This site is an introduction to our IN-PERSON BIOL1 course at Butte College with Melody Schmid
Hello and Welcome!
I'm so glad you are here.
This 1 minute video welcomes you to BIOL1.
Please email me at schmidme@butte.edu whenever you have questions about our introductory biology course. You can learn more about me at my Faculty Profile page.
I look forward to meeting you soon.
Melody Schmid, PhD (she/her)
In Introduction to Biology we will build a foundation of biology that we can use to understand personal experiences and issues at the intersection of biology and society. You will be able to apply your understanding of biological principles throughout your life to make decisions that affect your health, and the health of your family, our community, and planet. Our lab activities are collaborative and we will also explore our campus wildlife refuge to understand plant diversity and ecological relationships.
You can explore the Synthesis Projects completed by former BIOL1 students at Butte College to see what topics in Biology they chose to focus on in our course.
Before August 25th, please use your Butte College email to email me at schmidme@butte.edu with any questions you have about our course.
Starting August 25th, you can also use the Canvas Inbox to communicate with me.
I will respond to emails and Canvas Inbox messages within 24 hours during the week and on Monday for messages received over the weekend (this is just the official policy, I usually respond much faster and on weekends).
The Fall 2026 semester begins on Monday, August 25th, 2025 and ends on Friday, December 19th, 2025.
We will meet each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Main Campus, in the brand new Science Building! Room 118.
This is a 4 unit class, so the college expects you to spend 12 hours a week to successfully complete our course. Six of these hours each week we will be together, collaborating on learning activities and lab observations, and the other six hours will include completing our pre-lab preparation, lab revisions, post-lab reflection, and Synthesis Project step on your own time each week. It is important to complete our pre-lab preparation each week before attending class so you are ready to collaborate during learning activities and lab observations.
You will complete a semester-long Synthesis Project, in which you apply what you are learning in our course to explain an issue at the intersection of biology and society, or a personal experience. Guidance and examples will be provided, and the project is scaffolded into 16 weekly steps, including peer review and revision, with the final project due during Finals Week (the last week of the semester).
Our course is designed to center learning. You will have choice and multiple opportunities in what resources and activities you use to learn, and how you demonstrate your learning. We are all here to learn together!
You can explore the Table of Contents of our free online textbook for an introduction to the biological principles we will be learning about this semester. You do not need to purchase the textbook if you prefer to view it online for free, or download the PDF for free, at the link above. But if you know you do better with a printed copy of a textbook, order your book soon. The printed textbook is $27 (new, black and white) or $35 (new, color) online, or $30 (used, color) or $40 (new, color) at our campus bookstore.
Free and engaging video resources that include the same information as the textbook will also be available to view in our Canvas site. It is up to you whether you want to use the textbook, video resources, or a combination of both to complete our pre-lab preparation activities. If you know you like videos better than reading a textbook, don't buy the textbook! You can still consult the free online version of the textbook if needed.
Our Lab Reports will be available as a free PDF in Canvas that you can print yourself, use on a tablet or laptop, or purchase from the campus bookstore for $16.25. I will bring copies of Lab Report 1 to our first lab, but you will need your own printed copy of the Lab Reports, or a laptop or tablet to view and edit the PDF, to record observations starting Lab 2 in the second week of the semester.
Before the semester starts, if the name that you would like to have shown on instructor rosters and in Canvas is different from your legal name, there is information on the Butte College Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion website that explains how to change the name that shows up on college documents to your chosen name.
If this is your first course hosted in Canvas, you can complete this free Passport to Canvas course to learn how to use Canvas. And/or you can check out these Getting Started with Canvas Resources.
I recommend downloading the Canvas App if you would like to access our course on a mobile device.
It's highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Check out the Canvas Browser Support page for the most recent information. Canvas works best in Chrome and Firefox. If you don't have one of these browsers, you can download Firefox or download (or update) Chrome for free. You also have free access to the full suite of Office applications to use on personally owned technology through your association with Butte College.
Our course will be available on Canvas starting Monday, August 25th. At that time, you will be able to log in to Canvas and click on our course in your Canvas dashboard. You won't be able to see our course in Canvas until August 25th.
Attend our first class session in the new Science Building Room 118 on the Main Campus on Tuesday August 26th. Unless you are sick. If you are sick please stay home, email me to let me know you would like me to save your spot in our course, and complete our Introduction to Biology module in Canvas from home.
Bring a mobile device, tablet, or laptop to connect to our campus WiFi during our first class if you've got one available. I'll have some Biology Department laptops available as well.
Complete our Introduction to Biology module in Canvas before midnight on Sunday Aug 31st to demonstrate your active participation and secure your spot in our course.
If you miss our first class, or need more time to complete our Introduction to Biology module, message Melody through the Canvas Inbox to check in so I know to save a spot for you in our course. If I don't hear from you, and you don't either attend our first class or complete our Introduction module in Canvas before midnight on Sept 1st, I will not have any evidence of your active participation in our course and your spot will be given to a student on the wait list.
Much education today is monumentally ineffective.
All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.
~John W. Gardner
I’m here to support your learning. This course is designed to make biology relevant and meaningful for students that are here to learn biology. I'm not interested in designing a course to "catch" students taking shortcuts. Shortcuts won’t help you learn—they’ll just make the course activities feel like busywork and leave you frustrated. Let's make the most of our time together!
I will provide you with a clear, organized course that is designed to ensure you meet our course goals in a meaningful manner.
I will provide a variety of resources and activities to ensure your learning needs are met.
I will be actively present in your learning. I will respond to your emails as soon as possible and provide timely feedback on submissions.
I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.
I will treat you with dignity and respect and be flexible to support your individual needs.
I won't be perfect. I am human and will make mistakes at times. I will view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow and embrace all feedback you graciously share with me.
You are an active participant in this course and strive to meet due dates.
You maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you. You will reach out with questions as soon as, if not before, you sense the onset of frustration.
You contact me if you have a concern with a course activity, trouble meeting a due date, or if you are thinking about dropping the course. We'll figure out what is going to work best for you.
You strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of our learning community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
You will treat your co-learners with dignity and respect.
You will do your best to have patience with technology. There will be hiccups, expect them. Let me know and we will get through them together.
You will give yourself grace. Expect to make revisions. You are human and learning is a process.
Is there anything else you would like to add to these lists?
This learning pact is adapted from the work of Zaretta Hammond, (2015). Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Corwin Publishers.
California faces big challenges like climate change, environmental justice, food accessibility, and public health—issues at the intersection of biology and society. Approaching these challenges from different perspectives will allow collaborative and creative solutions.
I teach general education biology because I believe we benefit from the multitude experiences and ways of knowing of our diverse community members. My goal is to support and respect students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, addressing diverse learning needs and valuing the unique experiences and strengths each of us brings to our course.
If anything I say or do doesn’t meet this goal, please let me know. Your feedback is vital, and I’ll use it to improve the course for everyone. Your feedback and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. I will embrace them as a gift.
This course is designed to center learning. You will have choice and multiple opportunities in what resources you use to learn, and how you demonstrate your learning. If you ever have a specific challenge with a course resource or activity and would like to discuss an alternate way to demonstrate your learning let’s check in.
We are all members of this learning community and I will learn as much from you as you will learn from me and your co-learners in this course. We are all here to grow together!