Undergraduate Participation in Cutting Edge Life Science Research

Alice Barkan, Department of Biology and the Institute of Molecular Biology

Biology and Biochemistry students in this class will engage in original research, using state-of-the-art technologies. The research experience in the university’s world-renowned Institute of Molecular Biology will offer a capstone experience that can serve as a stepping stone to graduate research or post-graduation employment in a research setting.

A Sense of Where You Are—The Meaning of Place

Christopher Bell, Architecture and Allied Arts Historic Preservation Program

Taught by a seasoned cast of scholars including architects, planners, archivists and preservationists, this interdisciplinary course will use the University of Oregon campus itself, to explore the “meaning of place” by examining the forces that shaped the campus and that are reflected in the physical environment around us.  The class is designed to inspire students to “read their physical setting” and to develop a continuing curiosity about the settings that humankind creates.

Undergraduate Investigations of the Pedagogy of Science

Mark Carrier, Department of Biology

Students in this class will not only study biology but also consider what it means to teach biology and life sciences.  Teams of students will assemble the materials required to teach a class on a chosen topic, choose readings for that topic from the research literature and then teach the topic to other students in the class.  Teaching and learning are inextricably bound together and introspection about this relationship strengthens the teacher and the learner.

Tropical Coastal Biology in Panama

Richard B. Emlet and Janet Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

Providing a capstone experience for students completing their first year at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, this course that will be taught partially at the Bocus Marine Station in Panama, will focus on tropical habitats and the interconnections between organisms and these habitats. 

Enhancing Visual Science Learning Through Student Photography

Marli Bryant Miller, Department of Geological Sciences, and
Ann Craig, Museum of Natural and Cultural History

Bringing together science and art, students in this small seminar will use the artistry of photography to illuminate geology in ways that go beyond the lecture/lab curriculum.  Students will learn the nuances of photography, write descriptions of their work that will ultimately become part of the ongoing collection of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. 

The Virtual Discussion Section—Chemistry

Randy Sullivan, Department of Chemistry

Complementing lecture and lab learning, a new “Virtual Discussion Section” will be added to a general chemistry sequence.  Students will use real-time and online discussions to learn problem-solving strategies and by working through assignments with an experienced instructor