it and any suggestions on how I could have taught the topic better.
There were a number of answers, but this question was the least answered in the survey.
One student was concerned with what they would learn because of the “volume” being covered. The muddy points that arise on tests, homework, and etc. cannot be clarified because of future class cheating. –First, I am unaware of any cheating and if this is a concern of yours, you should bring it to my attention. I am also unsure why that would interfere with the clarification of a muddy point, and suggest you see me about clarifying your muddy points. Second, as for the volume being covered, I do not get to choose the topics that are to be covered in microbiology. PCC is required by the State of Oregon to cover certain topics and I am not an exception. Rather than detailing these topics here, I will provide a link to them.
(This is a funny link, so right click on the link and then open it.)
One student thought the lithotrophs and chemosynthetic bacteria were the muddiest point. –In simple terms, the chemosynthetic bacteria get their energy source from inorganic chemicals instead of from sunlight or organic molecules like sugar. Lithotrophs are a chemoheterotroph that get their energy from an inorganic molecule instead of an organic molecule (which is an organotroph).
One student said the currently had no unclear points, but when they do, they look them up personally. –Good for you! This is proactive learning and is for many the best way to remember and learn. Learners do not need a teacher, and any student can challenge a course instead of taking it at PCC, but for many, teachers are an easier way to learn and few students challenge our courses.
One student said that some of the host defenses were their muddiest point. -Without further details, I cannot offer any clarification.
One student said they were most unclear about the “Cascade compliment.” -The “Complement Cascade” is a complex topic. Basically, there are 9 compliment proteins in the blood that when they become activated, help defend the host against invaders, particularly eubacteria Gram negative cells. They are a cascade because when one becomes activated, it activates others, which activate others, which attract and help attach phagocytes to the invader, aid in inflammation, and form holes in the membranes of the invading cells. Take a look at my figure in Host defense part I.
Another student also said it was the Complement Cascade and they were unsure why it did not go 1-9 (sic., c1-c9?). Also that they thought that “we did not have to fully grasp the chart...maybe not include it in the midterm (it was still hard to get in the book).”
–First, the complement cascade does not work in the order c1 to c2 to... down to c9. This is the way that they are named and they were probably named in the order that they were discovered. They work in the order as outlined in the figure, and where it starts depends on what pathway you are talking about. Curiously, c5, c6, c7, c8, and c9 do work in the order of their numbering. Second, I do not recall saying anything about fully grasping the figure. I thought I said that you did not have to memorize the figure because I said that if I asked a question about it I would provide the figure, but that you would have to understand the figure enough to explain the question using the figure.
One student said that retroviruses were their muddiest point. –Retroviruses are viruses with a single strand RNA with a positive strand and an envelope. They have a unique enzyme, reverse transcriptase, that allows them to copy their RNA into DNA, and then this viral DNA integrates permanently into the chromosome of an infected cell. The retrovirus copies itself and buds out of a cell. HIV is the only retrovirus we discussed in any detail.
Another student said animal and retroviruses and talking about things that we do not need to know for exams was their muddiest point. -First, sometimes it is good thing to have a good rounded education and I generally try to only mention things that you do not need to know when I think it will peak your interest. Yet, sometimes I know that I know so many fascinating topics that I get carried away and get side tracked. That is why I try to stick closely to my lecture notes, to make sure that only specific topics and all of those topics are covered due to our time constraints. Second, without further details, I cannot easiy clarify your confusion about animal viruses. (See above for retroviruses.)
One student said it was distinguishing between the lytic and lysogenic life cycle. -Please see my video in Viruses I that explains this topic.
Another student said their muddiest point was why a lysogenic virus shits to a lytic virus. –Good question, it has been studied for many years, and they still are not sure why a virus shifts its life cycle. You do not need to know this, but, sometimes the shift is because the host cell DNA gets damaged, which somehow triggers the lytic life cycle. Yet, in most cases, they simply do not know why the virus changes its life cycle.
One student said that host defenses II and metabolism were confusing and not written well. –Without more details, I cannot comment. Not written well? Do you mean the long notes? One of the lessons does not really have long notes yet, just my lecture notes, so, yes, it is not written in sentences, it is a detailed outline. Sorry about that. I was hoping to get it completed this term, but I had to do a major revision on most of my lessons and having to update three versions of the notes (your outline, my outline, and your long notes) just took too long to do.
One student said host defenses I, because they had too little time to study it because it was added to midterm 2 the class before the test. -First, I do not recall changing the schedule and the material covered as outlined in the class schedule said that midterm 2 covered weeks 1-6. As Host defenses I was in week 6, it should have been expected to be on midterm 2. Second, according to my notes, we were slightly ahead of schedule and started Host Defenses I early. Third, it is generally my policy to have an exam cover material a week prior to the exam, which is why I threw out homework 4 from midterm 2, it will instead be on the final. Yet, because I teach two microbiology classes, sometimes compromises have to be made because different classes have different days off meaning that I have to work with two schedules. Sorry about that.
One student states that they really do not find anything unclear because they do the readings beforehand to get a general understanding before coming to lecture. –Micah Jordan, the former chair of Biology emphasized this philosophy and encouraged his students to follow it. I encourage my students to follow whatever works best for them.
One student said that their muddiest point was that their instructor was reading the long notes to the class instead of lecturing and interacting with the students. –I am confused why this is a muddiest point, but I was not aware that I read from my notes. I generally like to pace while I lecture and go to a picture and point something out, and I for one cannot read and walk. Also, the long notes were made for my students. They are too detailed for my use. I generally use a more detailed version of your outline which can be quickly scanned. And yes, I look up specific facts on my notes. I do not want to teach you misinformation, and I have little interest in memorizing exactly how many people are infected with a given disease and exactly which drug cures which disease. (I have always said that I am not a clinician, now you know I am also not an epidemiologist. Besides, each of these “facts” change with time.) I also have discovered that if I do not stay close to my notes that I tend to wander and talk about things off topic and we do not have time for that. Yes, this means I have 3 versions for each lesson which is a real pain if they have to be updated! I have been tempted to delete the long notes! It would make my life easier and I would not have students always asking for them earlier that I provide them. I am sure that deleting would be greatly appreciated by my students! ;)
One student said cell physiology. -I am not sure how to clarify this broad topic, but we covered little cell physiology and that was early in the term so it will not be on the final.
One student said their muddiest point was ambiguous language, especially on exam 1. -If something is ambiguous, I would encourage you to seek clarification. Exam 1 was a take-home exam over a week, so you had amble opportunity.
One student said that their muddiest point was “knowing what exactly” they will be tested over. “The questions seem to be all over the place ...” –I have said repeatedly that I will hold you responsible for everything that is covered in lecture (unless I say otherwise), but only for general topics from the readings. This means that you have to know everything from the lectures no matter how unimportant it might seem to be to some. You can and will be tested over all of it. How do you prepare for this, well, some do it in different ways. You can memorize everything, but realize it has to be retained in long term memory and this takes time. Some repeatedly go over their notes (which is why it is good to have your own notes). Perhaps the easiest way to learn this material is to think like a microbiologist, and then you do not have to memorize everything, you can usually figure out the answer. Yet, none of you that I am aware of are planning on becoming a microbiologist. Even so, you can still learn to think like a microbiologist. Most of you are taking this class because it is required for a program that you are trying to enter. So, you should ask yourself why it isrequired by your program. Do you really need to know how to make a Gram stain or use a microscope in your profession? I and the other microbiology instructors know that the answer is no, and we have asked ourselves what topics should we teach. This class is the hardest biology class you can take a PCC and for many of you it will be your hardest class that you will ever take. It is this way because the programs that require microbiology want it to be that way, otherwise they would ask us to design a class specifically for allied health students instead of a class designed for microbiologists. Wherever possible, we do try to discuss aspects of microbiology as related to the health professions, such as the disease aspects of microbiology and nosocomial infections, but we have to meet the state requirements for microbiology.
Another student said the lectures are not the muddiest point, but that I (the lecturer) am. That I need to listen to my students and do reviews and tell them exactly what “areas to focus on.” Do not listen to what the research says on how to teach a class. Also, have more questions or make the questions only worth 1 point. –As discussed above, you need to focus “exactly” on everything in the lecture. Sorry, but as I have said repeatedly, I will hold you responsible for everything that we cover in the lecture. I have considered having a review page as I do for the lab, but as it would have to include everything from the lecture; it would be similar to the notes which I have or will make available to you. The final will have more questions than the midterms, which had to be limited in number due to time constraints. As for changing the points, it would not really matter because the exams are worth 40% of your grade as outlined in the syllabus. I realize that it is open to interpretation if I am listening to my students so I will not comment on it. I am not sure it would be a good idea to listen to some students who disagree with the research on how to effectively teach a class, but I am willing to talk about it during my office hours. And if I really am your muddiest point, you should think about what that means to your education and what you can do about it because it is a huge topic that should be of great concern and I am unable to speak to you about this from an anonymous source.
One student said the Kreb cycle is their muddiest point. The Krebs cycle is one of a three part cycle (glycolysis, the preportary step and the Krebs cycle, and the electron transfer chain) on how an organism that uses aerobic respiration burns the products of glycolysis into carbon dioxide and water to obtain energy (which is mostly obtained in the electron transfer chain). I did not require you to memorize it the way my microbiology instructor did (including the enzymes and reactions) and it will not be on the final.
One student implied that they are an ELL student and said that their muddiest point was that they sometimes mistake my meaning and/or pronunciation and asked if I would make my long notes available. I understand your difficulty and I do try to give most major pronunciations of scientific words because I understand that different people say words differently. The long notes will be made available to you. You should understand that you have a real disadvantage compared to native speakers and I encourage you to work on your English, because I am sure that this is not the first class that this has been a problem and it will not be your last. I also encourage you to seek clarification. I cannot help you if you do not ask for it.
One student said that the notes are not completely clear and not complete in regards to studying for an exam. Also, homework focuses on more than one chapter and this frustrates them. -If something is unclear in your notes, you should check the text or ask in class. If something is unclear in the long notes, then I encourage you to seek clarification from me. The notes are meant to only cover what we cover in the lecture, not what is covered in the reading. If you want a quick review of the text reading, you should check the chapter summary at the end of every chapter or make your own notes as you read the text. As for the homework, I am unsure if it would be better to have a homework assignment for each chapter instead of my lumping related topics together so that there are a total of four homework assignments. This would increase the number of assignments.
One student said hw4. -If something is unclear in the homework, then I encourage you to seek clarification from me. You have one week, so even clarification by email is possible.
One student said the muddiest point was ATP production, saying that they wish the review would have been thorough. –I thought we had a pretty thorough review of aerobic respiration, which is the way we make most of our ATP. I only briefly discuss the alternative strategies by comparing them to aerobic respiration because if I had discussed each one thoroughly, to cover all of them would have taken days. Anyway, this topic will not be on the final.
2. Name one thing you do not like about my teaching. What would you suggest I try.
This question was the most answered question in the survey and had the most colorful responses.
A few said that they do not like my withholding the long notes. -I should point out that except for Amy, I am unaware of any other microbiology instructors at PCC that make such notes available at all. I have also explained my reasoning in an email sent to the class.
One student did not like the amount of time allotted to the presentations. I think they are talking mostly about the one group presenting/class rather than the time. They further said that they were discouraged because “there is not an equal opportunity for everyone.” -We do have a tight schedule and severe time constraints. I did allow two groups to present during the labs that I substituted, but no one signed up for it. As far as I am aware, everyone who wanted to be a part of a presentation is or will be, so I am not sure why the opportunity is not equal for everyone.
One student said they did not like the focus for testing, suggesting that I emphasize certain topics or use a study guide. –I think the goals do put an emphasis on certain topics. As for a study guide, I provide the long notes. Perhaps the real complaint is that I am holding you responsible for everything in the lecture and for general topics in the text. I am unlikely to change on this and PCC is if anything considering becoming even more intensive in microbiology. Because of this, a study guide would need to be as extensive as the long notes and that is why I have never made one(besides the long notes).