I have to say this course is below my expectation: It requires too much peer-review tests while what I've learnt/the teacher taught was limited.

Definitely not what I expected. It was announced as a course to 'explore the nature of science and biology, to discuss what science and biology are as disciplines of inquiry and how chemistry is foundational to understanding biology'. I basically expected an innovative way yo teach and stimulate interest in 'biology for non-biology students'. Well, the biological content of this first four weeks of course reduces to five criteria to define life (homeostasis, organization, energy use, reproduction, evolution), introduced in 9 minutes in week 3. The chemical basis (week 4) is a reminder that 'chemicals' are not synonym of 'bad things' and a 5 minutes introduction to four classes of biological macromolecules (carbs, proteins, nucleid acids, fats). The rest is mostly a report on the teacher's experience with 'common misconceptions on science and the scientific method'. If you have a high-school basis in biology (or even less than that...), you learn nothing. If not, the course provides little more than a few names and examples that, in the bast case, give the illusion of understanding rather than true understanding. The ratio of peer-reviews assignments to quizzes is too high and does not assure that you learn the notions, it's a case of blind leading the blind. Maybe things change with the following courses, but I hesitate to take them, I found this one too boring and basic. Perhaps it is mostly useful for teachers when covering the 'common misconception' aspects; it also has a honours track that seems almost exclusively targeted to educators (not at college/university, though!), since you need to devise pedagogical strategies and the like. If you are paying for this course, think twice and be sure that it's what you're looking for.

This course promises it is an introductory biology course. It is not. It will be helpful if you are in middle grade or if you are taking classes at University of Colorado Boulder. the content is very dull and basic. The professor makes the clases slow and not engaging. This course discouraged me from taking the full specialization because the content is so easy and unprepared. You waste a lot of time reviewing other's peer assignment and these assignments are not challenging but have questions like "Answer what is science and what are the dangers of people not knowing science". Don't waste your time on this course. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS IF YOUR GOAL IS TO LEARN BIOLOGY.

Too little information and a lot of quizzes to take

If you are going to take a biology course for credits or you will be going into a field where biology is constantly used, take this course and the specialization! This specialization and course are both fantastic

I enjoyed this course a lot! It showed me a different way of viewing the sciences.

I learned, enjoyed and got inspired to continue with biology.

I really enjoyed the course content and structure. What I did not enjoy is the lack of feedback I received from my peer-reviewed assignments ... the grades they gave me felt arbitrary without any kind of comments to put them in context. As an example, I received a .5 score on my first assignment (an average of a 1 and 0 rating), which I felt was absurd. I resubmitted the same exact assignment and magically received a 3 that second time.

Interesting and accessible. Fun, short assignments. Passionate lecturer whose career mission is to dispel common misconceptions about science and make science learning more fun so that more students can relax and enjoy science class rather than stress out over exams or memorizing thousands of facts. Whether you are a current student who feels demoralized in your introductory biology class, or if you are an adult learner like me who hasn't taken a science class in 15 years, this course provides an easy, light-hearted transition back into learning some pretty important material, and hopefully with less anxiety and trauma this time!

Thank you Coursera for providing free online courses. This course is offered by University of Colorado Boulder, to whom I am very grateful . It was a 4 week amazing. Through assessment I learnt how to apply Biology everywhere lens to daily lives. The video based learning was especially helpful. I learnt about the relationship between Chemistry and biology, Identifying living and Non living entities, how process of science works, common misconceptions and Biology everywhere Philosophy.

This actually makes Biology fun. It's a great start to this Specialization, no doubt. The assignments are engaging and the reading material is really good.

Annoying having to wait for others to review assignments, it can take quite awhile sometimes but otherwise good

In this course, all the videos and readings were very helpful to complete the assignments. Thank you!

This course is very simple, but amazing. Every basic are important that i know from this course.

for me, this course was very useful. Thanks a lot for the valuable information .

It was amazing course with extraordinary information.

Because I love everything about science and biology

simple words Biology in a differenyt way

Its very Knowledgeable and Informative.

good and educated stuff for students

wonderful course thank you

Was a very useful course.