BIOL 2970
Principles of Biology II
A broad overview of genetics, including Mendelian assortment, linkage, chromosomal aberrations, variations in chromosome number, mutation, developmental genetics, quantitative genetics, population genetics, mechanisms of evolution, and phylogenetics. Three lecture/problem solving sections and one laboratory period per week. Does not fulfill the laboratory requirement of the biology major. This course must be taken for a grade to count towards the Biology major.
Instructors
Alan Templeton, Allan Larson, April Bednarski, B Majors, Craig Smith, David Ho, David Queller, Douglas Chalker, Elise Walck-Shannon, Heather Barton, Hope Gole, Ian Duncan, Janet Goins, Kate Hanes, Kathleen Hafer, Maggie Schlarman, Mary Lambo, Mitchell Kundel, Wilhelm Cruz
Reviews
she dont be teaching but just reading or telling whats obvious. get ready to study on your own
9/1/2026
Typically explained things clearly. Lectures were sometimes a bit repetitive but she was nice
8/18/2026
His lectures can be a bit circular and confusing but the material isn't too hard
8/18/2026
Some of his test questions didn't really reflect understanding and emphasized rote memorization. Other than that, he showed good command of the material and was a decent lecturer
1/7/2026
Lecture explanations were often unclear and poorly articulated, making the material hard to follow. She frequently struggled to answer student questions on ungraded problem sets and did not consistently demonstrate strong command of the material during lectures or discussions.
1/7/2026
His recorded lectures were very confusing. He was extremely monotone but I could tell that he was trying his best. Overall, he isn't the greatest, but the class is easy enough to do well in.
12/24/2025
Dr. Barton's lectures were clear and she explained concepts really well. Some of the questions on activities, quizzes, and exams were worded in confusing ways, but she was always receptive to student feedback. I thought the course was pretty fair overall.
12/18/2025
Honestly, I liked her. She responded well to feedback and at least seemed more lively than Queller. There were so many typing and grading errors, though.
12/12/2025
You can tell it's his first time teaching the course. Maybe he's just nervous but he has a poor command of the classroom. The pre-class lecture videos aren't really helpful and are pretty bleak. However, he's super sweet as a person and very passionate about evolution.
12/12/2025
People here seem to be misreading Dr. Barton. Sure, she made mistakes, but she is human. Go to her office hours, chat with her, and you'll see why. She is so caring for you as a student and as a human and is always willing to clarify concepts as needed, or simply chat about life! She is amazing, personable, and relatable- Love!!
3/3/2025
Ignore all the haters, I don't know why she gets such a bad reputation. She cares for all of her students and will give any help you need, as long as you ask. She is very accommodating of anything that may arise in your life and helps you through it.
3/3/2025
Dr. Walck-Shannon (who prefers to go by Elise) is a very caring and down-to-earth professor. I had her for 2970 Lab; she truly cares about student success. I learned early on that she is the only lab professor who creates additional material to help students understand course content. She is truly one of the best professors at WashU.
2/19/2025
She's super nice and knows the content. Beware though that she talks SO SLOW. The pre-lecture videos were all the same length as Chalkers but his are all content while she spent 1/3 of the time talking and 2/3 thinking. No joke videos on 2x speed sound like normal speed talking. Other than that she's chill and I would take a class with her again!
1/6/2025
6-8 hrs/week
1000x better than 2960. Chalker is fantastic and made me feel like I could enjoy biology again after being so upset in 2960. If you do the problem sets and quizzes, review your notes, and clarify questions with the professors early, you should be fine.
12/27/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Agree with everyone, this is 10x better than 2960. Lecture is flipped, there are more drops on quizzes, the labs are more engaging (Hanes is the BEST AI), the material is more genetics based. If math and stats are your thing you will do well in this class. You also get a double sided cheat sheet for exams. Put brief lab notes on your cheat sheet cause they ask a few lab questions on the exams. The material of this class can be a bit confusing, but when studying reference/redo all of the in-class activities, extra help sessions, knowledge checks, quizzes, and provided worksheets because the exams are pretty similar.
12/26/2024
4-6 hrs/week
I agree with most of the comments- I don’t actually love the flipped classroom. I like the amount of drops. The content is very interesting. The 95% A cutoff is a little insane though
12/26/2024
Dr. Elise is absolutely amazing. I had her for 2970 lab and she helped make the 2970 material so much more understandable. She is one of the most caring and enthusiastic professors at WashU, and if you can take a course with her definitely do!
12/10/2024
Craig is AMAZING! I took his Protein Informatics advanced lab and can not recommend it enough. He is the most caring professor and went above and beyond in the course. All of the work you do is during class time.
12/6/2024
Dr. Chalker was extremely accommodating and helped resolve a conflict with another class at the beginning of the semester. He is also very caring and makes the class a lot of fun! One of my favorite professors I've taken so far and his cats are so so so cute!!
12/5/2024