Professor: Beale, Mowry Course format: Lecture w/section Number of respondents: 46 Total Enrollment: 96 Class Composition: Froshs: 0 Sophs: 29 Jrs: 32 Srs: 31 Concs: 18 Non-Concs: 25 Don't Know: 3

Instructor Average: 1.84 Course Average: 1.70

As its title implies, “Introductory Biochemistry” offers interested students a chance to delve into the nature of biochemical mechanisms and the macromolecular principles upon which they are founded. The official prerequisite for this course is one semester of organic chemistry, in most cases Chem 35. However, most correspondents indicate that a background in biology would be extremely helpful, suggesting either Bio 20 or Bio 47 as possibilities.

In contrast to the typical class at Brown, the teaching of BI28 was a group effort; Professor Beale and Mowry each offering their own particular insight into the course material. In general, class members offered an extremely wide spectrum of opinion regarding the professors’ performance. Most agreed that both were clear and overall concise lecturers, especially with the use of Power Point presentations. However, many survey participants complained that both professors went much too fast during lecture, especially when using the overhead to project slides. As a result, many maintained that they were rather hard to follow despite the clarity of their lecture styles. Reviewers indicate that both professors tried to be responsive to individual student needs but their intense pace made this virtually impossible.

In terms of assigned readings, most everyone maintained that there was an excessive amount. Some noted that the class eventually became an exercise in memorizing an extremely dense textbook word for word. Other coursework for this class consisted of three midterm examinations and one cumulative final. By and large, most students felt that this grading criterion was fair and manageable given a significant amount of self-motivation.

On average, prospective students can expect to devote anywhere from 5 to 8 hours per week on work for this class, some reviewers spending upwards of 10 hours weekly. Of course, this figure increased substantially when there was a midterm or final approaching. Most students expected an extreme time commitment prior to enrollment and still were shocked by the heavy workload BI28 provided. Most reviewers indicate that this is a course to be taken by pre-meds as a requirement or at the very least students with an passionate interest in the subject area. If this sounds familiar, “Introductory Biochemistry” just may be the course for you.

View BI/0028 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.