James Bryant, Ph.D.
	Lecturer
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Education Work Experience Research Interests Courses Taught BIO 318M Biostatistics Statistical Foundations Introduction To SPSS BIO 360K Immunology BIO 160L Immunology Lab Background & Personal Interests Calendar Student Opportunities External Links	BIO 318M - Biostatistics Course Objectives  Teaching Philosophy  Pre-Reqs  Previous Syllabi  Testimonials 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Please select the year above - to jump to earlier testimonials.     2013, Dharma Hi Dr. Bryant, My name is Dharma, i'm sure you do not remember me because you have taught many students over the years. I took your biostats class in 2009. I remember your class as being one of the classes where I had to put alot more effort, because the work load was a little more. I remember your teaching style and how you made us learn and understand the material. I didn't quite understand why this would be so important in the future. Now about 4 years later, I'm in my third semester of medical school here in St. Georges University in the Caribbean, I would have loved to go to an American medical school but not being a citizen at that time would have made it close to impossible but I digress. The reason I am emailing you today is to thank you because it is incredible how much I remembered and retained that I can apply now in medical school during this class I am taking now that incorporates biostatistics, so much so that I immediately signed up to become a TA. I understood why each test was used and how to phrase the answers and what t tests and chi squared and p values all meant and I'm helping other students as well. I had a presentation today and the professor was impressed and had no further questions for me and she said that was perfect, because I managed to explain the reason for using a test, what the values meant and interpret the results very well. I attribute my success in this subject to your instruction. I just wanted to let you know that as students, we may not always understand the value of the professor at the time but now looking back a little older and a little wiser, we do appreciate the knowledge that you have shared with us. Thank you once again and I sincerely hope that all is well with you. Dharma.   Top of Page     2012, Danielle Hi Dr. Bryant, I hope all is well. I have been meaning to thank you for a great course this past Spring. Although at first the Socratic Method of teaching scared me a bit (even after 4 years of university!), I see now that Biostats was a valuable course and was even more so due to your teaching style and attention to students' progression. I have been thinking a lot about how students just find a way to pass through classes not really absorbing anything but really regurgitating for a grade, and while that may be easy for some, it definitely isn't the most interesting or worthwhile method of going through college. Your class was truly a return to how I believe classes should be taught. Best regards, Danielle   Top of Page     2012, Karli Dr. Bryant, Tonight I did all of the statistical analyses on a paper my dad is submitting to a prestigious medical journal. STATISTICS IN REAL LIFE!! Now he thinks I'm a genius. I ran an ANOVA. Just letting you know I'm already getting a return on my biostats investment! Thanks! Karli   Top of Page     2011, Adam Dr. Bryant’s new BIO 318M Students, This class will be one of the hardest, but most rewarding classes you will take at UT. This class is completely worth the challenge! Before this class I did not have any understanding of statistics, as it was my first stats class. However, I came out with a deep understanding of biostatistics. Because of this class, I am now pursuing a career heavily based on biostatistics. The most gratifying thing I got out of this class is that I can now understand scientific papers. Coming into this class, I could only understand the results section of paper. I can now understand the statistical methods of a study to see how they set up their experiment and obtained their results, which is the most important part of a study. It is a great feeling to understand how to accurately carry out a scientific study. In order to do well in this class you must stay up with the material, DO NOT fall behind. It is a fast paced course that keeps building on earlier material. Make sure to read the chapter before class. If you do not, you will have absolutely no idea what is going on and will get nothing out of class. You must study for this class every day to do well. It is not a class you can start studying for the week of, I promise. Dr. Bryants tests are designed to be learning tools, so dont feel bad if you do poorly sometimes. However, you must go into to see him and talk about what you did wrong or else you will miss it again on the next test. This is crucial to making an A. I went over every test with him, which allowed me to see what I did wrong and fix it for the next test. Good luck in BIO318M, it will be one of the most useful classes you take as an undergrad.   Top of Page     2011, Andrew Teaching Assistant During the fall of 2011, I was a teaching assistant for BIO318 taught Dr. Bryant. In my opinion, this is an excellent course that does well preparing students in the application of statistics to biological problems. Perhaps most importantly and uniquely this course prepares students to think statistics, rather than just do statistics. Dr. Bryant spends a significant amount of time teaching students how to approach problems and this provides a solid foundation upon which the mathematics can be built. This foundation is essential for any student wanting to apply statistics to real-world situations, and it is, I believe, sometimes overlooked in the academic world. This class goes beyond simply using equations. Dr. Bryant teaches necessary problem-solving skills needed to do statistics and do it well, and this is one reason this class is so effective. Noteworthy also is Dr. Bryant’s use of the Socratic method when teaching. By actively engaging students in discussion, he fosters an interactive, interesting, and stimulating classroom environment. I was so impressed by his teaching method I that have adopted it for use in my own teaching. This is a rigorous course no doubt about it. But students get out of it what they put into it. To be successful in this course it is necessary first and foremost to spend the necessary time working on the homework this may seem obvious, but cannot be stressed enough. It is also important that students not only attend the mandatory laboratory component, but that they stay afterwards for the voluntary second hour to ask questions from the teaching assistants. Finally, I will mention that Dr. Bryant is a natural teacher who thoroughly enjoys his job. More than this, however, he is a mentor, and one that always goes the extra mile to help his students. I am lucky to have worked with him and would recommend this class without reservation.   Top of Page     2011, Arvind I plowed my way through much of college with a rather cynical attitude towards coursework, grades and the whole affair of schooling: I studied for every course with the sole aim of scoring an A. I learnt to, essentially, game the system. I'd learn enough, but not one iota more than was necessary to do well on a test. I made no attempt to store any of the information I was exposed to for future use after finals week. I'd never interact with my professors unless absolutely necessary. Learning for its own sake or getting a solid grip on a subject was something I left for my free-time and for vacations, and the internet and/or library books were my principal guides there. This strategy served me phenomenally well - if you believe that GPA is an accurate metric of academic ability, anyway, which Dr. Bryant does not (I am inclined to agree!) - and I remain a 4.0 student going into my 6th semester of college. This attitude did not serve me well in BIO318M, however, and I was forced to adopt a somewhat more pro-active approach to the material in this class. BIO318M with Dr. Bryant is not a class you can "game" or blow off and still manage to score well (not unless you're gifted or already intimately familiar with the concepts being related). It gave me a mastery over the subject material that I haven't really achieved in any other course I've ever taken. The course is structured to poke and prod you into learning and relearning key concepts to death - you will be tested (5 exams in total), questioned ("socratic" classes + iclicker quizzes) and assigned work (weekly assignments + project) incessantly. But why, you might reasonably ask, should you put yourself through this? Statistics is, in and of itself, interesting for a number of reasons: it is a critically important tool in an inexact science like Biology, it raises and answers some interesting philosophical questions (what can we truly say about the "real world"? how can we understand things through collected data?) and, finally, an understanding of statistics is a powerful way to evaluate the truth-value of claims (health claims, political arguments, scientific claims etc.) that you may come across in your daily life. If you believe that Statistics is worth learning - in and of itself - for these or any other reasons, then this is the course to take. It really is designed to make the appropriate application of statistical methods to data effortless for you, in due time. And the way concepts are reinforced throughout the semester will ensure that you will retain the major ideas, if not the particular protocols for each statistical test, for a long, long time. I certainly wasn't able to skirt by this class, as I had done in so many other classes, and I had to put a great amount of effort into learning it all slowly. It did improve my studying skills. Lastly, I would caution against despairing if you get a low grade on the first exam - things get better as you move along, provided you try to understand your mistakes and learn from them.   Top of Page     2011, Christine Dr. Bryant, I hope this email finds you well. I was a student in your Summer I 2011 Biostats course. I graduated following your course and as such, do not check my utexas account all that often. I came across your request for testimonials and although it is late, I would like to submit one as your course left a lasting and very positive impression upon me. What is included in my testimonial but something you can share with you current classes is my use of statistics right now, what I felt would be one of the unlikeliest places/jobs to use it. I am currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru. My idea of the Peace Corps coming into the organization was language acquisition, construction and health projects, and living without luxury. Though my work here has included all of the above we do use a pragmatic approach to our work, which includes statistics, to my surprise. Our first three months at our site are dedicated to a community diagnostic. We compose our own health surveys, organize interviews, complete community maps, analyze census and local health clinic statistics, among other things. All this is compiled into a report which we present to our community, fellow volunteers, and health program staff. During training we had a session over qualitative and quantitative measures and using statistics in our diagnostic and future work. Statistics is our foundation. While over the course of the summer semester I came to appreciate the use and benefits of statistics, I still did not expect to use it in my current work. What I learned in your course continues to aid me even while living without technology and many other resources. I am very grateful for the knowledge and skills I learned in your course and for your teaching style, which only aided in allowing me to thoroughly understand and retain the information. I expect my use of statistics to only continue into the future. Thank you for your approach to the subject and for truly caring about the progress of your students. Best, Christine   Top of Page     2011, David I heard the rumors about how tough Biostatistics was, but I am glad that I took this course despite the warnings not to. This course has helped me in other classes involving statistics, but more importantly, it has helped me develop critical thinking skills. I am now able to look at problems at different angles and be able to solve them in a more efficient and effective manner. To be successful in this class, it takes a lot of hard work. One of the ways that helped me in this class was by doing the problems that were assigned in the homework. Although these problems are just a completion grade, it is really important to do the problems all the way through and try to understand how to solve them. Also, it is essential that you keep up with the material in class, otherwise you will get too far behind. Throughout the semester I kept contemplating why I took this class, but it felt really good to see that all my hard work and effort put into this class paid off in the end. Biostatistics has taught me how to process my everyday problems and how to come up with a solution quickly and I'm glad that I took the class.   Top of Page     2011, Erin Biostatistics with Dr. Bryant was easily the most difficult course I have taken at the University of Texas (I am a senior and have gone through Organic Chemistry and several upper division biology courses). I have never felt more stressed/frustrated or dedicated so much time to a course. One could say it drove me crazy. The workload is very heavy and I would suggest any future students not ignore this class (like you might do others) until a few days before an exam. The exams are tricky and nearly impossible to finish, but I feel that these characteristics of the exams are the essence of the course. Dr. Bryant makes sure you actually master the material in a deep manner; it is not enough to know how to run a calculation. You have to know WHY you are running a certain calculation and what exactly your final answer means in the context of a real life situation. That is why this course is so valuable to every biology student at UT. It is applicable to nearly every possible future career. This is one of those courses in which you really feel like you've accomplished something when the semester is over. It also makes you look at the world differently. For example, I recently saw a mattress commercial stating that something like 93% of people had less back pain when they woke up in the morning after sleeping on this mattress. I kept going through all of the steps of experimental design and wondered if that mattress could really be trusted to treat my hypothetical back pain. Another word of advice would be to go to Dr. Bryant for help as much as you need it. He is very willing to dedicate time to all of his students. It'll seem impossible and cut throat at first, but don't be scared off and don't worry about your number grade, because it won't be pretty. Everything will work out in the end if you keep up with the work and constantly go through basics you've already learned. If you're the kind of person that realizes the educational value in a course, you will appreciate this class. Thanks Dr. Bryant!   Top of Page     2011, Jonathan Biostatistics is by far easily one of the most difficult courses I have taken in my undergraduate career. However, it was difficult because it came with challenges of how to critically think and understand the question asked. If you do not have any background in statistics, this course will be more work for you, as it was for me. Help yourself succeed by reading the material and attending every lecture. Just as important, complete every homework and attend all computer lab sections. I would also suggest that you set up private office hours with Dr. Bryant every week, even if you don't feel the need to. Doing so will allow you to talk to Dr. Bryant in private, which he can give you his full attention. He's a great guy, and does everything he can to allow his students access to him. Following these steps should pass you in this course. No matter how well you do, assuming you pass the course, it will impart on you a new way you look at statistics. It will also affect your everyday life as you have learned another way to critically think and question the things that happen around you.   Top of Page     2011, Josh Hey Dr. Bryant, I hope your year has been going well so far. I saw you did a Science Study Break lecture investigating Sherlock Holmes and tried to attend but unfortunately had a test that night, however if you do another one I'd love to attend. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I really enjoyed your class, it was demanding, difficult, and somehow still enjoyable. You were an entertaining teacher and although the Socratic method felt a little strange at the time, I find myself wishing other classes would implement it because it really was an effective teaching tool. I'm glad to have the opportunity to write a testimonial for your class, as difficult as it was I sincerely think it was one of the more rewarding classes I've taken so far. So, without further ado, here is my testimonial for the 2011 BIO318M course, which you have my permission to use, however I do ask that my last name remain anonymous: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone who plans on studying Biology should be required to take this course, especially those interested in research fields. Prior to this class I would look at research papers and see a bunch of meaningless p-values and charts with numbers that meant nothing to me. Now, after Dr. Bryant's class, looking at research papers is a breeze and I actually understand what the researchers are showing, and sometimes even find myself critiquing their methods. As I write this, every upper division biology class I've taken has required us to read research papers and I feel that in every case I am better equipped to understand the underlying statistics and the paper as a whole compared to my classmates. The benefits of this class aren't restricted to research papers either. After this class you'll find yourself listening to news reports or commercials or whatever else that want to convince you two factors are related and you'll think to yourself "correlation is not causation!" and feel immune to being so easily convinced. This class provides you with a new way of thinking that can be utilized in any situation. That being said, this class is not easy. You can't fall behind. The class will be the bane of your existence for the entirety of the semester. However, if you put the work in, stay on top of your reading, and pay attention in class you find that all the work pays off. The key to succeed in this class is to not get too hung up on grades, but instead to really focus on understanding the material. Dr. Bryant's office hours and forming a study group will do wonders not only to help you better understand the material, but to also realize you aren't the only one in the class who is afraid you might fail. (Seriously, form a study group. If nothing else it helps to have a group to complain with about how hard the class is.) In short, this is a demanding course, but it is not impossible. Put the work in, and you will walk out of the final exam much more knowledgable and with a feeling of accomplishment knowing that you've successfully completed one of the hardest classes UT has to offer.   Top of Page     2011, Josh Hey Dr. Bryant! I absolutely loved your class and teaching style. Maybe I just have a thing for statistics, but I wish more classes were as engaging as yours. You really challenged me to think and the Socratic method made it feel like I was building my own understanding of the material rather than just being lectured to. At the end of every lecture I felt like I had made accomplishments, which was very reinforcing and made me look forward to the next class. I'll happily submit the following testimonial for your website/syllabus. I was always frustrated in math classes. When I found out I had to take statistics I was definitely uneasy. But Dr. Bryant's method of teaching made no assumptions and I went from knowing practically nothing about the subject to having a firm mastery of it. It's easy to get lost in all the numbers, but at its core, statistics is really just about logic. Dr. Bryant is exceptional at challenging you to think and not simply know how to do statistics, but to understand why you're doing it. After taking his class, suddenly I was able to read scientific papers with a new clarity, which has helped immensely with upper division classes and research projects. Not only that, but it has given me a whole new perspective on the world that I can apply to all aspects of life - scientific, medical, financial, political, etc. Take this class! More importantly, take Dr. Bryant!   Top of Page     2011, Michael First off, YOU CAN DO IT! Some of you may be sitting in class wondering if you can master this course, and as someone who asked myself that question sitting in Dr. Bryant's class, it is possible. But you will need to put in a lot of effort to do so. BIO318M was honestly one of the most valuable classes I have taken at UT. Not only was my knowledge of statistics vastly increased, but I learned a new style of thinking which has aided me in future classes. One thing that clicked for me in this class and made it A LOT more manageable was to follow Dr. Bryant's outline of how to approach a problem: Question of interest, Define the variables, Determine the structure of the data, Come up with a list of possible tests and rule out the ones that don't apply to the data set, Apply the tests, etc. It really helped me with the problem sets and the exams. Also, don't skimp on the readings, participate in class actively, and go to Office Hours. Dr. Bryant really cares about your progress and wants to help you become a better statistics student. You get what you put into the class. You can do it, and know that this class will be of great benefit to you! Best of Luck!   Top of Page     2011, Silu Teaching Assistant During the course I learned about how to understand complicated life and natural phenomena with using systematic and logical methodology. I learned about what specific inferential statistical test to choose given different kinds of data sets and the logic foundations of different statistical tests. I cannot emphasize how important for a graduate student it is to learn statistics well. With it, research can be done efficiently and solidly centered by good experimental design. It is the stage allowing creativity and imagination to show themselves. I could start design my own statistical test flexibly for my graduate work considering the "signal over noise" idea for all test statistics. Also, after TAing for this course, I became more critical and acute about what the statements from newspapers, scholar journals and seminars based on the data they show. I was surprised how easy people can get cheated by statistics if one doesn't understand it well. The Socratic method used in the course is an important way to learn from a an hour and a half lecture. Human neural biology constrains our duration of attention to a shorter period. By asking students questions, forcing everyone to concentrate and actively interact, getting immediate feedback, students can learn better. I would recommend keeping up with all the readings and lab works from the beginning of the course. Stay active and critical, ask questions until everything makes sense. After the course one of the students told me that even though he didn't get the optimal grade, the course helped him a lot philosophically and personally.   Top of Page     2011, Suzanne Hello Jim, Although I put off taking this class until the second semester of my senior year, I really, really should have taken it sooner. As the course progressed, projects that I had struggled to analyze popped into my head. Had I taken this course sooner, the time required for these projects would have been cut in half. Now that I'm in veterinary school, I am able to recognize whether drug companies misused statistics (comparing another drug's sensitivity to their drug's specificity, for example), although this doesn't happen very often. When do I use statistics the most often? When a professor sends an email telling us the average (mean) on a test. I check the grade distribution and find the median. In almost every case, the median is much higher than the mean and I feel worse about the grade I received. It also makes me happy that I can understand this comic: http://xkcd.com/552/   Top of Page     2011, Tim First of all, I tried to avoid taking this class with Dr. Bryant because of the horror stories I heard and course evaluations through myedu. I had to take this class because it was on my degree plan and I had late registration. The class wasn't fun during the fact, but it truly is a class I can look back at and find valuable. Dr. Bryant cares about the progress of his students and is open to helping any student that seeks help. Lower than traditional grades are not bad grades. His grading scheme is designed to keep students on their toes and is supposed to drive students to keep their foot on the gas all semester. Just FOLLOW DIRECTIONS to the tee and listen to what he has to say and you will pass the course. LISTEN to him, I can't stress this enough. Really attempt the homework assignments and the pre-lecture questions, these help tremendously for preparing for his exams. He is not just a statistics teacher but he likes to talk in office hours and talk about how statistics can help with life. Be critical and ask questions. Questioning everything has helped me so much since I have left this course.   Top of Page     2011, Valarie The most important thing in this course is to do the homework. My routine was to get it done the night before it was due and to sleep at 2 AM. It was worth it every single time. If you do the homework, the actual need to study drastically cuts. Others find the homework to be annoying -I found it to be the absolute key to my success in this course. I'd say the second most important thing is to know the flow chart of tests. Remember it, be able to reproduce it, and use it correctly. It is practically the whole point of the course. I would also like to emphasize that you MUST make appointments about your group project with Professor Byrant. I remember working with my group members in the ACA lab and being asked by other groups about what to do and why. Save yourself (and those poor TAs) a lot of trouble and walk into the office hours before the deadline -no matter how confused or absolutely lost you feel. I can honestly say I find this course a lot more useful now that I'm doing research and reading scientific papers. While I keep all of my college course notes stacked in a corner of my room, I've only actually dusted off the Biostatistics pile and used them. Biostatistics isn't a blow-off course but it isn't as hard as it looks when you do the homework and look over your class notes.   Top of Page     2011, Vincent Hi, everyone. My name is Vincent I took Biostats with Professor Bryant back in the spring of 2011. As I write this, it's been just about a year since I took the course and I could totally say that it hasn't done a single thing for my life, and hasn't positively influenced me in any way. That would, of course, be a pretty bald-faced lie, especially since I've seen the concepts and ideas that I learned in my semester of Biostats pop up in more unusual situations than I can remember. While taking Biostats, one of the first things I noticed was that we spent almost an egregious amount of time reviewing material we'd already reviewed, to the point where I was going to class expecting to spend the first fifteen minutes dozing off. And yet: every day that I went to class, those reviews were never really the waste that I thought they would be every question that was asked, re-asked, re-phrased, and re-presented to us on a weekly basis was something that would serve as the foundation for my ability to understand things both later on in the class, and later on in completely unrelated courses. Never underestimate the power of college students to forget material they've just learned and similarly, never underestimate the ability to repetitive review to help those exact same college students remember things so much better. More than just little snippets of information and other factoids though, the other thing of great importance that I gained from the class was the understanding of the theory behind statistics as a whole. It doesn't sound like a whole lot, and it definitely isn't something that you can take to a party and brag about, but it can single-handedly be difference between reading an article about the Next Greatest Thing on Earth and thinking it just might be or finding yourself knowledgeable enough to realize that it's nothing more than the Next Big Scam. The stuff you'll learn in this class isn't just about numbers, nor is it just about some concepts that might vaguely be related to reality that you just might use if Mars is in the Third House and the skies are darkened due to a solar eclipse. These are things that, if you let them, will change the way you look at the world itself things that you can take with you into research projects on topics you have never studied, knowing that you can still reason out why a project might be failing when it does. Because they will research projects, that is. But at least with the background in statistics that you'll have at the end of this class, you'll know why.   Top of Page     2011, Wenjing Teaching Assistant This course provided me with a chance to review and enhance the understanding of previously acquired knowledge. For example, ignoring the long definition full of various restrictions, the central limit theorem is actually a solution to a general problem. It tells the characteristic of the sample sum Sn as n approaches infinity. The computer lab provides abundant practices. I gained a broad exposure to statistical analysis of different sorts of data and familiarized myself with the entire process of statistical inference once and once again. Going through the Socratic questioning process has greatly improved my ability of critical thinking. In fact, Biostatistics has been used in every single branch of biological and medical researches now. My research in Biology was DNA micro-array for genetic network, for which both bench work and data process are important. Right after the detection of Biochemical signals, raw data will be normalized into Normal or Gaussian distribution. After logarithmic transformation, various statistical analysis are used to describe and compare characteristics of the data, such as t test, wilcoxon rank sum test, ANOVA and many more. Generally speaking, the role of statistics today is clearly at a point where it is set to become indispensable in almost every profession. Strong statistical and quantitative skills enhance one's competitiveness no matter what his/her major is. The Socratic questioning method is an inquiry approach that stimulates critical thinking. "An original question is responded to as though it were an answer. This in turn forces the first questioner to reformulate a new question in light of the progress of the discourse." In practice, students tend to simply answer questions raised by the teacher one after another. However, what we really wish to see is a frequent switch of role when the students bravely seek solutions by asking questions to the teacher and develop the talk into a debate. The success of the Socratic method majorly depend on the students. They need to be active and prepared. I would say that efficient study group, active in-class interaction and office hour guarantee the success of this course. Students cannot success this course by simply memorizing the book. Instead, they have to THINK. They first discuss the preview questions with study group members, then verify their ideas through class interaction. Finally they take office hours if there are still confusions. Studying alone is very time consuming and low efficient for this course. Students should take advantages of the provided resources and use help from their teacher, TAs and classmates.   Top of Page     2011, Yelena Dr. Bryant's BIO318M course has been by far the most useful (but possibly the most challenging) course I have taken as an undergraduate at UT. Aside from teaching me the steps of how to run basic statistical tests and interpret results, which are important to a student of the sciences for obvious reasons, it has also taught me to think (more) critically, which I have applied to my other classes, research, and daily life. While Dr. Bryant's "Socratic Method" of teaching may seem unusual and slightly intimidating at first, it is actually a much better way to learn than the lecture-style typical of other courses. Because of the fear of being called on in class, it's alot easier to get motivated to read ahead and prepare for each lecture. Also, psychology studies show that actively engaging with the material facilitates encoding, something that I have found to be true based on my experience in Biostatistics. Studying the textbook with the prospect of being tested in mind encourages more thorough reading, answering questions in class helps detect holes in your knowledge that you can then work to fill in, and being prodded to think about the true meaning and relevance of concepts during discussions aids the achievement of a deeper understanding of the topics. So, my best advice is this: come prepared to class by reading the assigned textbook section and reviewing the posted questions ahead of time, GO TO EVERY CLASS (you will get a completely different and better understanding of concepts than by simply reading the textbook), participate in group discussions, try to answer questions in your head before the answer is revealed in class, and don't be afraid to ask questions if something is unclear. If you are constantly engaged and work at understanding each concept to gradually build up your understanding of statistics, I guarantee you will do better on exams than if you put off learning the material and then have to cram facts without taking the time to think deeper about the global concepts and implications. If you follow my advice above and genuinely try to do everything that Dr. Bryant demands of you, you are likely to come out of the course with a valuable skill that you can apply to almost all other areas of your life: critical thinking. Dr. Bryant makes a big fuss of teaching his students to think critically. At first I didn't understand what the big deal was. However, with hindsight, I realize that understanding how to think critically has been the most valuable insight I have gained as a college student. I believe that critical thinking is the hallmark of a great scientist. It has been invaluable to me as a contribution to my test-taking skills, reading and analyzing scientific journal articles for my upper-division biology courses and labs, and in my research. I have actually gotten recognition from the P.I. in my research lab for my competence in science, which I attribute largely to the guidance of Dr. Bryant. Furthermore, critical thinking can and should be applied to every-day situations. I am able to interpret statistics in the news, advertising, political campaigns, philosophies, shopping, career choices, issues related to medicine/health, etc with a more enlightened disposition. Recently, I found myself in an argument with a conspiracy theorist, and I found myself exclaiming, "By god, think critically about this!"   Top of Page     2010, Hwa Grader I was a grader for BIO318M for the spring semester in 2010 and learned that Dr. Bryant was a very diligent instructor for his courses. He prepared his courses very well and used well-organized teaching materials and grading rubrics. For example, he always prepared an agenda for theTAs and graders and gave detailed instructions on how to teach students or grade student’s homework and exams. In addition, I realized how much he loved his teaching and students, even though I worked with him just one semester. I believe that students will be able to succeed in his courses if they follow his instructions and grading rubrics, because his homework was designed for students to understand each concept completely. Thus, the important things for success in this course are precision and diligence.   Top of Page     2010, Kirk Biostats is by far the most useful class I've taken at UT to date. I use the basics almost every week reading through research articles and it helps a ton when you have to do research projects in other classes, it looks really impressive when you've got stats analyzed with actual statistics rather than just an Excel spreadsheet with default error bars. As far as your course I would tell people to focus on the big picture stuff; know what type of data each test is used for but don't concentrate on the procedures too much (you get a procedure sheet for the exams). For me the easiest way to do this was pull up those huge SPSS data sets and play around with each of the tests to see what I could find out about the data. Thanks for a great course!   Top of Page     2010, M Hello, I took your infamous Biostatistic class a few years back. In any event, I wanted to let you know what an impression that class left on me and how well it prepared me for my Biostatistics class in Graduate School. I just finished my first semester in at the George Washington University in DC working towards my MPH and biostats was a breeze for me this semester, ie I blame it on your class (even though I absolutely hated it at the time)! Have a good Holiday break and thanks again! Best, M   Top of Page     2010, Nkem Statistics helps you to understand the world better. Every time there are reports in the news citing statistics and people often take it at face value. Sometimes it is bad news and they panic and take drastic decisions relating to their families. They never stop and ask questions but one thing this course taught me was to QUESTION EVERYTHING. Anyone can just spit out a bunch of numbers but those numbers must make sense in the real world if not they are just rubbish. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should disregard information just because, but you must be able to ask intelligent and thoughtful questions about what you’re presented with. There are always stories in the news of highly regarded scientists retracting papers in respected publications because of poorly conducted experiments or unsupported conclusions. To be successful in BIO318M you must stay on top of all class work/assignments and always seek out the TA or Dr. Bryant with any questions you have even if you think it’s stupid. The assignments may seem repetitive but they serve to hammer home the point, literally. The course work may seem like a lot of calculations and math but to be honest, you must understand the concepts thoroughly if not you wouldn’t know what you’re doing or why. The assignments and tests try to present information in a real-world manner so that you can easily conceptualize the material and understand what is going on. Always do you’re assignments in steps, regardless of whether you think you know the material. I felt the same way too but doing everything in steps helps to arrange your thoughts in a logical manner. It also makes it easy for you to spot your mistakes. Make sure you never fall behind on the material or assignments, the course material are designed in such a way that the previous material builds onto the next topic and so on. Stop and ask questions if you don’t get it. If you fail to do so and you let it pile up, you’d get lost and overwhelmed. I made a habit of doing all work assigned in this course in a timely manner when everything is fresh in my mind. Go to class! Dr. Bryant explains every topic with many, many examples where you have the liberty to make mistakes and learn. There is often opportunity for extra credit, make good use of it! The course work here is NOT light or easy, but if you do what you’re supposed to do you will walk away with the grade you want.   Top of Page     2010, Robin Hello James, How are you doing? Before I write my testimonial, let me update you on my current life situation. I am currently a first year student at the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, and I just finished my first semester. The workload I had this semester was definitely arduous, but I have learned more things in such a short time frame than I ever thought was possible. I am excited to see what is in store for next semester, and the following years of my Pharm D. education. In regards to your course, I would have to say that the knowledge I acquired in statistics has allowed me to be more skeptical when making important life decisions (e.g. buying toothpaste, haha). I have to say that I don't currently use statistical analysis in my studies, but I have benefited from your course in regards to thinking conceptually. For instance, if I do not know the definition to a word in medical terminology, I can think conceptually and break down the words into it's components. The word hepatosplenomegaly seems daunting at first glance. But if you break it down into it's components, the definition is readily available. The word part "hepato-" refers to liver (e.g. hepatocytes are liver cells). The second part "spleno-" refers to the spleen (e.g. splenectomy is a procedure involving the removal of part or all of the spleen). And lastly "-megaly" describes an enlargement of a body part. Therefore, hepatosplenomegaly can be defined as the enlargement of the spleen and liver in the body. This abnormal state presents itself as a swelling of the abdominal region. Thanks to conceptual thinking, I was easily able to define that relatively complex word. In your course, I was successful because I stayed caught up with all the material, and worked through statistical problems all the time. If I needed help on a particular question, I did not hesitate to ask Dr. Bryant for help. If you can't work through a problem on your own, make use of the resources available to you to solve the problem (i.e. Ask your professor).   Top of Page     2009, Juan Teaching Assistant I was a Teaching Assistant of Dr. James Bryant during 2008 and 2009 for Biostatistics. I think that his instruction style and interaction with students is excellent and contributed to their learning of BIO318M course contents. During the time that I participated in the course, I appreciated his dedicated teaching methodology from basic concepts to the practical use of statistics in Biology. Dr. Bryant engaging teaching has promoted critical thinking and active participation of all students through new technology such as remote clickers. Students were also mentored in the development of their own projects and presented their results to peers. All of these experiences constitute an appropriate scheme to learn Biostatistics and used them in real life, such as public speaking about numbers and trends, coherent organizations of ideas, and improvement after constructive criticisms.   Top of Page     2009, Kim To all taking this course: First, you are likely taking it because you have to, which means you need it to graduate.  Therefore, doing it the right way is going to be your course of least resistance, even though it won't feel that way as you're going through it.  It feels like a fire hose full blast down your throat.  Trust me on both counts. Second, to make it through, you MUST LISTEN TO JIM.  He's been through this with 100's of students.  He knows what works and what doesn't, and he tells you every step of the way what you should be doing.  Don't blow this off.  Just do what he says, and you will pass.  He really does care a lot, more than any other professor at UT that I have encountered.  He is there to talk you through it.  Utilize his experience and willingness to help.  Don't be shy.  If you don't understand in class, speak up because chances are 75% of the class doesn't either. Third, you're going to have to work hard.  I have never worked harder in a class.  Know this going in and just do the work and be timely.  If you wait, it will pile up at the end, and you need that time to study the last round of material for the final.  Fourth, there is extra credit to go through every test question, on each exam and I recommend you do this right when you get it back - not right before the deadline.  It will take 3-5 hours to complete each one, and if you wait to do all three when they're due at the end of the semester, then you'll hang yourself in trying to do that, finish labs/homework, and learn the new material for the final. Fifth, once you make it through, you'll realize you can accomplish anything.  Additionally, you will see the world through an entirely different and more discerning paradigm.  Best of luck! Kim   Top of Page     2009, Kumar Teaching Assistant I served as Teaching Assistant to Jim Bryant's Biostatistics course. As a TA, it was not an easy course primarily because it required a lot of grading. Still, I thought I would happily choose to be a TA for a difficult course and learn something than an easy one and learn not much. Although I had already taken a couple grad level statistics courses, being TA really helped me crystallize my knowledge of basic statistics. I was so pleased by the fundamentals I learnt being a TA that I chose to be TA again for the course. Later, I sent an undergrad who was working with me to this course. As I predicted (I had given him warning), he seemed to be a bit worried all the time because of the nature of the course and the amount of the work. But at the end of semester, he came out smiling and satisfied saying: "now I have tools in my hand." There are few courses that help you excel in every discipline and this is one of them. Best, Kumar   Top of Page     2008, Alleene Jim, I haven't had to use any stats yet, so I'd be a crappy choice to write this. On the upside, because of this class, I did understand this webcomic: http://xkcd.com/539/ Alleene   Top of Page     2008, Allison If I had to choose one course that was required for all students- this would be it. BIO318M teaches you the foundations behind statistical practice and helps you become familiar with the tests and concepts utilized by researchers in all fields all over the world. By understanding the fundamentals of statistical theory you are able to comprehend, analyze, and criticize work and statistics in scientific journals and in the media- a skill that is highly needed within the natural sciences inparticularly. This class will be unlike your typical 300 person introductory course. Jim makes sure to involve all his students in the learning process, and really takes the time to make sure his teaching methods are of the highest quality. For UT students who like blending into the crowd- give it a chance and you will see his methods are pretty refreshing. My biggest suggestion is to make sure and DO THE HOMEWORK. By practicing the problems and really working to understand how and why you came to a solution will REALLY benefit you when it comes to test time. Also, ATTEND CLASS-- it really saves you time to sit and listen to the material and how it can be applied to real life problems. You will ultimately save yourself time by attending. You will not do as well as you think on the first test, but sit tight and continue to learn how to approach his tests, and you will do fine. Best of luck for a great semester!   Top of Page     2008, Yang Hey Jim, It's great to hear from you. It's Yang and here is my testimony: BIO 318M Biostatistics was one of the most meaningful courses I ever took that has impacted me and continues to do so. Being the only statistics course I've taken, it has given me a solid introduction to the basics of statistics. The concepts and practicalities to this subject allows me to understand a broad range of experiments in various field from evolution to biochemistry. Even as I look at research papers in my current neuropharmacology course, I remember thinking back to how I came across such error bars and p-values while learning those topics in BIO 318M. However, it wasen't just the statistics that was valuable to me when I came out of this course. Jim is a also big fan of critical thinking and he placed heavy emphasis towards this skill set on his exams. The challenge has encouraged me to be logical when approaching problems and this has paid dividends on courses that required alot of thinking. My computer programming course probably would have been alot harder last semester if I didn't happen to sign up for BIO 318M. I am still very glad I took this course and like most science courses, I believe that as long as you keep up with the readings and assignments, doing well in this course will come naturally. You can put my testimonial up on the web if it helps. My name is Yang and I took this course 2008 Hope you are will Jim,   Top of Page     2007, Anna The day I received Jim's testimonial request I had just finished a tricky regression analysis (with some pesky, confounding ouliers) and some multiple-hypothesis-corrected t-tests. The week before I used Poisson to model a null background distribution for a simulation. So obviously the course was of value to me -- I use the ideas all the time in my work! For a working scientist, the nuts and bolts of statistical methods covered in Bio 318 are important tools in one's toolbox. But more importantly, Jim focuses on statistical reasoning which underlies it all and is critical for the proper understanding and analysis of data. What does my data look like (descriptive statistics)? What is the null hypothesis? What parameter is being measured? Is the data being used fully? What does the slope of a regression line suggest about the problem domain? Did the methods used to generate the data contain biases? To do well in the course one has to make the time to engage fully with the material. It can be tough going (it made my head hurt on more than one occasion), but will pay many future dividends!   Top of Page     2007, Ashley First off let me start by saying this is a fast paced course with tons of information. I remember that business friend’s statistics course did not go nearly as fast as this one. So be prepared and stay on top of it, because the tests are definitely going to test your knowledge. Also really make sure that you read, because the book helped me to make sure that I understood what was going on and gave me stronger understanding of the subject material. In taking this class, I really learned what statistics was about and how to use it. I find that I definitely use it in my science and psychology classes more than I would have ever thought. Also any time I have to interpret data from let’s say a lab experiment I find myself going through all the steps Jim talks about and thinking about everything that the graphs or conclusions are telling me. There are many times people try to use statistics to bias others and whenever you hear something from a professor, TV reporter, etc you can definitely tell if it is significant or just another number. Also while the critical thinking he is trying to get y’all to learn may sound annoying right now, pay attention because it really does help you do better in later courses. I find myself using it all the time now. And remember not to wait to the last minute for things. There is a lot of material on every test and you need to be able to truly understand it. If you have questions go ask immediately. I found going in to talk to Jim this class and the lab, I took from him really saved me a lot of trouble later on and helped improve my knowledge of the courses.   Top of Page     2007, Asmi I really enjoyed this class because I learned very helpful problem solving skills that I use in all my classes now. This class really challenged me to think critically to solve very difficult questions. Also, do not hesitate to get help if you need it. Dr. Bryant is extremely approachable and helpful. You should also go to class everyday because Dr. Bryant helps explain the material in a way that is much more understandable than the book. Try to keep up with the material because if you fall behind it will be very hard to catch up. Keep practicing the problems as the homework really helps you prepare for the exams. Lastly, enjoy learning the material because it is very interesting. The information you learn in this class is very applicable to everyday life and will help you succeed in future courses. Thanks, Asmi   Top of Page     2007, Brad I can honestly say that this statistics class has been one of the most rewarding courses I've undertaken while at the university. Its helped me grow immeasurably as a student and an informed citizen. At the onset I'm sure many will think that statistics is just more required math to take on the way to graduating, however for me it turned out to be a valuable set of tools for understanding the world we live in. Also, the math wasn't hard, which was a nice refresher for someone easily frustrated by calculus. More than anything else this class taught me the importance of a solid methodology and how to break down a question in a way where you can actually answer it with numbers. The benefits were quickly apparent to me when I attended an academic conference in the months following my completion of the course. I spent several days listening to scientists present their research and, more importantly, their data. Thanks to Jim's class, I was able to understand instantly what most of these researchers were doing and how they were answering their question, something I'm not so confident I would have been able to do before. When taking the course, is not too difficult to succeed (providing the willingness to do the work), precisely because Jim tells you exactly what you need to do in order to bring home an A. The way the class is structured provides students instant feedback and a chance to practice the material directly under Jim's eye. Using the clickers and questions, hes quick to nip misunderstanding in the bud. Doing well on the homework translates directly to doing well on the test, so be sure not to dismiss the assignments (do every single assigned problem, trust me!) or the lab sections. Once you develop a method, its easy to break down each problem into a series of steps. This skill of breaking a question down and finding a path to the answer is probably one of the aspects of the class that will translate best to all areas of one's academic life, so using the homework as practice is essential. One last thing, don't throw away the rubric for the group assignment Jim hands out on the first day, and don't forget about it either. He may not bring it up again, but he will be using it to grade the project, so use it and you'll do fine. Thanks again Jim, this class was very rewarding for me and I appreciate the chance to share my experience with other students.   Top of Page     2007, Chang BIO318 helped me to better understand applied statistics both in academics and in research. By becoming more fluent in nderstanding graphs and statistical tests, I was able to successfully complete and submit my first study to a renowned environmental science journal. By becoming better aware of the manipulations that are possible with shady commercial biological studies, I am now free to buy cheaper toothpaste brands. Putting the two together, Jim's BIO318 class has put money in my pocket and a publication on my resume. Jim also provided the class with Jolly Ranchers and corny jokes during every class. In all, I would recommend BIO318 to people who do not have an attendance issue.   Top of Page     2007, Daniel Compared to many other courses have taken at UT, Biostatistics was one of those classes that really left a lasting impression. Being in the college of natural sciences, almost all my courses have implemented statistics in one way or another. Many concepts and lessons in these courses were simply review to me leaving me more time to focus on other subject matter. I have also improved my test-taking skills as this course focuses on breaking down complex abstract questions into manageable concrete answers. These skills are even implemented in my everyday life. Even without complex equations and numbers, this class has given me the ability to analyze information and to make my own conclusions from it rather than somebody else's. To be successful in this course, understanding and doing all the homework is mandatory. Not only will the homework indicate your knowledge of the material, but it also will illustrate the types of questions you will see on the midterms and final. Homework will also provide you a means to keep up with the material in class. Also don't hesitate to attend office hours. Jim is extremely friendly and willing to answer any questions you may have. Take advantage of these opportunities since even trivial questions can make or break your understanding of a concept. Attendance and participation is also heavily required since class will reinforce information in the textbook and provide quiz questions that could be similar to questions on the exams. In conclusion, anyone can achieve in this course with the right time and effort.   Top of Page     2007, Enuki The biostatistics course helped me significantly both academically and personally. I have been working in an evolution research group on campus, and my knowledge of the subject matter helped me extensively in recognizing which tests and algorithms were appropriate for which data sets and for which analyses. As for my personal life, it helped me better critique the numbers I was presented with in popular programs and publications like magazines and books. Hence, biostatistics helped me recognize if the statistical information that was presented was relevant to my life and, but most importantly, if they were valid. Looking back, I would advise current students in the course to work at a steady pace and never to let up on the gas pedal. The course is demanding but manageable only if the student consistently works on assignments rather than putting the class on the backburner for several days. This class can quickly get out-of-hand so I would advise students to give it plenty attention and respect, which I believe will make the class easier, more enjoyable, and contribute rather than detract from the student's GPA.   Top of Page     2007, Jason There have been many times in courses since when the teacher referred to some sort of statistics and I wouldn't have had any idea what they were talking about if I hadn't taken BIO318M. The best advice I can give is to read the textbook. BIO318M was the only class I've ever had to religiously read the textbook to have any idea what was going on. It's also the only book I didn't sell back to the Co-op, just in case I ever need it ;) If this is helpful you can post it on the web. Jason   Top of Page     2007, Jessica I had taken Statistics AP in high school, and gotten credit through the AP exam. I was sure that this Biostats class would be a repeat of the information and essentially a waste of my time - I only signed up for it because my research mentor highly recommended that I do so. But I am very glad I took statistics again, because this class not only went further and deeper into the material but has proved necessary and useful in my epidemiology research time and time again. It is simply vital to have a basic knowledge of statistics if you want to read, understand, and evaluate scientific literature. So good luck! Do your homework and read each question on the tests carefully (can't stress this enough!)   Top of Page     2007, Justin There is no doubt that statistics is a challenging course, but if you listen to Jim you will excel at the subject. The single most important thing that you can do is TALK TO JIM, AND DO IT EARLY IN THE SEMESTER. Do not wait until you are failing and you are struggling to pass. If you talk to Jim regularly throughout the semester you will understand the subject better, and it will be reflected in your grades. The second most important thing that you can do is to be systematic. Many of the concepts can be difficult to understand unless you draw them out and approach them in a structured systematic way. Lastly, approach each homework question by asking yourself, Why am I using this test for this question. It is easy to know what test you should be using for each homework assignment because they are modular and they basically tell you what test to apply. The problem is that the exams are not set up this way, and you need to practice dissecting questions and learning what information is important. For example, if the homework question tells you to apply an independent t-test, ask what makes the t-test appropriate for this data. If you follow this advice this course will be manageable and very enriching. The problem solving skills that you learn in this class are widely applicable to all of the other classes you will take and to your day-to-day life. You will learn how to address all types of problems and questions that you face with a level head and a calm systematic approach. If you use these acquired tools you will find that you can conquer problems that you once thought were too difficult.   Top of Page     2007, Ma Studying in the science field, I used to not know what the chi square significant values(i.e. p<0.001) meant in scientific journals. With the tools I've learn in BIO318M I can now clearly understand and interpret data. I also learned ways which the presenter can manipulate data to distort the information, this class showed me how to see the data in an unbiased manner. Another thing that was helpful in the class was that Jim emphasized on the steps of determining what tests to use in a situation as opposed to how each test is run. In the real world, when we are challeged to do certain things, the procedure is not so important because we can always search the books or the internet; rather, it is critical to choose the right tool. I think doing homework was very crucial in being successful in this class. In fact, the exams are practically homeworks on acid. If you finish every single homework assignment on time, the only thing that will get high is your grade.   Top of Page     2007, Natalie Biostats was a very structured class. Be ready to turn your homework in every week. Also, to do well in the class you have to go to lab every week. attendance is very important... besides all of the rules of the class that made it somewhat stressful, I ultimately enjoyed this class. I learned a lot about statistics and I think it'll help me a lot in medical school. In most med schools you do biostats for a couple of weeks, so Im glad that I have a good foundation to go from... and Jim teaches you how to think analytically about things and to QUESTION EVERYTHING!!! It's a fundamental, simple idea...but he emphasizes it a lot and that was the most worthwhile part of the class. His breaks are very interesting as well (there's a break in the middle of every lecture). I think this class should be required for science majors... To do well in the class....go to class, and do your homework! The good thing is that Jim gives you all the formulas and charts on the tests so you don't have to waste your time memorizing the steps of a t-test or ANOVA. You just have to know when to use each test! Also, don't freak out if you don't do as well as you'd like on a test. The tests are meant to be challenging and it does not hurt your grade because of the way letter grades are given. Jim is pretty laid back and cool guy, so if you need help just go see him. also there is a group project, make sure you put references!   Top of Page     2007, Shivani Taking Biostatistics while in college ended up helping me more than I could have imagined. My first year of medical school, we took a required course called Evidence-Based Medicine, in which we learned how medical statistics greatly influence the choice of diagnostic techniques and treatment options. There is no doubt in my mind that my performance in that class was a direct result of having taken Biostatistics in college. I have continued to need the information taught in both the biostatistics and evidence-based medicine course while I have begun my clinical rotations, because medical statistics play a huge role in deciding which drugs to use to treat patients and which tests to order to determine the cause of illness. Plus, I end up seeing words like specificity and sensitivity all the time in the medical literature, which we are required to keep up with in order to be good clinicians.   Achieving success in the biostatistics course is a lot simpler than it sounds. In the end, keeping up with homework is probably what helped me most. Keeping up with assignments ensures you don't fall behind with the lessons, and simply keeping up with everything is a big help. Treating homework like they are practice exam questions also helps because if you take the homework problems seriously, you are able to memorize and understand the concepts much faster.  Don't use the textbook and lectures as a crutch when doing homework; see if you can do them yourself and after a while, you'll be able to breeze through them! And practice makes perfect!   Top of Page     2006, Allison Gladly! Since taking biostatistics my proficiency at reading and understanding primary source material has increased greatly. This has put me at an advantage compared to my classmates, many of whom have no experience reading journal articles, or are confused by some of the statistical analysis presented in articles. This has set me apart from my classmates and put me in a superior position when looking for employment, both in undergraduate research and industry. The class does move very quickly. Don't let this alarm you. Every piece of information Jim presents is presented multiple times, in multiple lectures, with multiple examples and interpretations. With all of this repetition, and homework problems chosen specifically because they target the main areas of interest to the class and build proficiency, one can more than succeed by simply coming to class, participating and completing each and every homework assignment. The homework is not as repetitive as lecture, so missing a homework problem does create a hole in one's knowledge. It is very important to complete each task Jim sets you to. The end of semester assignment seems cumbersome at first glance, but is very manageable once you break it down into each individual part of the project to be completed. It also gives you a chance to put your knowledge of biostatistics to work in a safe, nonthreatening environment. Jim is always happy to help you, and I sincerely believe that he cares for each and every one of his students and wants everyone to succeed. He knows exactly what it takes to do well in his class (and he should, he designed it), so listen to his tips. Go to him immediately with problems. Go to him with problems, be they with lectures, homework, test taking skills, even nonacademic issues which interfere with your school work. Personal story: when my father was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, Jim helped me navigate the university system to get the help I needed to pass my classes when studying was not the first thing on my mind. I have had many teachers who are happy to help you with their class, but Jim is one of the few who is happy to aide you with your educational career, as a whole. Jim is constantly improving his class and teaching style, and it shows. He is an intimidating Englishman who talks really fast, but the class is incredibly useful, and success is attainable when you do what he instructs you to do. Have fun!   Top of Page     2006, Annonymous I would be more than happy to write a testimonial of how statistics is a waste of time and your teaching style of forcing people to show up was worthless, but I will not write anything in favor of statistics so please remove me from your mailing list. I hated statistics and your teaching style, it serves no purpose for me. Excell does all you need in life or at least in my line of work!   Top of Page     2006, Blake The insights I gained from taking Bio 318m are an essential part of understanding scientific data. Most upper division science courses (especially labs) incorporate statistics into the curriculum in one way or another. More importantly, though, I have found many of the concepts to be useful in everyday life, as everything from news reports to soda cans contain data that is capable of being statistically analyzed. This course did require a great deal of studying in order to do well, but the knowledge gained is worth it in the end.   Top of Page 2006, Brandon The summer before my senior year, I decided that upon graduation I would pursue a PhD. I am now in my first year of grad school at Duke University in the cell and molecular biology program. So when planning the year's coursework, it seemed fitting that I should take a class empowering me to properly present and analyze data that I would opefully be generating over the next bazillion years. So I took the course, and learned a whole lot of tests. Granted, if asked to do them now, I'd have to look them up again, but I at least know of their existence and know when faced with data, I know it is within my power to describe it statistically. A good thing about the class was that I didn't feel bogged down in the details of tests and equations - the things I didn't care about at all. What was stressed was simply being comfortable using tests and evaluating data with a statistical eye. I can always go back and look up how to do a 2-way ANOVA without fear because I know I've done them about 10 times for BIO318M homework. This is obviously important in my chosen field, and I realize that many people who sign up for biostat are pointed towards a career in medicine and may not ever desparately need to statistically analyze anything. But to me it is also important to just be an intelligent and discerning person. As was discussed in the class, most graphs, tables, numbers presented to us everyday in newspapers, magazines, scientific journals, television, etc. are slanted towards a particular interpretation that may or may not be representative of the whole truth. Jim if nothing else will impart to you the subjectivity that can taint data sets that most people blindly take for fact, and how to think about data like a scientist. Jim makes you do the homework if you want to pass. If you're doing the homework every week and asking questions when you don't understand a particular test, you will do fine. There is very little memorization - general understanding is stressed. Do the homework, go to class (both things Jim will make you do) practice the tests - simple as that. Even if you aren't going to use this stuff directly in your career, it can help you act like more of a smart-ass the next time someone tells you 5 out of 6 dentists recommend colgate.   Top of Page     2006, Greg Here is a testimonial, as to what I thought of the course. I learned a great deal in the few short weeks of the summer session. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your immunology lab course and how much the biostats course helped me. I have now had four biostats courses in grad school and my understanding of the material stems from BIO318M and the handouts I still use from time to time. Cheers, Greg Biostatistics should be a recommended course for all science majors, and required for those in the biological sciences. My only regret in taking BIO318M is that I did so in my last semester. I was required to read many scientific papers as an undergraduate, biostatistics would have made analyzing the results more complete. This course taught me to question things I may not have otherwise questioned in a research setting. I now look for possible bias, too small of a sample size or comparing unrelated things in studies I read. Dr. Bryant’s teaching method goes beyond just a straight mathematical approach. He explains the subject matter in a way that we (the students) understand the reason why we use a specific test, why the formula is constructed as it is. I am completing a Master’s of Public Health. My area of study is the epidemiology of infectious diseases. My first year of graduate school included an Introduction to Biostatistics course. I had little difficulty with the course and was able to aid my fellow students by using what I had learned in BIO318M. This course should be required for all students in the biological sciences as a prerequisite to upper division coursework. My suggestions to those that do take the course are practice, then practice and, finally, review what you have practiced. You will be the better for it.   Top of Page     2006, Isaac This class is very different from all the other biology class I have taken before. This class involes logics and thinking to describe and interpret the data, and I definitely learned a lot from this. Biostatistics is a strong tool for anlalyzing data from real life, especially for research. Also, taking this class allows me to use many different aspects to see the situations, either in academic or real world. Overall this class is relatively harder than the other lower-division biology classs, but I think it's worthwhile to take it to make your knowledge more well-rounded.   Top of Page     2006, Mary I have found the statistics course I took to be extremely helpful in evaluating the material I see in advertising both in print and electronic versions. I have a better understanding of the world around me from the course-it is a more colorful world and not so Black and White as many people try to make it into. It helped me to see my biases and judgments that were inhibiting me from growing more fully. Of coarse, I gained the statistical knowledge of when and how to use the tests and what tests to use. And gained knowledge as to what constitutes a statistically valid assumption. I learned the math behind the statistics and the basic theory. But these were only the school gains, which didn't mean nearly as much as the personal gains that I will use everyday in my life and continued growth. Statistics is used everywhere in the world and being better informed has improved my outlook on life tremendously.   Top of Page     2006, Melissa I believe I took your course in the Spring of 2006. I currently work as an Oncology research tech at Johns Hopkins University for Dr. Bert Vogelstein. Although I don't personally use bio stats in my day-to-day life, it is important for me to have a general understanding of statistics as it is applied to papers that I read for my job. I honestly do not remember every equation and distribution that we learned, but I am confident in my ability to understand how an author came to their conclusion based on their use of statistics.  My P.I.'s obviously use statistics in all of the papers we publish as well! Also, I found it useful for understanding the outcomes of experiments in papers that other professors assigned to me in my upper division labs and lectures in my senior year of college. I feel that an understanding of statistics in general would help anyone feel more knowledgeable in the workings of the world. I remember your class being quite challenging. The thing that helped me the most was probably the homework. Although it was very time consuming, practicing the problems was the only way for me to learn them. I also really benefited from discussing the homework with our TA. I also remember feeling rushed for some of the exams; i.e. too many problems, not enough time, especially on the final. I believe we were also "test subjects" for the electronic answers of questions at the beginning of class. I believe we were graded only for attendance by answering those questions, but I thought it was a fun and useful exercise at the beginning of class. It helped to get my brain in Statistics mode.   Top of Page     2006, Mike The Biostatistics course that I took in spring 2006 has been very important in shaping my view and understanding of research. I had been volunteering in a research setting for a year before I had taken this course. During this time I had been exposed to common statistical practices of that particular lab. The more I looked into the protocol, the more questions I seemed to get about the legitimacy of the findings. For example a single picture would be split into five sections. Later each of these sections was analyzed separately creating a larger number of samples then really existed. However, at the time my understanding of proper statistical procedure was almost non-existant, and so I decided to take biostatics in order for me to better understand the work done in the lab. The class taught by Dr. James Bryant had a strong influence on understanding why and what the test actually sees. Within this framework I was better able to get an understanding of the power of statistics and also its limitations. I saw that sometimes just by changing the protocol a person could completely change his results and can report p-values that might not represent the reality. For example, I noticed during my summer research that the ANOVA and post-hoc tests run by the researchers seemed to be done in a questionable manner. Because I had a strong basic understanding of how both the post-hoc and the ANOVA functioned, I was able to question the professor¿s protocol. In fact it was one of the few times were the professor and I had a conversation in which I felt completely confident in my understanding of the subject matter he was talking about. The biostatics class has also influenced my view of research that I read about. I no longer just look for a p-value, but I question the set up of the experiment and the statistical method used to achieve that p-value. Overall, this course has been the most useful course that I have thus taken in college. Every science course requires an understanding of the research that made the information in the book available. And there is no way the research process can be understood without an understanding of statistics. Also, biology and the world around us is not all black and white. By putting the world in the context of statistics, I have started to see the world and especially biology differently. For example, I began to notice that cell functions were not all the same for a certain type of cell and that an approximate normality curve could be constructed from cell function. I thus no longer thought all T-cells worked the same, but that a large percentage of T-cells have commonalities. It could be said that statistics opens your mind to thinking of the world as probabilities. While this can be a weird way of examining your life, it seems to me at least a more realistic approach to looking at the world.   Top of Page     2006, Nikki BIO 318M was amazingly one of my favorite classes I took that semester. No, it is not an easy course, and Jim is honest about it from the start. Do the preparatory work before classes; it's very helpful in learning the material during class. Give yourself plenty of time to do the homework. It's takes some time but if you do it well the tests are "statistically" significantly easier. ;) The course actually helped me look at experiments in a new light; you learn to question the process and the data and you actually understand the tests that are being run. This gives you a strong background for reading scientific papers and in writing them.   Top of Page     2006, Stephanie Tips for Success 1) Read the book before class - Lectures progress rapidly and often follow the book. By reading it beforehand, you can focus on topics that are difficult. 2) GO TO CLASS - It is a major part of your grade and even though you learn a lot of statistics doing the homework, hints are given as to exam questions in class. 3) Do the homework - I know its long but don't simply copy the homework from other people. Test formats are similar to homework and repetition reinforces the material. Test taking Strategies I never knew coming out of each of Jim's test whether I had completely failed or made an A. That being said, don't freak out about it. The tests are meant to be tricky and they are designed to be the absolute hardest they possibly can be. There are no easy questions! This is why the average is and is expected to be around a 60. Memorization alone will not help you on the tests because all questions are either long written problems or multiple choice/true-false that require logic and extrapolation to solve. The multiple choice questions are written to be confusing so that you have to think through what you've learned and apply it. It is easy to get tricked up on the double negatives but being systematic and dealing with one choice at a time was effective for me. Applying this strategy in other classes has helped me avoid careless errors as well. Statistics in Life Jim tries to make everyone believe that statistics will help you in a real life situation such as someone shoots down your family and now you have to deal with the consequences. Speaking from personal experience, all the stats in the world will not help you in this situation!! This is not to say that statistics are not important. I have used statistics in one form or another since I took the class. On practical application is that writing labs reports have become much easier. I can interpret the data in a meaningful way and make real concrete conclusions about the findings. Reading scientific articles is also much easier with a firm grasp of statistics. Tests that I have never seen before are simple or at least comprehendible. This makes sifting through the tedious methods and results sections of papers much easier. Even better you will be able to critique other scientist's methods as being statistically sound or appropriate in their particular experiment. This is the most important tool that I have gained from the class because critiquing and learning from others strengthens my own research techniques. In closing, I feel that biostatistics is one of the most practical classes that I have taken at UT. After taking this class, I feel that I am prepared to design experiments effectively and succeed in graduate school and beyond.   Top of Page     2005, Amy The biostatistics class I took during my tenure at UT taught me several things. Before I took this class, I had minimal exposure to statistics in general. This class helped me grasp statistical concepts. It also pushed me to think critically to figure out how to solve the problem in front of me. I liked how this class had both lecture and computer lab components. The class allowed students to learn and read about statistical principals and then put this knowledge into practice in the lab. This class allows students to gain experience with statistical computer software, which I had not used in the past. Whenever I needed assistance on assignments, the professor was always accessible to provided help. While the class was not an easy one, I had a since of accomplishment once I finished. Factors for success: Students must be willing to learn and possess a hardworking attitude. If you need help, seek it! Amy 2005   Top of Page     2005, Brandon It has been quite some time since I took your course in 2005 or 2006. I'm not sure the exact semester, but I enjoyed your course. It has been valuable to me in medical school when reading published papers to get an idea of how the published statistics were derived and what value they might hold. I am also sure that biostatistics will be of great use when I enter the lab for the PhD portion of my schooling. I would say the most valuable lesson I learned from your class is that there are so many different ways to statistically analyze data, you need a thorough understanding of how and when certain tests are used to fully put faith in results you are reading. Good luck teaching your class. Sincerely, Brandon   Top of Page     2005, Brandon My name is Brandon; I took BIO318M spring of 2005 and enjoyed the class very much. In my academic life, the class helped me understand what statistical significance meant, as well as how to determine statistical significance in works of my own, in the biomedical research field. In my personal life, it became very apparent to me that statistics are most often used inaccurately to support one point of view. Usually, sample populations are not chosen very well with respect to the actual population. Overall, I do not trust most statistics due to the huge variability in the way they can be calculated. In order to succeed in the class, it is necessary to understand conceptually how each statistical analysis works. However, one must also use practice problems to evaluate their own ability to conduct such statistical tests which are on the tests.   Top of Page     2005, Desiree Hi Jim, Bio 318M was a fantastic class, although difficult. I actually believe it should be mandatory for all biology undergrads, since it provides a sound basis for critically assessing scientific papers. This skill becomes of paramount importance in upper level classes, and if one wishes to pursue an advanced degree, I am sure that the knowledge would be immensely helpful in writing a Ph.D dissertation. After graduation, I landed a job as a medical device sales representative for a large global manufacturer. As a salesperson, it is imperative that I stay current on the latest technology and techniques in my field, as the doctors often ask my opinion on practices around the country. In order to evaluate all of the research available in medical journals, I must critique the methods and robustness of the statistical methods employed by the authors. If I don't, I could lose credibiity with my doctors by citing a statistically weak study. Although I chose to pursue a career beyond academia, knowledge of biostatistics has proven to be an invaluable asset in my career. I graduated in 2005, and I still remember Jim as an encouraging professor who was obviously passionate about his subject. I couldn't believe how fun it was to actually go to class! It may sound unbelievable, but although biostatistics as a subject could be considered boring by many, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in class and learned a ton from Jim. I highly recommend that any biology undergraduate at UT consider taking this course- you won't regret it! Best, Desiree   Top of Page     2005, Elizabeth Taking BIO318M has helped me in more ways than I originally imagined when I enrolled in your class. By studying biostatistics, I was able to get a better score on my GRE writing exam, and have used some of the basic principles and tests in other classes, such as biochemistry and biology labs. I also am more critical of current events and reports when they use statistics to make/disprove a point. Most of the time, they leave out very pertinent information for statistics that would discredit the claims being made. I highly suggest taking this course for biology/other science majors. It has several real-life applications, and the course material is comprehensive and very well-formatted. Most students in my class objected to the mandatory attendance; you pay for the class, why not go to it? I often just used the book as a reference tool if I did not understand a concept in lecture; most of my studying was directly from notes taken during class, and I found that the mandatory attendance helped with keeping on track and mastering the material. The tests were challenging, but I'm glad that they were because they invoke higher level thinking and I felt more accomplished after having done well in the course. The last thing I felt really helped me in the course was the assigned homework during the lab session. It solidified some difficult concepts by providing lots of examples and opportunities for practice. Plus, having a TA present gave the class another perspective on statistics and how to solve problems. Overall, the course does not ask any more of you than other courses. I enjoyed the class and have been able to use the knowledge I gained extensively since taking the course. I hope more people are interested in taking biostatistics because it's a great tool for testing and interpreting reports and labs.   Top of Page     2005, Henry Bio 318M was probably one of the better statistic classes you can take. Dr. Bryant’s lectures are pretty well informative and I valued the fundamentals he taught because applying them to other aspects of biology has been quite common in my field of science. In research, double blind studies are common and it is imperative that we must know how to either accept or reject the null hypotheses. Dr. Bryant truly cares and is very compassionate about the progress of his students and will go out of his way to make sure you understand the subject at hand. I’d recommend his class to everyone. Keys for success in the course is understanding the homework and concepts. The concepts are very fundamental and require a lot of math and analysis. Learn to comprehend the graphs and the ttest quickly and that will aid in your progress to understanding biostatistics.   Top of Page     2005, Jennifer I think that knowledge and understanding of basic statistics, and some more advanced concepts, is useful in a variety of feilds. Obviously, not every person in every profession is going to use a Wilcoxan Mann Whitney on a daily basis, but having the skills to preform the more useful, "everyday" tests and procedures can be invaluable. I for one am an Ecology major, so I know that if I take a job in the feild that I will be using many of the statistical methods I learned in 318M to analyze various animal/plant systems, habitats, patterns, etc. In order to succeed in this course, a student must pay attention, take notes, work examples and have the desire to do well.   Top of Page     2005, Stacey After taking BIO 318M with Dr. Bryant, I now look at statistics differently. I don't take them on face value. When reading articles, I give little or no credit to stats that do not mention how they were calculated or that do not give values of calculations. I also understand articles, especially scientific ones, better through knowing more about statistics. It makes all those Nature articles a lot easier to get through. I was never a huge fan of statistics before Dr. Bryant's class; but now that I understand them more I see the benefit they offer, even in everyday life. When watching the nightly news or reading the paper, you begin to notice how statistics are used to deceive. I use to always trust statistics, but now I tend to question them. As for doing well in BIO 318M, attend class. That is the single most important thing. Work together when doing homework. The homework can sometimes be difficult, and sometimes you might not understand how a test works until you see how a different test works. Also, if you are having problems in the class, go see Dr. Bryant. He's not that bad of a guy. And I personally think that the British accent makes him more approachable.   Top of Page     2005, Stephen Hello my name is Stephen and I took BIO318M in the Spring of 2005. I am now in my first year of medical school and I find that the most important skill I learned from Bio318m has allowed me to analyze and comprehend statistics such that I am able to distinguish what is relevant. Sure, I am no longer able to perform a t-test, or even remember what it was for, but I find I can easily spot a particularly faulty statistic (i.e. those announced in commercials). Furthermore, I can already tell these statistical skills acquired in Bio318m will be useful for me as I encounter statistics about treatments, occurrences, and outcomes of medical conditions.   Top of Page     2005, Taylor i found the biostats class very informative and clarifying; in the sense that over the years of many bio courses and the hundreds of figures/charts/graphs that would appear senseless now appear necessary. BIO 318M definitely reinforced my understanding of scientific method and the mathematics behind it. i actually feel that BIO318M should be some kind of pre-requisite or at least suggestion to be studied before any upper-division science courses are undertaken. this would have improved my lab report writing skills in several writing component classes for related biology. one piece of advice for your class....include statistics based in microsoft excel because this program is widely used for reports in courses and may be used outside the classroom as well as real labs and research. another comment....i thought the cps remotes were quite effective for participation and understanding especially in such a conceptual class as biostats.   Top of Page     2005, Taylor I found your biostats class to be enlightening in the scope of biological sciences. Before the course, I could hardly make sense of many scientific paper's use of the "p-value" to justify the results, but now I understand why. Especially now as a field biologist, every piece of data that I collect must be non-biased and random. When Im in the field its my job to determine which sample method is most applicable and use it to acquire the greatest "n" possible within a given time frame. Many of my sample methods involve sub-samples, therefore it is best to arrange a rational sample frame thats large enough to represent the whole. So far I only work with that level of statistics, but I find it very helpful to know why its important because there are co-workers that do use the mass quantities of data for descriptive statistics. Although I do not recall the name of the test, I used a basic stats test I learned from the course for a meeting with my supervisors to make my point and they were quite impressed (I felt very accomplished at the time, thank you Jim!). Also, my first job out of university actually required the completion of a statistics course, and I happened to have a letter of recommendation from Dr. Jim Bryant, therefore I feel that got me the job (thanks again!). One thing I remember about the course that I believe helped me learn was the interactive-remote-keypad things. If you include more exam type questions and examples using the keypads then the memory retention is greater, and you know sooner if you are understanding the concepts.   Top of Page