"Peter Medawar noted that science is the 'art of the solvable.' To solve a problem handed to you by a professor is one thing; to find a problem that you yourself might solve is quite another. University courses abound which teach methods for the former; unique in my experience, the Art of Scientific Discovery (ECOL 479/579) teaches the habits of mind that make possible the latter. The course deals in examples, not mere sermons: students grapple with real puzzles, not knowing even whether the problems have solutions. Hence this is in no way a lecture course: there is no way to teach these methods to a passive audience. To either discontinue ECOL 479/579 or to alter its format would do the aspiring scientists at this university grave disservice." --- Graduate Student in Applied Mathematics
"...a course of many surprises at many levels ... surprised at my response to the course and the amount of learning I obtained. This course draws one into it with the seductiveness of a good novel ... requires participation and hard work ... not a course to take glibly ... similar to the training an athlete undertakes to prepare for an event ... trains one in problem solving and how to approach it in a way that maximizes results ... makes you aware of shortcomings in your own particular ways of problem solving regardless if you are successful or not in solving a specific problem ... demonstrates how to make improvements." --- Graduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
"Art of Scientific Discovery is a truly unique course, the one place in which as students and scientists we can focus on thinking as a process and a skill. Interestingly enough, Art Winfree has developed a course that really can lead students to learn how they generate ideas and solve problems, and can help students develop the skills to do these things more creatively. I believe, however, that such success depends upon the small, intimate size of the course, which allows not only important and thoughtful feedback and involvement from Dr. Winfree for each student, but also allows for good group interaction and discussion which is one of the most valuable aspects of the course. Increasing the size of this course is likely to take away much of the value and uniqueness of this course." --- Graduate Student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
"As I get ready to leave this university, I have had the chance to reflect back on my education. One thing that really stands out is "The Arts of Scientific Investigation". I feel like it really opened new doors for me in what learning and knowledge is all about, which is a welcome change from many of my huge, memorization based classes." --- General Biol Honors student.
"For going into...science, this was one of the best classes I could ever take...has benefited my learning, creative, inventive, and analytical skills more than any other I've taken." --- Junior in Education "If one is studying science in pursuit of a career, what more perfect practice than the models preselected for 'Solo Practice'? Few opportunities exist for undergraduates to get such practically useful notions presented to them on a weekly basis." --- anon
"Dr. Winfree was amazing, one of the most stimulating instructors that I have ever has the honor of learning from." --- anon
"This course is by far the most intriguing I have taken." --- Graduating senior in Molecular and Cellular Biology
"...wish that I could thank you in person for ... inspiring me, keeping
me motivated and keeping me hopeful. The project is coming together, in
ways that I could not have even imagined that it would, and I am nervous,
excited and giddy about really being able to do it... ... please know that
I, along with everyone who has heard the story of ... what an incredible
influence you have been on my education, thank you!
--- Undergrad Senior, reporting back a year after graduation
"...a chance to develop skills the UA has tried to destroy, namely THINKING.... has taught me how to be a better investigator: I am forced to think... this class is one of the best I've taken at the university... brings us interesting topics to learn about. All of the ideas we learn about are so crazy and I was so happy I took this course." --- concat anons
"I tremendously enjoyed this class...I thank you for making this exciting course available and giving all of us such an enriching experience." --- Graduating Pre-Med Senior
"This was the most enjoyable course I had at Univ of AZ...taught me that I can accomplish much more than I thought I could..." --- Graduating Senior in General Biology
"..really enjoyed the reading about inference, testing, generating multiple
hypotheses .. eye-opening class provided me many tools and opportunities
to practice... great class for science and education majors!! ... benefit
this class will have on my future teaching/learning of science."
Anon, graduating with intent to teach high school
"This class has been the best I have ever taken from the day I was born. I have never been more mentally challenged. I have never been so inspired by any other teacher as I have with Professor Winfree. I also know that a lot of the other students in this class share my feelings... . I will never forget what this class did for me... ." --- Graduating Senior in General Biology
"I have learned more in this class than any other! It is not merely learning stacks and stacks of history, theories, people, etc., but what I have learned in EEB 479 I will take with me!" --- Graduating Senior in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
"This class is one of the best I have taken at this university." --- Graduating Senior in Engineering
"The time committment was tough but I think I gained immeasurably. Its almost like I learned to think. (It sounds kinda wierd but it is true.)" --- Senior in Bio Education
"My brain will never be the same." --- Marine Biol/ Ecology senior
"...one of the most valuable classes I have ever taken. ...powerful instrument in helping me to see how I learn, how I think, how I don't... ." --- Graduating Senior in Molecular & Cellular Biology
"[This course] was worth about 10 normal classes as far as preparation for a scientific or other career --- and it was enjoyable (hard work though!!)" --- anon Physics major
"This has been the most thought-provoking class I have ever had. Thinking is usually not required at the U of A; it was nice to have to." ---anon Chemistry major
"Yes, this is the best course I have and will ever take." --- recent senior graduating from Math.
"This course is what I think teaching and learning science should be. Thanks for an exceptional course. This university needs more of them." --- High-School Teacher
"This course should be _required_ for any and all interested in careers in science." --- Anon
"This course should be required for all Computer Science majors." ---- one such senior
"...great course.. really learned to think more logically... one of the most practical courses I ever took! " " ...done a great job of teaching us things that will actually be useful in life.." --- anon
"...gained a new insight into what science is! Thanks!" --- anon
"...unique teaching style was helpful in breaking some of my bad habits." -- anon
"There are only two courses that I have taken here that I really liked and this is one of them ... it was great." --- anon
"...gave us a different view of science and education." --- anon
"one of the few classes of my college career that I didn't feel like a rat running through a maze for no reason other than to get to the end of it." --- anon
"If all the profs at UA showed the same level of enthusiasm, interest, and desire to teach, maybe I wouldnt be having such a hard time deciding what to do with my life right now." --- graduating senior, accepted to med schools
"...so 'worth it' that I aim to keep up this sort of thing and preserve my awakened appreciation for everyday phenomena (observations)." --- sophomore in General Biology
" I discovered a new part of me that I never knew existed, the part that could discover things, find something from nothing ... " --- anon
" ...taught me not to be afraid of a tough-looking problem ..." --- anon
" ...instead of the simple recitation of facts and concepts I'd gotten used to in going through school, I got excited about the process of solving problems ..." --- anon
" Since this class I really see things in different ways. It helped me to keep working at things when I would have given up long ago (not just science problems)..." --- anon
" ... felt I was playing a game of chess with myself and every time getting a bit better in the process of scientific discovery." --- anon
" ... forced me to stick to a problem rather than just give up after 20 min and convince myself I couldnt do it. " --- anon
" ... gained a lot of perspective and self-confidence. Tough to keep self-disciplined, but worth all the hours in terms of skills gained." --- anon
" I loved this class. " --- anon
"The [course] concept is ideal...spending those delicious hours gnawing at the rawhide of those 'Solo' Problems, I was thinking to myself, "This is what its all about." --- Anon
" This course and the accompanying GamesWorth problems _REALLY_ taught me a lot about my own problem-solving weaknesses and how I can effectively correct them. This is probably the most non-traditional class in my UA experience, and it has been the most useful! " --- Senior in General Biology
" This was the most thought-provoking course I _ever_ had. I felt like my interest in science has at least doubled from taking this course. It showed me the importance of _creativity_ in science and thought. " --- Honors Senior, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Spring 1999
"I found my time [in your course] an incredibly stimulating experience. I never have thought of myself as an overly creative person but here I've found myself in the role of the engineer with the "fresh perspective" on things. I owe most of that to the problem solving approach I learned with you. Thank you for being a valued mentor."--- senior in Engineering Physics, reporting back after two years at work
"Make this course a requirement for every student who attends this university. We are so rarely ever encouraged to develop our own thinking ability. I used to think (before I came to university) that the aim was to develop young minds and to encourage personal growth. But how can this happen when foundations can't be questioned (in large lecture courses)? How are advances in society ever supposed to take place until we learn that what is taught by esteemed professors is not always the right approach? I believe that this kind of critical thinking course would be not only advantageous but essential for every student, not only in scientific fields. Thank you for teaching me to think for myself. For this I can never repay you." --- anonymous (from Spring 2001 course critiques)
"I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the class. This was one of the few classes where I think the benefits were directly proportional to the amount of time I put into it. I certainly now agree with you that problem solving ability is a trainable skill, the weight-lifting analogy is a good one. I feel like I cleared the cobwebs out of my brain that had been building up for a while." --- EEB senior Fall 2001
"The analytical skills it fosters are universally beneficial. The philosophies it embodies are life- and outlook-enriching as well. It is a class devoted to defining "good science" and its methods, philosophies, and principles. it should be a mandatory course not only for science majors but for humanities, English, social science.." --- Undergrad senior Psychology and English major, minor in Math Fall 2001
"The best thing about this course is its ability to teach students to think critically "outside the box". This course develops critical thinking and imagination that is so needed." --- Anon senior undergrad Fall 2001
"I truly enjoyed your class. It was one of the most stimulating I have had since joining the university, in fact, ever. My success and enjoyment fed off of your enthusiasm. " --- Graduating major in Biochem, Math, and Psychology Fall 2001
"This class is what keeps me going through the week. You have restored my faith in professors." ---- Senior majoring in Computer Science and Psychology, 2002
"This class has been more fun than most... learning a lot ... not only
about facts but also about how I process things when thinking or solving
problems. I havent had a chance to do this in a class..." --- Senior in
EEB 2002
"My expectations for this class were already high at the beginning, however this class has already broken those limits. I like how we are challenged to think independently from all directions." --- Senior in EEB, 2002
"I needed this challenge because all my other classes are stale and
depressing." --- Senior in Psychology, 2002
a) students are so grateful for any personal attention whatever of any kind from any faculty (being acclimated to huge lecture courses tailored to the least common denominator) that any small course gets good reviews, I believe; and
b) besides first-week no-show's and disappearances, 1/9 the initial customers for this course (dozen recent semesters averaged) DROP before a mid- semester admin deadline. I know that in many cases these are excellent students who find they took on too much, and this course is the one that can be dropped w/o prejudice to strict requirements. And that some very bright students are accustomed to doing almost literally NO work in any course here, and find this course very cold water in that regard, and so drop; and
c) the course is continuously refreshed with changing materials
and methods, so older comments could be about materials I have since removed
: o)