Professor: Holowinsky Course format: Lecture w/lab Number of respondents: 18 Total Enrollment: 18

Class Composition Froshs: 13 Sophs: 4 Jrs: 1 Srs: 0 Concs: 5 Non-Concs: 5 Don't Know: 6	Instructor Average: 1.71 Course Average: 1.88

"Biological Timekeeping" examines the different types of rhythms that exist in the field of biology. This course studies the mechanisms by which biological rhythms operate, as well as the factors that can influence these mechanisms. The informal prerequisite is Bio 20 or the equivalent as placement. Some students also mentioned that a little general knowledge in biochemistry is necessary to understand the technical material involved in the journal readings.

Professor Holowinsky was well-liked by most reviewers. He was praised as a warm and knowledgeable man. Students found him to be a clear and effective professor, although he often moved too slowly for the class. Similarly, while he encouraged questions, he did not always answer these questions specifically. In general, though, students found him to be a very easy professor to work with. They appreciated his sense of humor and his friendliness. He was very approachable both in and after class and was overwhelmingly called a really nice guy.

Students spent an average of three to four hours a week on this course. There was no textbook for the class and reading came mostly from handouts. A great deal of this reading consisted of journal articles; many complained that these articles were very technical and extremely difficult to understand. Three take-home exams were given in this course, each consisting of two essays. In addition, a five to ten page research paper was assigned for the end of the semester. A lab component for this course also existed. While students felt that, overall, the workload was manageable, they did mention that a disproportionate amount of time was spent on this class towards the end of the semester doing the lab report, research paper, and studying for the final.

In retrospect, many students wished that this class was more challenging. While the learned a great deal about the subject, they felt that they could have learned a great deal more if the professor had not moved at such a slow pace. They did feel that reading the journal articles gave them good practice in understanding technical reading.

Students recommended this course for several reasons. They liked the topic and they liked the professor. More importantly, they felt this was a good introductory biology course as an alternative to Bio 20.

View BI/0019 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.