Professor: Coleman Course format: Lecture w/lab Number of respondents: 23 Total Enrollment: 32

Class Composition Froshs: 17 Sophs: 4 Jrs: 6 Srs: 5 Concs: 4 Non-Concs: 10 Don't Know: 6	Instructor Average: 2.22 Course Average: 2.34

"The Life of Birds" uses birds as the subject matter by which the to explore the field of biology. General biological principles are, thus, exemplified by the structures, functions, and adaptations of birds. No prerequisites are required and students with absolutely no background in biology should be very comfortable taking this course.

Professor Coleman received favorable reviews. She was not always organized, but her laid-back style was much appreciated by respondents. They found Coleman to be very entertaining and enthusiastic. She used a great deal of slides and overheads, but did a good job of integrating all of these tools into a cohesive lecture. Coleman was also very talented at giving a lot of examples that helped students understand the material. Their one wish was that she would involve students more in class discussion.

The light workload for this course meant that students spent only one or two hours a week on this class. Two quizzes were given in-class and one quiz was a take-home quiz. No midterm was given. The final evluation included a final exam and a research paper of ten pages in length. Labs were also required in this course. Most respondents felt that Coleman was a very fair grader; they were also not overwhelmed by the requirements of this course.

The requirements for this course were very straightforward and were appreciated by the students. In addition, most found the labs to be very interesting and not overly time-consuming. The reading was neither time-consuming nor challenging. Most students compalined, in fact, that they wished this course was more challenging.

Students recommended this course for two types of students. The first is those students with an interest in birds. Secondly, the class is recommended for those students with no biology background who wanted to take a course in the department. The class allowed the students to learn about biology in a relatively laid-back and easy-to-follow manner.

View BI/0019 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.