Class Overview

Welcome to the new semester. This semester, this lab is being taught by three different instructors.

Part 1 (the first 7 labs) will be taught by Biology Professor, Eliza Woo.
Part 2 (the last 7 labs) will be taught by Engineering/Sustainability Professor, Hitesh Soneji.

Please review the following information carefully as we explain the basic format and layout of this class. If you aren’t sure if it’s the right class for you, please reach out, and let’s discuss together.

The main goal of a science lab class is to give students experience manipulating materials, taking measurements, recording observations, thinking critically, analyzing results, and communicating what you’ve learned. As such, the labs will all require written and hands-on work.

As your professors, our goal is to help you learn the material and skills covered in this course. We will be your guide and support, and we’ve developed a course format that we believe will maximize your learning experience. The learning itself will be up to you and depend greatly on how much time and commitment you have to give to the class.

If at any point you want help, attend office hours or make an appointment with your instructor. We’d like to help.

CANVAS HOME PAGE

Each time you open the class, you'll start at the HOME page.

Notice that the most recent weekly announcement is pinned at the top of the page. Each week starts with an announcement to get you ready for the week.
Instructor names and links to our contact information appear under the class photo. Follow the links to see our office hours.
The Open Q&A forum button goes to a discussion for the entire class. Anything you post there will be visible by all students. Use the Open Q&A forum for discussion of any topics. Share field trip ideas or information about upcoming events. You can also use it to form study groups.
At the bottom of the page is a week-by-week calendar for the semester, indicating what module and content we cover each week. Just click on the week you want, and it will take you to the Module for that week.

All of the instructions and tasks for each week of the semester are grouped into weekly modules that are designed to be completed in sequence, one page at a time.

To start a module, click on the first page listed and then use the NEXT button to progress through the module in sequence. You can also close modules when you’ve completed them, which I recommend you do to make it easier to find where you are in the course and to see your progress.

Typical Lab Module CANVAS Layout and Class Format:

Each week starts with the weekly objectives and checklist. Read this page first to be sure you meet the weekly deadlines and orient yourself to the week's objectives.
Next is the lab itself, which may be be broken up into pieces, with some pieces required to be completed before lab or after lab, depending on the week.
During our weekly class lab session, we will work together on the lab assignment.
- Write your answers to the lab questions on the labs themselves and take notes. Be sure you have a notebook to organize and store your labs so you have everything in one place and refer back to past labs). It will also help when you study for exams.
- When you have completed the lab, you will submit it in class or through an assignment in CANVAS, depending on the week. Submission through CANVAS may include a combination of typing in some of your answers, photographing some of your completing work and uploading it, and answering multiple choice questions.

Deadlines

Some labs will have pre-assignments. For some labs, you might have post lab work. See each module for details.

Of course the first week of the semester is different than the typical week. You will need to get familiar with CANVAS if you’re not already, review the full class policies, complete an Introductory Class Survey, meet your fellow students, and complete your first lab. Everything you need to know and review is in the CANVAS module for the week.

Next step: Click here to review the complete class Syllabus

Jump in and explore. And please reach out if you have questions.
We look forward to meeting you!

Click the NEXT button in the lower right of screen to continue through the module -->