Senior Research Syllabus

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a. Program affiliation: Biology

b. Course number and title: BIO 4784 Special Studies: Molecular Biology (Senior Research)

c. Meeting times: MWF 10:00-12:00

d. Room: S-118

e. Prerequisites: Bio 3024 or CHM 4104 & CHM 3014

f. Professor: Sean T. Coleman Ph.D. Office: S-224 Phone: 979-1364 Email: scolema@ozarks.edu

g. Office Hrs: MTWF: 1:00-3:00 T: 11:00-12:00

h. Last day to drop: April 1^st

i. Course web-site: http://departments.ozarks.edu/msc/Biology/courses.htm

a. Lodish, H et. al. 2000. Molecular Cell Biology. W.H. Freeman and Company. New York, New York.

b. Laboratory Notebook.

III. Catalog Description: This course is designed to be the culmination of the course of study for B.S. Biology majors. Students in this course will receive instruction in specific experimental techniques, design, data analysis, literature research and presentation methods. With the guidance of the professor, the students will design and conduct their own research projects and present a professional report of their findings to their peers. Prerequisites: at least two upper level biology courses and senior classification, or permission of the instructor.

a. This particular course will also include advanced topics in molecular cell biology including but not limited to discussion of gene expression, signal transduction and protein sorting.

1. Students will communicate effectively

b. use effective strategies to organize thoughts, develop a message and document sources for article reviews and the discussion web

c. learn to present a message skillfully when reviewing research articles

d. clearly and effectively express ideas and actively listen to the ideas of others during discussions

2. Students will think critically

a. read research articles and molecular biology text with comprehension

d. evaluate and analyze arguments from more than one perspective in order to prepare for debates and discussions

e. recognize and form interpretations, generalizations, or causal explanations appropriate to the study of molecular and cell biology

3. Students will have knowledge of human culture

a. identify, describe and use the salient methods, skills or ways of knowing in the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and natural sciences

i. Specifically molecular and cellular research principles and applications

e. use available technologies to gather and process molecular and cellular research information effectively

4. Students will be aware of their responsibilities to themselves, to humanity, to their planet and to their creator

a. examine personal lifestyle, ethics, integrity, values and priorities

b. respect individuals with beliefs, backgrounds or abilities different from their own

c. contribute to the welfare of their community and ecosystem

V. Attendance: You will be expected to attend every lecture. Exam questions are taken primarily from the material covered in lecture. In addition you will be expected to be prepared for and participate in discussions. Attendance and participation will be the determining factors for assigning the final grade to a student whose total points fall near a borderline. All students are required to participate in the laboratory portion of the course. You are expected to attend on time, be prepared for and participate in the entire lab. Three unexcused absences in the lab will result in a failing grade for the entire course. Excused absences will require either prior approval or written verification.

Three absences for ANY reason will result in an incomplete for the course. Make-up lecture exams are given at the discretion of the professor and may include a penalty (of up to 10% per day). In case of illness, emergency or other excusable absence contact the professor as soon as possible. Please leave a message on the answering machine at the phone number listed above. Written verification may be required to take the make-up exam. If you know you will miss the exam before hand please contact the professor, as make-up exams are generally more difficult than the regular exam and this may help you avoid losing points (as above).

VI. Academic Honesty: Cheating will not be tolerated! The minimum penalty for cheating will be a zero (0) for that assignment, exam or quiz. Other penalties can include but are not limited to failing the course, academic probation and/or suspension from the University. Plagiarism is also a form of cheating and will be dealt with accordingly. Verbatim use of words from sources without proper notation will result in a minimum of a single grade deduction and/or see above. Furthermore, when working in groups each person must complete and hand in their own work in their own words. Finally, assignments completed for this class must not be used in another class without the consent of both professors.

a. Lecture:

i. Assignments: There will be assignments associated with each chapter (~20 points each). Any written assignment must be typed, double-spaced and are to be turned in immediately following the class period on the date they are due. Late assignments will be penalized 10% per class day they are late. Any assignment turned in more than two weeks late will receive a zero (0).

ii. Quizzes: Unscheduled quizzes (10 points maximum) may be given randomly throughout the semester due to lack of preparedness or participation by the students.

iii. Extra credit: Will not be given unless it is announced in class and everyone has an opportunity to receive it.

iv. Research Article Presentation: Each student will be expected to present one research article to the class based on his/her research project. Copies of the article will be passed out to the class at least one period before the presentation. The presentation will be worth a total of 100 points, which includes discussion.

v. World wide web-based discussion boards: Students are expected to participate in a web-based discussion on topics from biology including but not limited to cell biology, genetics and ethics. This will be part of your participation grade and could be worth up to one exam grade (100 pts.).

vi. Questions: For each chapter from the text students will be responsible for bringing questions to the discussion time. These questions will be used for discussion as well as for exam questions. Points (~20) will be awarded based on the quality of the question(s) and participation in discussion.

vii. Lecture exams: There will be two exams given. They will be composed of, mostly short and long answer essay questions. However, multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching and label the figure questions could also make an appearance. The exam questions will come from assignments and questions from article vi. Exams will be ~100 points.

b. Lab:

i. Lab Notebook: Keeping a concise and thorough laboratory notebook is essential for doing quality reproducible research. Notebooks will be analyzed randomly throughout the semester for content (100 pts.).

ii. Lab Work Points: 200 is available to students based on their work in lab. All students will start with zero points and will be awarded points based on performance in the lab setting. Performance can include: Use of the scientific method in the experimental design process, amount of time spent in the lab setting and discussion of experiments with the instructor and other students. Other aspects in lab may also affect this grade.

iii. Research Paper and Presentation: Students will write a research article using an accepted format as if they were publishing their findings. These articles will include: An abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion (100 pts.). Presentation of your findings will be done in a professional manner in front of you peers and professors during an assigned time (probably the final exam time). These presentations will be graded on your ability to discuss your subject, materials, methods and results (100 pts.).

c. Final grades: The final grades will be based on a scale of the total points earned in the class. The most stringent scale will be 90-100% an A, 80-89% a B, 70-79% a C, 60-69% a D and 59% and less an F. Any grade near the borderline may be raised at the professor’s discretion (please see article V. Attendance). Letter grades announced for individual exams are purely estimates of your general ranking for that exam. Your final point total (or percentage) will be considered in assigning your final grade.

c. Final grades: The final grades will be based on a scale of the total points earned in the class. The most stringent scale will be 90-100% an A, 80-89% a B, 70-79% a C, 60-69% a D and 59% and less an F. Any grade near the borderline may be raised at the professor’s discretion (please see article V. Attendance). Letter grades announced for individual exams are purely estimates of your general ranking for that exam. Your final point total (or percentage) will be considered in assigning your final grade.