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FAQTable of Contents
How many people pass your class?It depends on the class and how you want to define "pass". If by "pass" you mean "how many people who started the course successfully complete it with a C or better", the answer would be about 68% for non-majors courses (Bio 50, Bio 111, Bio 145) and about 50% for majors courses (Bio 101). These low numbers reflect the number of students who are initially enrolled in a course, but drop for myriad reasons during the semester. Typical drop rates hover around 15% for non-majors courses and 55% for majors courses. If by "pass" you mean "how many people at the end of the course complete it with a C or better", the answer would be about 80% for non-majors courses and 90% for majors courses. Can't we decrease the amount of material in this class?I get this question all the time, especially since we have adopted a compressed calendar at MJC. The short answer is "no". The long answer comes in two parts. First, there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding among students regarding the nature and purpose of the compressed calendar. The compressed calendar is intended to get students through their classes in a shorter period of time, ostensibly so students will have an opportunity to take more classes during the year. In order to do this and cover the same amount of material, each class meeting is longer than under the previous calendar. There was never any intention to cut content when we decreased the length of the semester, for one very important reason...articulation. "What does the ability to speak well have to do with the compressed calendar?", you ask. Absolutely nothing, because we are talking about course content articulation with other institutions. This brings me to the second part of my long answer. MJC has a great many articulation agreements with other schools to which you may transfer. When those schools look at our course content and agree that it matches similar courses there, we have an articulation agreement. These agreements allow you to transfer units you take at MJC to other institutions. If we cut course content as part of the shift to the compressed calendar, our articulation agreements with other schools would be in jeopardy and you would not be able to transfer those units you took here at MJC! Do you offer extra credit?Occasionally, I do offer extra credit assignments. The total amount of extra credit points will be rather insignificant compared to the total number of points available in the course. Extra credit assignments serve primarily to offset a missed quiz or poor lab score. Do you grade on a curve?My grading scale is what I call a "modified straight scale". In my course (as in life), you compete with your peers. The grade you earn will be determined by the total number of points you obtain during the semester compared to the Adjusted Total Score for the course. The Adjusted Total Score will be equal to the highest total points earned by a student in the course. (For example, if the top student earned 630 total points the Adjusted Total Score would be 630). Letter grades will be assigned as percentages of the Adjusted Total Score using a scale of 90%+ = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, 59%-0% = F. How long have you been teaching?I have been teaching full-time at Modesto Junior College since Fall 1999. Prior to that I taught part-time at both MJC and California State University, Stanislaus, since Spring 1997. I began teaching in 1997 because I thought it would be an interesting sideline to my work as a computer consultant at the time. I quickly discovered that I enjoyed teaching far more than consulting (although I still spend a significant amount of time programming) and I began to pursue more teaching assignments until I acquired a full-time position at MJC. I was awarded tenured professor status at MJC in Fall 2003. Outside school (yes, there is life outside school), I also teach courses in general computer use, internet skills and programming in my local community. What does your business do?I own and operate a small computer consulting company that focuses on programming relational database management systems for other businesses. Over the years my clients have included a variety of schools, shipping companies, public utilities and travel industry firms. Basically anyone who needs to use and maintain large databases. I also do web development and scripting (ASP, Javascript, PHP) for variety of corporate and individual clients. If you live in Sonora, why don't you teach at Columbia College?Hmmm....good question. First, someone either has to assume room temperature or retire before a full-time biology position becomes available at Columbia College. That has neither happened recently, nor is it likely in the foreseeable future. Second, the student population is quantitatively different at Columbia College. The comparatively small number of students at Columbia College means that professors are required to be generalists, teaching many different courses each semester. Having relatively few courses (and years) under my belt puts me at the bottom of the academic food web. Ultimately, it might be nice having a full-time teaching assignment closer to my home. For the time being, I thoroughly enjoy the work environment and colleagues at MJC. Do you hand out study guides for exams?Your primary study guide is otherwise known as your course notes. I will supplement with a modest guideline of the critical concepts you will need to know for exams. I will also often post example questions to test your knowledge. The two most important things you should be learning during your time at MJC are: 1) how to take good notes, and 2) how to study. Your future success in college depends to a large degree on your mastery of these two skills. I will give you tips on how to improve both so you can succeed in my course and the rest of your college experience. What are your exams like? Do you give Scantron tests?For small classes (<=100), my exam questions are a mixture of short answers, fill-ins, true/false, multiple guess and matching. I have been known to throw in an occasional crossword puzzle or word problem as well. For large classes (>100), Scantron exams are a necessity. Scantron exams are certainly easier to administer and grade, but it is very difficult to write a scantron exam that accurately tests your knowledge. Do not make the mistake of thinking my Scantron exams are easy! There tend to be few true/false questions and the remaining questions may have up to fifteen possible answers. Where did you go to college?Actually, I never went to college. Just kidding! I completed my undergraduate work at U.C. Santa Barbara in 1988, earning a B.A. in aquatic biology and a B.S. in biopsychology. The double major developed out of my interest in marine mammal behavior. The aquatic biology major was deficient in the study of animal behavior and the biopsychology major never left the laboratory, so they complemented each other nicely. It should be noted here that the field of biopsychology (the study of the biological basis of behavior), is distinct and separate from the lesser field of psychobiology (study of psychotic biologists). I completed my graduate work in 1994 after the world's longest Master's degree program at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories located in Monterey Bay. My research emphasis was the ecology and behavior of harbor seals in San Francisco Bay. For those with way too much free time on their hands, chronic insomnia, or both...see the more detailed autobiography. How difficult are the labs?They can be excruciating if you are not accustomed to critical thinking. I will be there to give direction, answer questions, and facilitate discussion, but I will not do your thinking for you. One of the goals is to encourage you to think scientifically as we delve into the various topics. You might even find yourself having some fun along the way (imagine that). Are we going to dissect anything in lab?Not really. For my biology majors class (Bio 101), we perform mostly molecular biology with cells and tissues. The dissection work mostly happens in majors botany (Bot 101) and majors zoology (Zoo 101). For my biology non-majors classes (Bio 50, Bio 111, Bio 145), we have been known to dissect plants, marine invertebrates or marine fish. In Bio 111, we work mostly with bacteria, some plants and microscopic pond critters. I will never force anyone to dissect things, but you do have to be present and you are responsible for knowing the covered material. |
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