Teaching and assessment
Our staff have diverse research interests across the biological spectrum and we transmit our passion for the life sciences to our students; this is what research-led teaching is all about.
Lectures and tutorials
Lectures
Lectures provide the information and, most importantly, understanding and insights into each subject. They are also the foundation for further private study. Materials for all teaching sessions are provided on our virtual learning environment (Blackboard) which may include additional asynchronous material such as pre/post lecture-reading or pre/post-lecture quizzes to help students consolidate their learning.
Asynchronous material
Occasionally students are provided with asynchronous material on our virtual learning environment (Blackboard) to complete in their own time. This usually comprises of recorded presentations or videos that students watch and complete some associated activities. This may be delivered as additional or core content, or as a form of pre-reading for a “flipped” method of teaching delivery.
Workshops
Alongside lectures, workshops provide students with a more hands-on approach to learning. Typically more prominent in our first year, workshops are used to teach students the necessary skills to become biological scientists (such as finding and citing scientific literature, giving oral presentations or writing essays). Workshops may also be used in place of practical classes where the content is of a computational nature, e.g. computational coding.
Tutorials
Every student is assigned a personal tutor whose role it is to monitor their progress and to help deal with any problems that they may have. Tutorials may be group sessions with small groups of students with one member of staff or may also be one-to-one sessions where the individual’s progress is discussed in more detail. Both types are scheduled throughout the academic year for all year groups. The tutorials may explore the subject content, study skills, careers and generally are there to provide additional support for the students in a more informal setting.
Assessment
Our units are assessed through a combination of coursework and examinations. Each unit will have assessments that test the intended learning outcomes of that unit. Examples of assessment include; scientific reports, essays or literature reviews, posters of academic work, infographics, oral presentations (either live or recorded), podcasts, practical tasks, project performance or reflective writing. The weighting of each assessment is stated in the year handbooks at the start of each academic year.
Examinations may be in person (closed book) or online (open book) and generally take the form of multiple-choice tests (which is more typical in Year 1) or timed, word-limited essays (more typical in years 2 and 3).
Field courses and laboratory workshops
As part of our Year 3 units, all students take a field course or laboratory workshop at the end of Year 2. These are usually a week long (5 days) and may be based in Bristol (non-residential) or elsewhere (residential). These courses are designed to develop knowledge and practical skills in subject areas that are not covered extensively in lecture units. They work closely with members of staff in their particular areas of expertise in an atmosphere that promotes close interaction through high teacher-to-student ratios. You will acquire knowledge and expertise beneficial for practical research units in Year 3 such as adequate note-taking, collaboration, sharing of good practise, and gain experience in teamwork through co-ordinated group exercises and project work with partners.
Our offering of field courses and laboratory workshops changes year on year, but typically include a choice of fieldwork-related courses (e.g. looking at animal or plant behaviour or ecology) alongside laboratory courses (e.g. molecular biology) and even science communication (e.g. film making).
You can find out even more about our field courses here.
Practical work and projects
Practical work
Throughout the three years students also undertake special assignments linked to specific units. These introduce students to the biology of organisms and the techniques used in their study in a practical context. Practicals last three hours and may be laboratory, field or computer based. Practical work is often undertaken with other students in pairs or small groups. Practical work is also supported by materials on our virtual learning environment (Blackboard) and usually comprises of pre-reading and post-lab quizzes.
Projects
In their third (and fourth) year students complete a research project, usually in pairs, supervised by a member of staff. A wide range of project titles are available every year and these are linked to our research. This independent research project is an opportunity to conduct a novel piece of scientific research; a number of projects produce results that have been published in leading scientific journals.