Ways of Knowing in the Sciences
ILS 153 introduces science as a process of inquiry and discovery, emphasizing hands-on learning and interactive discussion.
Summary
Historical reviews of Basil Tikoff: Reviewers describe the course as having an extreme amount of weekly homework and work that can feel irrelevant or disconnected.
Grade history
↗letter grades
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
- None
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- None
Professors
Fall 2026No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Basil Tikoff is historically described as knowledgeable and personable, with students appreciating his engaging lectures and accessibility. However, reviews consistently highlight significant concerns regarding unclear assignment expectations, inconsistent grading, and heavy workloads. Some students found the course fun and rewarding, while others experienced frustration with disorganized feedback and unhelpful grading practices.
BASIL TIKOFF is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2022, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Fall 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Historical reviews of Basil Tikoff: Basil Tikoff is a knowledgeable and personable instructor who makes science engaging, though students report significant frustration with unclear assignments, inconsistent grading, and high workload.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2018: 3.01 GPA, 31.5% A/AB (n=54 letter grades); Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2025: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Historical reviews of Basil Tikoff: Reviewers describe the course as having an extreme amount of weekly homework and work that can feel irrelevant or disconnected.
Historical reviews of Basil Tikoff: Students find the assignment expectations unclear and grading subjective, with feedback often contradicting prompts, though some appreciate his accessibility and passion for the subject.
Topics
Skills
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Fall 2026 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "8488025048b03263f1a08fff5b2f5c88174c694ac80776cc37e5bffdae8f9643",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}