A New Integrated Introductory Biology and Chemistry Course
Craig T. Woodard
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075
IV. Labs
Lab 1: Diversity of life in the water: Sept 11-13
Lab 2: Pond water chemistry Sept 18-20
Lab 3: Microbial metabolic diversity I Sept 25-27
Lab 4: Microbial metabolic diversity II Oct 2-4
Lab 5: Visualizing atoms and atomic spectroscopy Oct 1618
Lab 6: Modeling and molecular spectroscopy: Chlorophyll
Oct 23-25
I. Introduction
The interfaces of disciplines are becoming increasingly
important. Educating students to tackle problems at
these interfaces includes helping them combine ideas
from multiple areas. Being creative in combining
knowledge is the mark of a true thinker. In the past, we
have been disappointed by the extent to which our
students make connections between their introductory
biology and chemistry courses. We are trying to
overcoming this problem by changing the presentation
of the first year curriculum to be different enough from
what students have seen that they really learn the art of
observation, model making, experimental design, and
model revising. With funding from our HHMI
Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program
grant, we have developed a new integrated introductory
biology/chemistry course, entitled Biological Sciences
160/Chemistry 160. We are teaching the course for the
first time this fall (2006).
Lab 7:Molecular orbitals and molecular structures Oct 30Nov 1
Lab 8: Consumption of oxygen I: endotherms and
ectotherms Nov 6-8
Lab 9: Consumption of oxygen II: human metabolic rate
Nov 13-15
Lab 10: Consumption of oxygen III: independent project
Nov 27-29
Lab 11: Analysis of data Dec 4-6
Students in the lab component of the course
collected water samples from a pond on campus.
They then did a microscopic survey of the
organisms in the water.
V. Course Details
A. Staffing
1 faculty from Biology and 1 from Chemistry,
plus 1 full-time lab instructor/preparator
II. The New Course
B. Student Registration
Students register for the course as two separate
courses, and receive academic credit for two
full courses (1 Biology, 1 Chemistry). Students
receive two separate grades - one for the
Biology course and one for the Chemistry
course.
The course consists of biology and chemistry classes that
meet back-to-back in the same room, and share common
themes. In addition, there is one discussion session per
week, and a lab that meets one afternoon per week. The
course introduces students to some of the core concepts,
languages, and frameworks of both biology and
chemistry, preparing them for further study in biology
and/or chemistry. By treating both subjects together, we
emphasize the ways in which chemistry informs biology,
and biology exemplifies fundamental chemical principles.
In the process, this course also helps students develop
and hone their quantitative problem solving skills, as well
as their ability to analyze and describe experimental data.
All of these objectives are met through lecture,
discussion, readings, problem sets, and hands-on work in
the laboratory.
C. Class Size
There are currently 45 students enrolled in
Biological Sciences 160/Chemistry 160
The next week in lab, the students did a chemical
analysis of the pond water.
III. Course Units
The course is divided into three units:
Unit #1 (9/8-10/6): Diversity in the biological and chemical
worlds
VI. Assessment of the Course
The students in Biological Sciences 160/Chemistry
160 will be given an assessment exam, and an
assessment survey upon completion of the course. In
addition, the academic performance of each student
will be tracked after her completion of the course. The
control group will be the group of students
concurrently enrolled in the traditional introductory
biology and chemistry courses.
Unit #2 (10/11-11/20): Oxygen: A case study in the
relationship between molecular structure and biological
function
Unit #3 (11/27-12/13): Temperature and energy in biological
and chemical systems
VII. Acknowledgments
The integrated Biology/Chemistry course,
Biological Sciences 160/Chemistry 160, is
currently being taught (Fall 2006) by Sean
Decatur and Gary Gillis. Amy Springer is
teaching the labs.
The course was developed by Sarah Bacon,
Sue Barry, Wei Chen, Donnie Cotter, Sean
Decatur, Amy Frary, Gary Gillis, Maria Gomez,
Megan Nunez, Sharon Stranford, and Craig
Woodard. Thanks to Leszek Bledzki and Maria
Bledzka for all their help.
Syllabus for Unit 2: Oxygen: A case study in the
relationship between molecular structure and
biological function
This project is supported by Howard Hughes
Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate
Biological Sciences Education Program Grant
#52005134.