BIOL 3140
Research Methods in Organismal Biology · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections
Boston College's ratings are bunched at the top — the median instructor averages about 88 out of 100 on the raw scale, and 44% of them clear 90 — so a raw score cannot separate anybody. Every figure here is ranked against BC classes and that rank is re-expressed out of 100, which is what turns a raw 88 — the middle of the university — into a figure that says where somebody actually stands. On this scale 77 is the median, 84 the top quarter and 91 the top tenth. Workload is then an adjustment on top of that, worth nothing at all for an ordinary one. Lighter work than 22% of BC classes.
The class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it — who taught it is the board below.
How is this worked out?
That is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between: the board carries each instructor's own score for this class, and the score above is the class averaged across all of them.
Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question. It is not a measure of difficulty, grading or workload.
How is this worked out?
Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.
One of Boston College's five workload bands, not a number of hours. Higher means more work, not worse.
How is this worked out?
Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.
Organismal biology is the study of living systems of all scales that shape the structure, function, ecology, and evolution of individual organisms. Experiments that elucidate how organisms respond to biotic and abiotic environmental stimulus over broad time scales--from changes in behavior to adaptation--are crucial to understanding biological diversity. In this course we'll explore the concepts and analytical tools that frame experimental research in organismal biology. Through group projects and active learning exercises, students will first make hypotheses concerning how organisms respond in time, space, and behavior to changes in environment and then design experiments and instruments that produce data to evaluate these hypotheses. Topics covered will include reconstructing phylogenetic history and the evolution of organismal form and function, evaluating form-function relationships, and the correlates of spatial and temporal distribution of organisms. In addition, the development of an analytical toolbox--specifically, learning the principles of data science and statistical analysis--is a central theme of this course. BIOL3030 Comparative Vertebrate Physiology is not an enforced prerequisite but is recommended.
| Instructor | Curve | Easiness | Challenge | RMP overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher KenaleyAssociate Professor of the Practice · Biology | 6476 raw · 5 records | 68−2 to the score | 65th | 5438 ratings · all classes |
There is no ranking to read here: Christopher Kenaley is the only instructor with evaluation records for BIOL 3140, so the number is a record, not a position. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.
Also taught by Christopher Kenaley
3 other classesOther BIOL classes
All of them| Class | Instructors | Course score |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 2040Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology Lab | 2176 records | 87 |
| BIOL 1310Anatomy and Physiology Lab 1 | 443 records | 78 |
| BIOL 1330Anatomy and Physiology Lab 2 | 443 records | 76 |
| BIOL 2210Microbiology for Health Professionals Laboratory | 341 records | 84 |
| BIOL 4260Human Anatomy with Lab | 135 records | 86 |
| BIOL 4330Human Physiology | 128 records | 85 |
The line
All 13 items · means across 5 recordsBars are ranks, not raw scores. Nothing here is graded good or bad.
What each item asks
- Explains Clearly
- The instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
- Available
- The instructor was available for help outside of class.
- Motivating
- The instructor motivated me to do my best work.
- Sparks Interest
- The course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
- Organized
- The course was well organized.
- Clear Goals
- The learning objectives for the course were clear.
- Useful Later
- What I learned is applicable beyond this course.
- Assignments
- Assignments and exams contributed to my learning.
- Fast Feedback
- I received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
- Useful Feedback
- The feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
- Workload
- How much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
- Challenge
- The course was intellectually challenging.
- Attendance
- Attending class was necessary to do well in this course.
Why these numbers are curved
Both the number and the bar are the rank against every comparable record we hold, printed back out of 100. BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so on the raw scale every cell here would read in the high eighties and every bar would be nearly full — thirteen numbers that tell you nothing. Each cell prints its raw BC figure and its percentile underneath, so nothing is hidden by the transform. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.
Game log
5 sections · newest first| Instructor | Term | Sec | Instr | Course | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Kenaley | Fall 2025 | 01 | 89 | 87 | 60 |
| Christopher Kenaley | Fall 2024 | 01 | 79 | 78 | 60 |
| Christopher Kenaley | Fall 2023 | 01 | 59 | 50 | — |
| Christopher Kenaley | Fall 2022 | 01 | 78 | 73 | 60 |
| Christopher Kenaley | Fall 2021 | 01 | 77 | 69 | 60 |
How to read this board
Instructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.