Intro Courses

Every professor at the California State University is expected to help with the load of introductory courses that service the many undergraduates in biology. They are also expected to initiate new more graduate-level courses in their research specialty area. For the wise professor, it is the introductory courses that are the most excellent way to get to know the students and to identify and stimulate the best students interested in biological research. Here are some of the courses regularly taught by this author:

Life Science (Bio 110) – Basic concepts in the study of living systems. Uses the study of biology to illustrate approaches of science in understanding the universe. The role of science in modern society and the impact of human civilization on other organisms is considered.

Life Science Laboratory (Bio 111) – A non-majors biology laboratory course. A basic understanding of living organisms and their life processes, as well as their interactions with one another and the environment. Learning is achieved through presentations, experiments, activities and demonstrations.

Basic Biology (Bio 115) and Lab (Bio 115L) – An introductory-level general education course designed to support students in majors that require fundamental knowledge of living systems and their relationships with the world about them, including attention to diverse life forms, ecology, and evolution.

Vertebrate Zoology (Zoo 138) andLab (Zoo 138L) –Introduction to the evolution, phylogenetics, anatomy, physiology, and natural history of vertebrates.

Genetics (Bio 303) – The flow of genetic information involving DNA, RNA and protein. Introduction to patterns of inheritance, transmission (Mendelian) genetics, nuclear structure, mechanisms of gene expression, genomics, molecular genetics and recombinant DNA technology.

Evolution (was Bio 213) (now Bio 413) – A study of biological evolution as a natural process resulting in the generation of biodiversity and ultimately the origin of humans. Overview of the basic principles of scientific knowledge and the history of evolutionary thinking, leading to the development of the modern Theory of Evolution. Review of the origin and history of life on Earth and the fossil record. Analysis of evolutionary processes at the molecular, organismal, and ecosystem levels.