LIFESCI 3
Introduction to Molecular Biology
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, 75 minutes. Enforced requisites: course 2, and Chemistry 14C or 30A. Corequisite: course 23L (students must take 23L concurrently with course 3 if they do not plan to take course 4). Introduction to basic principles of biochemistry and molecular biology. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Fall 2016 - Grading scheme for *****LS 4*****: Midterm - 125 points Final - 250 points Class participation - 37.5 points (5 lowest scores dropped) Discussion quizzes - 35 points (2 lowest scores dropped) Online quizzes - 37.5 points (3 lowest scored dropped) Professor Pham: This class was done in a "flipped classroom" way. We had to watch lecture videos (which did not feature Professor Pham, but another guy) that were previous podcasts. Then before each lecture we had to complete a three question multiple choice quiz on CCLE. And then in lecture we mostly went over clicker questions along with some more review of content. My lecture was MWF, but the other one was TR and they had two midterms for some reason while we only had one. Professor Pham was in my opinion a really great professor. He's actually really hilarious and really cares about his students. His accent is not even that bad to be honest. May be jarring at first but it's really easy to overcome. In lecture he is pretty entertaining and is really understanding. I really liked having him as a professor. TA Ashot Papikian: We had discussion sections once a week for like a little over an hour. They were structured differently between each TA, but we did a discussion quiz for the first 10-15 minutes of class and then went over a series of questions from the textbook. My TA was a little bit dry, and no one was very participatory, but he was generally pretty helpful. He's a little monotone but you can tell he tried to help us as much as he could. PLF Juliana Smith: If you're in AAP and Juliana is a PLF, I highly recommend having her. She really helped hone in on the concepts of the course and gave a lot of great examples with extensive explanations for the answers. She is very nice. A little bit awkward, but a really great educator. I feel like I owe a lot of my success in this class to her. Midterm grade: 113/125 So I went into this midterm really really confident. I understood all of the concepts and went over a handful of past midterms (Pham provides literally all his past midterms on CCLE) and then went over the answer keys for the rest of his past midterms because I got tired of doing them. Pham does a lot of the same or similar questions, so it's pretty essential to go over his past midterms. I fucked up with the instructions for one of the questions, which is why I got a lower grade than I expected. Final grade: 231.5/250 The final was a little bit more difficult, but not by much, because it covered a lot of the material from after the midterm and a little bit of material before the midterm. It was still manageable if you studied his past second midterms and practice final questions. Again, the questions are to be expected based on what he gives you. So study the past questions and you should do well. Class participation grade: 37.5/37.5 The clicker questions during lecture were not graded on whether you get the answer right. It was just counted as credit if you answered at least 50% of the clicker questions from that lecture. The number of questions varied from a few to a lot. The lecture slides were posted before each lecture, so I just retyped them. It also included the clicker questions, so I completed those before class as well. I think it's a good idea to really try on clickers as much as you can, because they're good practice. Discussion quizzes grade: 35/35 Each TA made their own quizzes for their discussion. I heard that some TAs gave really hard quizzes, but Ashot made really easy ones, so it was pretty simple to get full credit on them. The quizzes consisted of one question from the book. If you want, you can do all of the assigned problems in the textbook, but it's not graded or required. Since my TA's quizzes were easy, I didn't need to do the book problems beforehand to do well on the quizzes. Online quizzes grade: 37.5/37.5 Each pre-lecture quiz was three-multiple choice questions on CCLE. Sometimes the third question was just an opinion-based one and not graded. But you could try on the questions as much as you want, but you will be graded accordingly based on how many tries it took you to get the right answer. These were pretty simple if you watched the lecture videos carefully and took good notes on them. Overall grade: A Overall, I'm a big fan of the flipped classroom method. I thought it was really helpful for me to watch the lecture videos at my own pace where I could rewind as necessary, And going over a lot of practice problems in lecture were also really helpful. I find it much more efficient and effective than trying to squeeze all the content in 50-minute intervals.
Fall 2016 - Grading scheme for *****LS 4*****: Midterm - 125 points Final - 250 points Class participation - 37.5 points (5 lowest scores dropped) Discussion quizzes - 35 points (2 lowest scores dropped) Online quizzes - 37.5 points (3 lowest scored dropped) Professor Pham: This class was done in a "flipped classroom" way. We had to watch lecture videos (which did not feature Professor Pham, but another guy) that were previous podcasts. Then before each lecture we had to complete a three question multiple choice quiz on CCLE. And then in lecture we mostly went over clicker questions along with some more review of content. My lecture was MWF, but the other one was TR and they had two midterms for some reason while we only had one. Professor Pham was in my opinion a really great professor. He's actually really hilarious and really cares about his students. His accent is not even that bad to be honest. May be jarring at first but it's really easy to overcome. In lecture he is pretty entertaining and is really understanding. I really liked having him as a professor. TA Ashot Papikian: We had discussion sections once a week for like a little over an hour. They were structured differently between each TA, but we did a discussion quiz for the first 10-15 minutes of class and then went over a series of questions from the textbook. My TA was a little bit dry, and no one was very participatory, but he was generally pretty helpful. He's a little monotone but you can tell he tried to help us as much as he could. PLF Juliana Smith: If you're in AAP and Juliana is a PLF, I highly recommend having her. She really helped hone in on the concepts of the course and gave a lot of great examples with extensive explanations for the answers. She is very nice. A little bit awkward, but a really great educator. I feel like I owe a lot of my success in this class to her. Midterm grade: 113/125 So I went into this midterm really really confident. I understood all of the concepts and went over a handful of past midterms (Pham provides literally all his past midterms on CCLE) and then went over the answer keys for the rest of his past midterms because I got tired of doing them. Pham does a lot of the same or similar questions, so it's pretty essential to go over his past midterms. I fucked up with the instructions for one of the questions, which is why I got a lower grade than I expected. Final grade: 231.5/250 The final was a little bit more difficult, but not by much, because it covered a lot of the material from after the midterm and a little bit of material before the midterm. It was still manageable if you studied his past second midterms and practice final questions. Again, the questions are to be expected based on what he gives you. So study the past questions and you should do well. Class participation grade: 37.5/37.5 The clicker questions during lecture were not graded on whether you get the answer right. It was just counted as credit if you answered at least 50% of the clicker questions from that lecture. The number of questions varied from a few to a lot. The lecture slides were posted before each lecture, so I just retyped them. It also included the clicker questions, so I completed those before class as well. I think it's a good idea to really try on clickers as much as you can, because they're good practice. Discussion quizzes grade: 35/35 Each TA made their own quizzes for their discussion. I heard that some TAs gave really hard quizzes, but Ashot made really easy ones, so it was pretty simple to get full credit on them. The quizzes consisted of one question from the book. If you want, you can do all of the assigned problems in the textbook, but it's not graded or required. Since my TA's quizzes were easy, I didn't need to do the book problems beforehand to do well on the quizzes. Online quizzes grade: 37.5/37.5 Each pre-lecture quiz was three-multiple choice questions on CCLE. Sometimes the third question was just an opinion-based one and not graded. But you could try on the questions as much as you want, but you will be graded accordingly based on how many tries it took you to get the right answer. These were pretty simple if you watched the lecture videos carefully and took good notes on them. Overall grade: A Overall, I'm a big fan of the flipped classroom method. I thought it was really helpful for me to watch the lecture videos at my own pace where I could rewind as necessary, And going over a lot of practice problems in lecture were also really helpful. I find it much more efficient and effective than trying to squeeze all the content in 50-minute intervals.
Most Helpful Review
Pires is one of the most dedicated lecturers. Despite being pregnant with twins, she nevertheless came to give lectures for 6 weeks before having to be hospitalized. Though her exams can require rigorous study, she is highly helpful if you ask. The best studying method I found was studying her lectures then going to the book to read parts that the lecture covers while ignoring parts the lec doesn't cover. Some info from the syllabus: Labs: There are five labs for this course during weeks 2,4,6,8 and 10. Each lab is three hours long. These labs are designed to give you practical experience in molecular biology techniques, and reinforce material you are learning in lecture. You are able to drop your lowest lab score, with the exception of lab 3 (everyone must attend and complete that lab). If you have to miss a lab for any reason, then that is the score that will be dropped. There will be 20 points pertaining to lab material on the final exam. Discussion sections: In weeks where there are no labs you will attend discussion section. You can find the appropriate discussion room on the LS Core Labs website http://lslab.lscore.ucla.edu/. There are five discussion sections during weeks 1,3,5,7 and 9. These discussion sections are approximately 1 ½ - two hours in duration and attendance is mandatory. Discussion sections are run by your TA’s and are your opportunity to ask questions about material that may seem unclear, or to go over problems that have been assigned to help you study for the exams. You must attend the discussion schedule in which you are enrolled. If you need to switch a section you must confirm it with your TA and the TA for the section you will be attending that week. You may not simply show up to another section or lab without arranging everything ahead of time. There will be short quizzes and group exercises given during discussion sections. Each discussion section is worth 20 points towards your final grade. Reading Quizzes: There will be a quiz administered on the CCLE course website beginning in Week 2 and ending in Week 10. There will be no reading quizzes on the weeks with midterms. These quizzes are based on the current week’s reading. In order to prepare for Week 2 reading quiz read the assigned material in the schedule for Week 2. They are only available for a limited time (11 AM Sundays until 1 PM Mondays), you must login and take the quiz before the quiz times out. Reading quizzes are open book, and they are designed to help you look over the material and be prepared for what we will be covering in class. Under no circumstances are the quizzes meant to be done together with other students. Exams and Review Sessions: You have two midterms for the course. Both midterms are held in the evenings, so please plan accordingly. The midterms for this class are on October 18th and November 15th. You must take the exams on the scheduled date as there are no make-up exams. Failure to appear, hand in, or take an exam will result in a zero for that exam. There are no exceptions to this policy. There are weekly review sessions Thursday mornings from 7-8. These are question and answer sessions only. You are responsible for bringing questions, and I will provide answers. Enrollment: All questions related to enrollment should be taken to the LS Core office in the Life Sciences building room 2305. You can also e-mail them at the following e-mail address: LSC*************. If you would like to switch sections, there is a sign-up board just to the left of the door to the Core Office where you can try to find students that are also looking to switch sections. If you find a student to switch with, then both of you must go to the Core Office together and they will change your official section enrollments. Exams and Grading: Material for the exams will be taken from lectures, the text, additional posted readings, problems that have been posted on the course website, problems handed out in lecture and material from your discussion section. There will be a mix of multiple choice and true/false questions on the exams. The exams will cover all material up to the Thursday before the exam. For example, the first midterm will cover material from weeks 1-3. All grades will be posted into MyUCLA. You will have a chance to review your exam during the discussion section following the exam, you will not be able to keep your midterms or finals. Midterm 1: October 18th, 5 – 6:50 PM Midterm 2: November 15th, 5 – 6:50 PM Final Exam: December 9th 11:30 – 2:30 AM NOTE EXAMS CHANGE TIMES AND THESE ARE RELATIVE DATES FOR FALL QUARTER LS3 Regrading policy: Any request for a regrade must be made within one week of the assignment being returned to you. If you think there has been a simple addition error on the assignment then write a note explaining which page was added incorrectly, attach this to the front of the assignment and let your TA know when you return the assignment during discussion or lab. Turning Point Clickers: Students are required to bring Turning Point clickers to class beginning 10/04. Students use clickers to respond to questions posed during lecture. Each lecture is worth 4 points. You must register your clicker online to be included in the course roster and to receive participation points. You will receive two “free days” of points – this means that you can miss two lectures and not be penalized points. You must answer all of the questions each day to receive full participation credit for that day. You may not share a clicker with someone else in this lecture. Answering questions for another student not in attendance constitutes cheating and both students involved will be referred to the Dean of Students for academic dishonesty. You should check your participation daily to make sure that you are receiving points. If you have noticed a problem (i.e. your points aren’t showing up and you know you attended class) then you must notify me by the end of Week 3. Many times the issue will be that you did not register your clicker correctly. I am not responsible for any issues with your participation grade if you fail to inform me of any problems during the quarter and choose to wait until the end of the quarter to bring up any issues. If you lose your clicker and purchase another clicker you must notify me in person so that I may change your clicker ID on the roster. Point Breakdown: Midterm 1 120 Midterm 2 120 Final Exam 190 Lab 80 Discussion 100 Reading Quizzes 70 Participation 72 Total Points 752 If the class mean is 75% or higher, letter grades will be based on a straight percentage of the total points in the class, see the breakdown below. Within each letter grade, a minus (-) will be assigned to the bottom three percentage points and a plus (+) will be assigned to the top three percentage points (e.g. 80-82.9% is a B-, 87-89.9% is a B+). If the class mean is lower than 75% the scale will be adjusted to compensate (e.g. 89% may become an A-). Under no circumstances will grades be curved down. You can use the straight grading scale as an indicator of your minimum grade in the course. I am not responsible for tracking your progress in the course, you should keep track of your own points so that at any time during the quarter you know your standing. If for any reason you have concerns about your grade, then that is a great time to come and see me so we can discuss study techniques or alternative strategies to help you along in this course.
Pires is one of the most dedicated lecturers. Despite being pregnant with twins, she nevertheless came to give lectures for 6 weeks before having to be hospitalized. Though her exams can require rigorous study, she is highly helpful if you ask. The best studying method I found was studying her lectures then going to the book to read parts that the lecture covers while ignoring parts the lec doesn't cover. Some info from the syllabus: Labs: There are five labs for this course during weeks 2,4,6,8 and 10. Each lab is three hours long. These labs are designed to give you practical experience in molecular biology techniques, and reinforce material you are learning in lecture. You are able to drop your lowest lab score, with the exception of lab 3 (everyone must attend and complete that lab). If you have to miss a lab for any reason, then that is the score that will be dropped. There will be 20 points pertaining to lab material on the final exam. Discussion sections: In weeks where there are no labs you will attend discussion section. You can find the appropriate discussion room on the LS Core Labs website http://lslab.lscore.ucla.edu/. There are five discussion sections during weeks 1,3,5,7 and 9. These discussion sections are approximately 1 ½ - two hours in duration and attendance is mandatory. Discussion sections are run by your TA’s and are your opportunity to ask questions about material that may seem unclear, or to go over problems that have been assigned to help you study for the exams. You must attend the discussion schedule in which you are enrolled. If you need to switch a section you must confirm it with your TA and the TA for the section you will be attending that week. You may not simply show up to another section or lab without arranging everything ahead of time. There will be short quizzes and group exercises given during discussion sections. Each discussion section is worth 20 points towards your final grade. Reading Quizzes: There will be a quiz administered on the CCLE course website beginning in Week 2 and ending in Week 10. There will be no reading quizzes on the weeks with midterms. These quizzes are based on the current week’s reading. In order to prepare for Week 2 reading quiz read the assigned material in the schedule for Week 2. They are only available for a limited time (11 AM Sundays until 1 PM Mondays), you must login and take the quiz before the quiz times out. Reading quizzes are open book, and they are designed to help you look over the material and be prepared for what we will be covering in class. Under no circumstances are the quizzes meant to be done together with other students. Exams and Review Sessions: You have two midterms for the course. Both midterms are held in the evenings, so please plan accordingly. The midterms for this class are on October 18th and November 15th. You must take the exams on the scheduled date as there are no make-up exams. Failure to appear, hand in, or take an exam will result in a zero for that exam. There are no exceptions to this policy. There are weekly review sessions Thursday mornings from 7-8. These are question and answer sessions only. You are responsible for bringing questions, and I will provide answers. Enrollment: All questions related to enrollment should be taken to the LS Core office in the Life Sciences building room 2305. You can also e-mail them at the following e-mail address: LSC*************. If you would like to switch sections, there is a sign-up board just to the left of the door to the Core Office where you can try to find students that are also looking to switch sections. If you find a student to switch with, then both of you must go to the Core Office together and they will change your official section enrollments. Exams and Grading: Material for the exams will be taken from lectures, the text, additional posted readings, problems that have been posted on the course website, problems handed out in lecture and material from your discussion section. There will be a mix of multiple choice and true/false questions on the exams. The exams will cover all material up to the Thursday before the exam. For example, the first midterm will cover material from weeks 1-3. All grades will be posted into MyUCLA. You will have a chance to review your exam during the discussion section following the exam, you will not be able to keep your midterms or finals. Midterm 1: October 18th, 5 – 6:50 PM Midterm 2: November 15th, 5 – 6:50 PM Final Exam: December 9th 11:30 – 2:30 AM NOTE EXAMS CHANGE TIMES AND THESE ARE RELATIVE DATES FOR FALL QUARTER LS3 Regrading policy: Any request for a regrade must be made within one week of the assignment being returned to you. If you think there has been a simple addition error on the assignment then write a note explaining which page was added incorrectly, attach this to the front of the assignment and let your TA know when you return the assignment during discussion or lab. Turning Point Clickers: Students are required to bring Turning Point clickers to class beginning 10/04. Students use clickers to respond to questions posed during lecture. Each lecture is worth 4 points. You must register your clicker online to be included in the course roster and to receive participation points. You will receive two “free days” of points – this means that you can miss two lectures and not be penalized points. You must answer all of the questions each day to receive full participation credit for that day. You may not share a clicker with someone else in this lecture. Answering questions for another student not in attendance constitutes cheating and both students involved will be referred to the Dean of Students for academic dishonesty. You should check your participation daily to make sure that you are receiving points. If you have noticed a problem (i.e. your points aren’t showing up and you know you attended class) then you must notify me by the end of Week 3. Many times the issue will be that you did not register your clicker correctly. I am not responsible for any issues with your participation grade if you fail to inform me of any problems during the quarter and choose to wait until the end of the quarter to bring up any issues. If you lose your clicker and purchase another clicker you must notify me in person so that I may change your clicker ID on the roster. Point Breakdown: Midterm 1 120 Midterm 2 120 Final Exam 190 Lab 80 Discussion 100 Reading Quizzes 70 Participation 72 Total Points 752 If the class mean is 75% or higher, letter grades will be based on a straight percentage of the total points in the class, see the breakdown below. Within each letter grade, a minus (-) will be assigned to the bottom three percentage points and a plus (+) will be assigned to the top three percentage points (e.g. 80-82.9% is a B-, 87-89.9% is a B+). If the class mean is lower than 75% the scale will be adjusted to compensate (e.g. 89% may become an A-). Under no circumstances will grades be curved down. You can use the straight grading scale as an indicator of your minimum grade in the course. I am not responsible for tracking your progress in the course, you should keep track of your own points so that at any time during the quarter you know your standing. If for any reason you have concerns about your grade, then that is a great time to come and see me so we can discuss study techniques or alternative strategies to help you along in this course.
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Spring 2015 - Had Pyle first half of the quarter. Pyle is a really nice lady, but she does NOT have knack for teaching. She seems bored with the material, and she doesn't seem to understand how to communicate an idea effectively to people who don't understand it and/or haven't seen it before. Teachers need to be able to see where we as students are coming from, what we are probably thinking, and therefore guide us in a way that is logical. It really is an art. Pyle cannot do this. This is why her lectures seem more like a spewing of incoherent information than teaching. That being said, don't freak out if you get Pyle. You'll still learn the material, it's really not that hard, and you'll have lots of slides to study from. Her tests are fair, she's just not a good teacher. If you can, though, sign up for peer learning. Its a free class that just reviews LS 3 material, and it has helped tremendously.
Spring 2015 - Had Pyle first half of the quarter. Pyle is a really nice lady, but she does NOT have knack for teaching. She seems bored with the material, and she doesn't seem to understand how to communicate an idea effectively to people who don't understand it and/or haven't seen it before. Teachers need to be able to see where we as students are coming from, what we are probably thinking, and therefore guide us in a way that is logical. It really is an art. Pyle cannot do this. This is why her lectures seem more like a spewing of incoherent information than teaching. That being said, don't freak out if you get Pyle. You'll still learn the material, it's really not that hard, and you'll have lots of slides to study from. Her tests are fair, she's just not a good teacher. If you can, though, sign up for peer learning. Its a free class that just reviews LS 3 material, and it has helped tremendously.
Most Helpful Review
He's a great teacher. Study hard because his tests are challenging. No amount of memorization will get you an A in this class. You have to understand the concepts because in LS4 is a concept-based course...it's totally different from LS3 (which a lot of memorization). Advice: Don't do the practice questions until you understand the experiments. I had him for both LS3 and LS4...Best by far!!! I think he only teaches in the summer now.
He's a great teacher. Study hard because his tests are challenging. No amount of memorization will get you an A in this class. You have to understand the concepts because in LS4 is a concept-based course...it's totally different from LS3 (which a lot of memorization). Advice: Don't do the practice questions until you understand the experiments. I had him for both LS3 and LS4...Best by far!!! I think he only teaches in the summer now.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - Nadia is a great professor, she is engaging during lecture and makes sure that her students have many helpful resources (TAs, office hours, LAs, online discussion, etc). Make sure to go to lecture because the participation points are worth just as much as a midterm. Find a study partner and you'll do great!
Winter 2016 - Nadia is a great professor, she is engaging during lecture and makes sure that her students have many helpful resources (TAs, office hours, LAs, online discussion, etc). Make sure to go to lecture because the participation points are worth just as much as a midterm. Find a study partner and you'll do great!
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