Biology

The Department of Biology at Kenyon College is committed to helping students acquire the ability to:

1. Think critically.
2. Integrate across biological sub-disciplines.
3. Connect biology to other aspects of human endeavor.
4. Communicate scientific information effectively.
5. Creatively apply modern approaches to new questions.

To accomplish this mission, we:

1. Seek to establish inclusive environments both inside and outside the classroom that nurture the success of all students, including those from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the natural sciences.
2. Ensure that students acquire content knowledge of sufficient depth and breadth so that they can ask productive questions.
3. Offer investigative, student-directed, and inquiry-based laboratory experiences using cutting-edge facilities and equipment.
4. Assign projects that demand in-depth analysis and a critical stance.
5. Maintain active research programs and integrate our scholarship into classroom teaching and student mentoring.
6. Promote close student-faculty collaborations on original research, through the Summer Science Scholars program, research courses, paid positions, and volunteer opportunities.
7. Participate in interdisciplinary programs including Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Environmental Studies, and Neuroscience.
8. Encourage students to interact with the broader community.
9. Offer innovative topics-based courses for non-science majors.

Learning Goals

In the context of a liberal education, we want our students to gain a profound appreciation for science as a way of knowing about the world. We expect them to: 1) engage directly in the scientific process through experimentation; 2) understand the process by which new ideas are generated and tested; 3) perceive the role of science as a generator of new knowledge and as an instrument for social change; 4) learn to approach new ideas and concepts with a healthy scientific skepticism.

The Biology Department provides ways for students:

• to encounter a wide variety of living organisms and ecological systems, including plants, animals, and microbes;
• to understand the mechanisms of life at the levels of molecules and cells, tissues and organs, and organisms and populations within ecosystems, and also to explore the emergent properties that arise via interactions among individual components of these systems;
• to learn about and practice the different investigative approaches that biologists apply and the different questions they may ask about a subject, e.g., molecular and genetic; behavioral and systematic; physiological, and complex feedback systems.
• to integrate their own experiences and to reflect on their own function as living organisms, and how they fit into our biosphere.

Place in Liberal Arts Curriculum

The Biology curriculum enhances the educational experiences of majors and non-majors engaged in a variety of intellectual and personal pursuits.  In particular, it:

• contributes to interdisciplinary courses, programs, and majors, especially in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Environmental Studies, Neuroscience, and Scientific Computing;
• fortifies the programs of individual students in majors such as Chemistry and Psychology, and diversifies the programs of students in the sciences, arts, and humanities;
• serves liberal arts students planning careers in medicine and other health professions and in education.
• exposes non-science majors to scientific concepts and thinking in engaging formats.

Methods and Skills

The Biology Department trains students in the tools necessary to appreciate and engage in the discovery of biological knowledge, including the ability:

• to conduct their own investigations of biological phenomena, and to evaluate reports of investigation by others;
• to present, discuss, and critique primary and secondary sources, their own work and that of other students, both orally and in writing;
• to conduct research using library, electronic, and other resources and to present and support arguments in written, oral, or other forms, such as Web projects which connect with the world community of biologists.
• to analyze data, including statistical skills as well as graphical, mapping, and visualization skills.
• to collaborate effectively with other scientists, including those with different experience and expertise than their own.

Assessment

The Biology Department is committed to ongoing assessment and revision of our programs.  We assess our programs in the following ways:

• Narrative course evaluations to supplement the college form: The department has a standard form that instructors modify for use in their courses.  These are used mainly for formative evaluation of individual courses.  Many faculty members also use mid-semester course evaluation forms.
• Quantitative assessment of the written essay portion of the senior exercise using a grading rubric: Essays are assessed in each of five areas that correspond to the learning goals of the major: critical analysis, integration and synthesis, creativity, writing skill, and subject knowledge. We use these scores not only to assess individual student performance, but also to assess the integrity of the senior exercise process.
• The ETS subject test given annually to the senior Biology and Molecular Biology majors: This test mainly evaluates subject knowledge. Students are instructed not to study for the test so that it serves as a program assessment.  Results are used to compare the subject knowledge of our students with other institutions and to evaluate how well are students are trained in different biological subdisciplines.
• Comments from the external evaluators of our Honors students: These are collected informally each year after the senior honors exams.
• Graduation statistics and student awards: We keep data on the number of our majors receiving collegiate honors (i.e. cum laude) and other awards.
• Senior exit interviews: Each faculty member interviews 2 or 3 graduating seniors and we share the findings at a department meeting.
• Annual assessment of our contributions to the college’s general education goals through the General Education Assessment Report (GEAR): Each year, several faculty members prepare a report that assesses how well a particular course serves the college’s general education goals, and we discuss the reports as a department.
• Annual meeting of the department’s faculty to discuss assessment outcomes and prepare the Departmental Outcomes Assessment Report: We discuss all of the above data at this meeting and determine whether we need to consider changes in curriculum or pedagogy.  We also evaluate whether the assessment tools are providing useful and complete information.
• Biology student advisory group:  The department chair meets regularly with a student advisory group.  Students offer suggestions, advice, and criticisms about the department and its curriculum.

Updated fall 2019