Improvements for 2017

[sarahCobey]

I'm using this space to catch all ideas at the moment, though I'm sure I'm forgetting some from our conversation. After we receive the evaluations, we can refine the list.

1. Provide groups a structured list of questions to answer. Potential questions: (i) Which parts of the immune system does the pathogen interact with? (ii) How many "strains" are there? (iii) Does the host population structure the pathogen population? How? (iv) Is the pathogen experiencing purifying, neutral, and/or positive selection? Where/How?
2. Have fewer groups so that we can have a more in-depth discussion of each pathogen.
3. Have fewer but longer work sessions for the groups.
4. Many people seemed more interested in the phylogenetic aspects of the course. Perhaps expand them. (It's not clear to me which parts of the course are least valuable.)
5. Provide more resources online, include preparatory and introductory materials, for especially eager students to glance at before the course.
6. Consider supplying slides as pdf files.

[sarahCobey]

Notes from a March 2 conversation:

• More training demos, 45-min practicals
• Time-series practicals: modeling, analyzing time series, analyzing longitudinal data
• Structure the practicals as problems to be solved.