Learning Environment

Bio331 brings together students from different majors to tackle inherently interdisciplinary topics, which is exciting but can also feel overwhelming at times. My goal is have a learning environment where students are motivated to learn the material without the fear of being incorrect or penalized for mistakes.

Feedback for the Instructor

Please give me feedback on anything in the syllabus or course, especially with respect to making Bio331 an inclusive learning environment. Let me know if anything makes you uncomfortable in class, if you would like more instruction on a topic, or if you are experiencing a hardship outside of class. Anonymous feedback is available on Moodle, though with a small class your comments may be identifiable.

Diversity & Inclusion

Bio331 is a combination of biology and computer science, and each field has been claimed to be free of racism and prejudice. This is simply not true. Historically, biological discoveries and advances in computer science have been dominated by privileged voices, namely those of white men. Computational biology, while more recent of a field, also lacks diversity along many important axes (including race, gender, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.). To foster an inclusive learning environment:

  1. I acknowledge the bias in course materials that stem from systemic privilege, and I aim to make Bio331 content more inclusive each time I teach the course.
  2. I expect that students come to Bio331 with varying levels of knowledge in both biology and computer science, and I aim to provide course materials to help fill in gaps in both areas.
  3. Many students will have personal circumstances that may affect their performance in the course. I will work with you to make adjustments to the course schedule as needed, and students should be encouraged to seek guidance on any anticipated or realized issues.
  4. Mental and physical health is more important than attending all parts of class. If you miss multiple days of class, I will reach out to make sure you are okay.

Bio331 is a better course when students have a diversity of lived experience and previous knowledge.

Land Acknowledgement

As we come together to learn at Reed College, we acknowledge that the territory on which Reed stands is that of Indigenous and Native peoples. The Portland Metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River (Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable). Native lands have been taken through hundreds of breaches of treaty laws, and in 1953 more then sixty tribes in Oregon were terminated by the federal government which removed millions of acres of land from Indigenous stewardship (The Native American Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile). This statement is one small step in acknowledging the history that brought us to reside on this land. Portland also has a vibrant and diverse Indigenous community and has the ninth largest urban Native American population in the US. We honor the present Indigenous communities in the area. Visit native-land.ca to explore an interactive map of Indigenous lands.