We have found your comments helpful throughout the semester, and we would like to benefit from your current, most mature opinions. You have the standard questionnaire from the College of Arts & Science, but that form must ask only general questions. We would like to ask for your help on more specific issues.

This questionnaire is totally anonymous. Since the web site is outside of WebCT (notice that you did not log in), your name will not be attached to your responses.

Space has been provided for comments regarding each item of the questionnaire, and you're highly invited to share your thoughts in words. Despite the apparent size of the boxes, there's no space limit.

The opportunity to make life in genetics more livable for those who will come after you is no doubt reward enough, but to show our appreciation for your efforts, we will pay you 10 points on the fourth exam for your time. To gain this token of our gratitude, simply answer "yes" to the question that will appear on your exam: Have you completed the questionnaire and turned in the standard evaluation?

Content of the course

1. Order of material: As you might have guessed from the text, molecular genetics is introduced late in most genetics courses. We introduced it early so that we could appeal to molecular concepts in understanding Mendelian genetics and so that we could talk about genetics as its is currently practiced (there is no pure Mendelian genetics anymore).

In retrospect, do you think the order was: Select One Very advantageous Advantageous Neutral Disadvantageous Very disadvantageous

2. Topics:

a. What topics do you find particularly interesting? Select one or more Structure of protein Structure of DNA DNA replication Genetic code Mendelian genetics Probability Chi-squared analysis Pedigrees Nonmendelian genetics Linkage/mapping lac operon eukaryotic gene regulation Drosophila development Nature of mutation Cancer Population genetics (To select multiple items press Ctrl while clicking mouse)	b. What topics seemed useless at the time but you now realize have made you a Better Person? Select one or more Structure of protein Structure of DNA DNA replication Genetic code Mendelian genetics Probability Chi-squared analysis Pedigrees Nonmendelian genetics Linkage/mapping lac operon eukaryotic gene regulation Drosophila development Nature of mutation Cancer Population genetics (To select multiple items press Ctrl while clicking mouse)	c. What topics still seem useless? Select one or more Structure of protein Structure of DNA DNA replication Genetic code Mendelian genetics Probability Chi-squared analysis Pedigrees Nonmendelian genetics Linkage/mapping lac operon eukaryotic gene regulation Drosophila development Nature of mutation Cancer Population genetics (To select multiple items press Ctrl while clicking mouse)

3. Workload: What do you think of the amount of work required of you for class? (don't consider the lab for this question) Select One Excessive A bit heavy Neutral A bit light Too little

If you thought there was too much work, were there too many concepts per unit time or too many problems? Select One Too many concepts Too many problems Other Not applicable

4. Textbook: What did you think of the textbook? Select One Very advantageous Advantageous Neutral Disadvantageous Very disadvantageous

5. Web notes: What did you think of the daily notes on the web? Select One Very advantageous Advantageous Neutral Disadvantageous Very disadvantageous

6. Genetics Home Page:
    a. Did the web page adequately prepare you for what to expect in this course? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all
    b.Did you make use of the Course-at-a-glance? Select One Often-it was useful At least once-it was useful At least once-it wasn't useful Didn't visit Other-see below
    c. Did you make use of the FAQ section? Select One Often-it was useful At least once-it was useful At least once-it wasn't useful Didn't visit Other-see below
    d. Did you make use of the Bulletin Board? Select One Often-it was useful At least once-it was useful At least once-it wasn't useful Didn't visit Other-see below
    e. Did you make use of the Links section? Select One Often-it was useful At least once-it was useful At least once-it wasn't useful Didn't visit Other-see below
    f. Did you make use of the Genetic Poetry section? Select One Often-it was useful At least once-it was useful At least once-it wasn't useful Didn't visit Other-see below
    g. Any suggestions?

7. Benefit of web: Overall, was the emphasis on the web beneficial? Select One Very advantageous Advantageous Neutral Disadvantageous Very disadvantageous

8. Problem solving: To the bottom line... To what extent do you feel you achieved the major objective of the course -- increasing your ability to analyze a problem and to seek out and apply what information is necessary for its solution? Select One Very much Some Neutral Not at all

Class Time

9. Problem Session Days: a. Did you find these days useful? Select One Very useful Useful Neutral Not very useful Useless b. Was focusing on just 3-4 problems useful? Select One Very advantageous Advantageous Neutral Disadvantageous Very disadvantageous c. Did you get timely help from faculty/TA's? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all

10. Quizzes: a. To be frank, the quizzes were primarily a carrot to get you to read the notes before class and to tell us where you needed help. Nonetheless, were the daily quizzes helpful to you in preparing for class? Select One Very useful Useful Neutral Not very useful Useless b. Can you suggest a way we could make better use of them?

11. Non Problem Session Days: a. Bear in mind that with a limited amount of time, giving more attention to one topic means giving less to another. With that in mind, how would you characterize the compromise we made on covering topics in class? Select One Very useful Useful Neutral Not very useful Useless b. From your personal vantage point, was it good that we called on individuals in class? Select One Excellent Good Neutral Not good Horrible c. What was your overall impression of the discussion-based format we used? Select One Very useful Useful Neutral Not very useful Useless d. Adding it all up -- presentations and discussion -- were these days useful to you? Select One Very useful Useful Neutral Not very useful Useless e. What would you consider the ideal class size for this course? Select One No more than 18 No more than 30 No more than 50 Doesn't matter f. Can you suggest better ways to encourage class discussion?

Problem Sets/Help

12. Problem Sets: a. In the end, do you feel that the problem sets were effective in helping you achieve the goals of the course? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. Were they an enjoyable or satisfying way of doing so? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all c. Hardly anyone took advantage of our offer to confirm your answers by e-mail and redirect you when you were off. Any alternative suggestions?

13. Office Hours: a. Was there an adequate choice of office hours (faculty + TAs) for you to gain help if you needed it? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. What prompted you to go to an office hour? Select one or more Had specific questions Sought confirmation of answers Hoped to gain from others' questions Lost Habit (To select multiple items press Ctrl while clicking mouse)

14. TAs:
Three people, who like you took Bio 213, returned to try to help those who came after them. If you think doing the problems were time consuming, just imagine if you had a test on them every week, in the form of students asking for help! They are therefore deserving of commendation for their courage. Since many of the TAs (like many of you) will someday be placed again in a position of helping others learn, they could profit by any feedback you may be able to provide.
a. I visited Garrett Griffith Select One Never 1 time 2-3 times 4-6 times > 6 times and found him Select One Very helpful Helpful Neutral Not very helpful No help at all
c. I visited Jennifer Lee Select One Never 1 time 2-3 times 4-6 times > 6 times and found her Select One Very helpful Helpful Neutral Not very helpful No help at all
e. I visited Karen Lewis Select One Never 1 time 2-3 times 4-6 times > 6 times and found her Select One Very helpful Helpful Neutral Not very helpful No help at all

Exams

15. Problem sets/exam relationship: Doing the problem sets was advertised as the royal road to success on the exams. In retrospect, did you found this claim to be true? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all

16. Exam format:
The exams were more harrowing than we would have liked (!). The reason, we feel, was the types of questions, questions that demanded that you analyze and integrate. Since we feel these questions get at the heart of what we'd like you to take away from the course (much more important than remembering which bases are purines and which are pyrimidines), we're left in a quandary.

a. Would you have preferred exams with fewer questions? Bear in mind that such an exam would leave many more important areas uncovered. Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. Do you think that the problem sets (or some other aspect of the course) could be changed to prepare you better for the exams? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all c. Would you prefer strictly timed exams during the class period? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all

17. Feedback on Exam:

a. Did you look at our responses to the exams that we posted on the web? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. If so, did you find them, along with any comments on your exams themselves, helpful? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all

18. Article summaries:
Twice during the semester, you were asked to find and summarize an article from the primary literature.

a. Did you feel you had enough instruction on the web and elsewhere on how to find an article? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. How did you locate your first article? Select One Computer search-topic of personal interest Computer search-general topic Journal table of contents Reference in other article Other c. Did you make use of the sample summaries on the web? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all d. Did you feel you had enough instruction on how to write a summary? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all e. In the end, how did you find this experience? Select One Very satisfying Satisfying Neutral Unsatisfying Very unsatisfying

19. The process of science
A major goal of this course was to get you to look at biology in a different way, as a process rather than a list of facts and concepts. We attempted to make this point throughout the semester by examining specific experiments and asking you to use experimental results to resolve the controversy surrounding the regulation of the lac operon by glucose. We asked that article summaries focus not on some interesting conclusion but on the route by which it was obtained, stressing the difference between a result and a conclusion.

This was a lot to ask of you, and no doubt this issue will return many times during the course of your scientific maturation. We'd like to know where you think you stand right now.

a. Did you find the focus on experiments throughout the course to be useful? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. Did you find the experience of trying to sort out opposing models concerning glucose regulation of lac to be useful? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all c. Do you feel comfortable now in distinguishing conclusions from results? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all d. In the end, how did you find this experience? Select One Very satisfying Satisfying Neutral Unsatisfying Very unsatisfying

Lab
20. Which labs did you find most valuable and why?

Serial dilution Isol/Char of plasmid DNA Fly lab (real) PC-Fly	Recomb/Complementation Regulation of lac Agro project

21. Which labs did you find least valuable and why?

Serial dilution Isol/Char of plasmid DNA Fly lab (real) PC-Fly

Recomb/Complementation Regulation of lac Agro project

22. Lab/class connection:

a. Did the lab complement the rest of the class? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. We hoped especially that Lab 2 (Isolation/Characterization of DNA) would be useful. Was it? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all

23. Writing lab reports:

a. The first lab was designed to virtually write itself. Did that help? Did you feel ready to write up the second lab? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. Do you feel now that you know how to write a lab report? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all c. What was useful to you in this regard?

24. Preparation for lab:

a. Did the weekly quizzes help you prepare for the lab? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. Did you generally walk into lab feeling prepared? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all c. What helped or would have helped in this regard?

25. Lab Manual:

a. Did the find the format of the lab manual useful? (Recall the boxes on the first page of each lab) Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. Did you find the content of the lab manual useful? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all

26. Lab Work Load:

a. How would you describe the work load in terms of the time required for doing lab work? Select One Excessive A bit heavy Neutral A bit light Too little b. How would you describe the work load in terms of the writing assignments? Select One Excessive A bit heavy Neutral A bit light Too little

27. Your lab instructor: Select One Brad Jeff Paula

General
28. Team teaching:

a. On balance, do you think it was a good thing for this course? Select One Very much so Yes Neutral No Not at all b. What were the key advantages and disadvantages?

29. Your bottom line -- What's hot: What do you like most or feel most satisfied about your experience? In what ways do you think your experiences in Genetics will be helpful in the near future at UR? In what ways helpful over the long term?

30. Your bottom line -- What's not: What do you like least or feel least satisfied about your experience?

31. Any particular comments/suggestions to Brad?

32. Any particular comments/suggestions to Jeff?

33. Any particular comments/suggestions to Paula?

34. Comments you'd like to make that don't fit anywhere else: