Dear student,
I am Kevin Cummins, a professional biologist, substance use researcher, and statistician. I will be your professor for Biological Statistics (Biol 200). Together we will learn how to use the tools for building quantitative evidence. That is the heart of science, which is why most life science majors are required to take a course covering biostatistics.
We will cover fewer topics and details than other biology courses. Statistics can be subtle, sophisticated, and rich, so we spend more effort on individual topics. Unlike other professors' statistics courses, each student's effort will be customized to her or his needs. I focus the curriculum on key foundational topics followed by a small set of exemplar statistical models, rather than providing a surface treatment of a broad set of statistical tools (which you may never use). Don't worry about missing out; at the end of the semester my students are prepared for the acquisition of new tools on an as needed basis. We do less, but more intensive work, compared to other biostatistics courses.
We utilize, develop, and practice creative skills, integrative thinking, patient problem solving, and apply the concepts and tools to authentic and real situations. There are opportunities to assist in the analysis of data from cutting edge biomed research projects. The course is not particularly difficult, but is truly college level.
You will be entering a career world where being degreed will not be enough for you to be successful. You will need to be well educated and capable of continuously learning throughout your career. I want to help prepare you. I even hope that some of you will work in one of my laboratories. You will be ready. This can’t always be said about students who took other biostatistics classes (and those students likely studied more than you will). They took courses with a focus on hand computation, on an overly broad surface level survey of statistical tools, or were designed to entertain as primary objective, rather than educate.
You select the grade you are working toward in Biol 200, so you only do the work that is applicable to that grade level. Your skills are assessed weekly and you get plenty of second chances. If you demonstrate basic competency with a topic you get credit. If you fall short, you can try again. There are no surprises. Some students can even get through the entire semester taking “exams” composed of questions they were given ahead of time.
Ken Bain describes three types of learning approaches encountered in a college classroom:
surface learners, who seek to do the minimum to get by,
strategic learners, who aim for top grades rather than true understanding, and
deep learners, who focus on understanding and leave college with a rich education.
Students using a deep learning approach generally find Biol 200 as a welcome relief. They are productive, enjoy the class, and later recognize the utility of their acquired skills. The way assessments are structured in Biol 200, strategic learning is synonymous with deep learning. There is no gaming the system and students cannot game/fake/grub their way to a grade. Instead students work toward developing competencies. Students with a history of obtaining good grades using surface learning must adjust at the outset of the semester. To pass the course every student should know, understand, be able to apply, and articulate the connections between the foundational topics. This is achievable, but not without effort.
The Dean of Math and Sciences, Saeid Eidgahy, expects faculty to provide educational opportunities equivalent to any top university. Indeed, many of you will go on to top undergraduate universities and graduate schools. My students learn the same core material at the same depth as students in top universities, but you will be better off because you will leave with fewer misconceptions. This is because we have a small class and I issue frequent written assessments. I can get to know each and every student's thinking and I give frequent and comprehensive feedback. I mentor undergraduates and graduates from many departments at UCSD regarding statistical programming, study design, analysis and the presentation of results. You will be more prepared and expend less effort than many of them. There is one caveat; you can't wait to apply our effort. You benefit from keeping up with the work and studying at a consistent pace throughout the week.
The most efficient and successful students in Biology 200 tend to have:
- enough time to study,
- have good planning and time management skills,
- accept that making mistakes is part of the learning process, and
- willingness to persevere if you hit a rough spot.
Turns out that items 2-4 are desirable traits for many endeavors. The first, is a structural issue. The rule of thumb is about 2-3 hours a week of studying for every unit, as a minimum, for a student engaging a college level course. If you don’t have 9 hours a week to give to Biology 200 then maybe the timing is not right for you to take this course (much of that time will be spent working on the "take-home" quiz problems).
From Maths for Science, "... the only route to fluency is use and practice. There are few shortcuts: the route requires practice, practice, and more practice!"
If you have the time and the experience or desire to be a deep learner you will leave Biology 200 with a useful set of tools that will give you the opportunity to look at science, and everyday life, in an entirely different way. Students with only surface level study skills, and unwilling to adapt, or without the necessary time for the course are often distressed.
The course is important, stimulating, and fun.
I hope to make this our best semester. I look forward to diving into the heart of science with you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Cummins
Adjunct Professor of Biology
San Diego Mesa College
collegestem.us
Senior Statistician
NCANDA Project
Univeristy of California, San Diego
ncanda.org