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Concepts and Methods of BiologyBiology 104........ Spring 2009........ Dr. G.R. DavisOffice
203E Milliken, Biology Suite
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Experiments
Final Versions of 6 Posters based on Arabidopsis ResearchPosters were displayed on May 8th at the
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COURSE DESCRIPTION and OBJECTIVES:
We will investigate these topics: Evolution and natural selection |
As we answer these questions, students will develop skills inFinding reliable information |
During the process, students will
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In the laboratory, students will design and conduct an experiments
using
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Date |
Class Meeting Topics |
Lab Topics |
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T Feb 3 |
Who
needs Biology and Biologists? The
special nature of this course! Deciding
what matters to us in this prototype course. Assignment
# 1 Read two papers (links below) and prepare for discussion
during lab. |
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W Feb
4 |
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Th Feb 5 |
Loose ends from yesterday's lab: How Biology Gets Done:
Assignment # 2: Scan this Grant Proposal. Does this proposal have all the components that we expect? Supplemental information: The timeline
for a grant application to the National Institutes of Health and
the
various types of grants available from NIH. |
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T Feb 10 |
Follow-up from Thursday: The comparitive career paths of lawyers, doctors, and scientists (degrees, major accomplishments: bar exam, medical boards, dissertation defense. Various careers in biology with emphasis on academic careers. How Biology Gets Done: Part 3-- Getting the Work Done: The Organization of a Research Lab
(members of the lab and their roles.) Assignment # 3 (due Thursday morning by email): Using your notes and any supplemental information, create a Powerpoint to be shared with the class via our website for each of the following topics. The powerpoint should be a complete concise summary that will serve as a study guide for members of the class.Opening slide must be the topic and the names of contributors. First authors must earn the honor of first authorship. At the end of each powerpoint, include a list of potential test questions. Some questions may be "memorization" type but please include questions that will reveal the level of understanding possessed by a test-taker. Email the finished powerpoint to Dr. Davis at davisgr@wofford.edu. Table 1) Looking
at Research Papers: The Format of Scientific Literature Getting familiar with
Arabidopsis Ecotypes. Looking into ecotypes for Tuesday Lab: With your teammates, be ready to report for your ecotype information on where it originated, the condition under which grows naturally (photoperiod, moisture, soil, etc.) and any additional relevant information. Start with The Arabidopis Information Resource website. Assignment # 4: due Wednesday at start
of lab: Groups 1-6 report on the characteristics of your Arabidopsis
ecotype: Just for fun: Giant Ant colony |
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W Feb 11 |
Working with Arabidopsis Timelapse videos of Arabidopsis growth: 20-30 Minutes to work with teammates on Assignment #4 , making posters for Arabidopsis Ecotypes Six groups report on Six Ecotypes. Review procedures for growing Arabidopsis from seeds. Arabidopis: A laboratory Manual, by Detlef Weigel and Jane Glazebrook pages 1-18 Pouring Agar and Planting Seeds. Classifying Organisms: Using and Creating Binomial Keys We'll get some hands-on practice using and creating binomial keys and develop a special appreciation for keys that reveal phylogenetic relationships. Here's the Lab Exercise on Binomial Keys from Dr. Abercrombie
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Feb 12
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These Questions about Arabidopsis (MS Word doc. or webpage) will guide our investigations over the next several sessions. ~1
hour: Using internet resources, biology textbooks, and Arabidopsis
lab manual, teams of 4-5 students try to find the answers, keeping
track of references so that information can be traced back to sources. Group 1- Terminology I: The Parts of a Plant and Revised Terminology I: The Parts of a Plant Group 2 - Germination and Revised Germination Powerpoint Group 3 - Terminology II: Ecotypes and Species and Revised Terminology II: Ecotypes and Species Group 4 - Distribution and Revised Distribution (Caution: The authors of this file did not revise it to include all of the information presented during class on their topic. Therefore, this file will not suffice as the only study guide for this topic. Authors will be provided one final opportunity to revise their file before Tuesday, February 24th.) 3rd version of Distribution Group 5 - Arabidopsis as a Model Organism and Revised Model Organism Last 20 minutes of classperiod: Table 1 provides answers to their questions and we begin to build a vocabulary. Assignment # 5: Each group is to create a powerpoint file containing the answers to the questions and the sources from which answers were obtained. In most cases, devote on slide to each question. Be sure to defined any unfamiliar terms. Email the file to Dr. Davis no later than 5 pm Friday, February 13. |
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T Feb 17 |
Continue with Answers to Arabidopsis Questions, reviewing powerpoints from Groups 1-3 and supplementing with notes on whiteboard. Assignment # 6: Groups 1-3 (Parts of
a Plant, Germination,and Ecotypes and Species) are to submit revised
powerpoints How a Pine Grows; excerpted from Pines Above the Snow essay in A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. |
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W Feb 18 |
Measuring Root Length of Arabidopsis Seedlings Measuring root length
with calipers under dissecting microscopes on seedlings 1-7 days in
the agar plates. A lesson on p values and an introduction to hypothesis testing by Dr. Abercrombie.
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Preparing to test a hypothesis using Arabidopsis. The variables we can manipulate, the characteristics that we can measure, and the questions we can ask. Continue with Answers to Arabidopsis Questions, reviewing powerpoints from Groups 4 (Distribution) and 5 (Model Organism) Assignment
# 7: Groups 4-5
(Distribution and Model Organism) are to submit revised powerpoints
Teams for Grant Proposals using Arabidopsis Team 1 = Matt Steelman,
Joshua Fester, Tinus Van Wyk, & Nicole Sower Assignment # 8: Each of the six teams is to prepare a unique Grant Proposal (instructions) that outlines the hypothesis your team intends to test. This Grant Proposal must be submitted as an email attachment to Dr. Davis before 7:00 pm Monday, February 23rd. |
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T Feb 24 |
Peer Review "Grant Proposals" for Arabidopsis Experiments Each of the six Research Team anonymously peer reviews the 5 grant proposals of their classmates, using the Grant Proposal Evaluation Checklist and adding notes and constructive comments to each grant. By reviewing other grants and receiving feedback on their own grant proposals, research teams can make drastic improvements in their own revised grant proposal which will be discussed during Wednesday lab. Assignment # 9: Each of the six teams is to revise their grant proposal based on feedback from anonymous peer reviewers and send the revised proposal to Dr. Davis as an MS Word.document ASAP but no later than 1:00 on Wednesday.
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W Feb 25 |
Anonymous survey on student perceptions of a) the 104 course so far, and b) the grant writing and reviewing process. A lesson on strategies for hypothesis testing by Dr. Abercrombie. (~1hr.) Demonstration of ImageJ software for measuring Arabidopsis root length by Thomas Player (~20 minutes) Remainder of lab period:Davis & Abercrombie consultation with each of the 6 research teams on their Revised Grant Proposals |
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Th Feb 26 |
Test # 1. Expect questions based on the factual information covered thus far in the course as well as procedural skills that we've been developing (such as critical reading of research papers and grant proposals, evaluating the credibility of information, etc. Assignment # 10: Send final revision of Grant Proposal via email attachment to Dr. Davis by Monday at 5:00 pm. |
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T Mar 3 |
Return Test # 1. Students can review their tests in Dr. Davis's office and ask for individualized advice on how to improve for Test #2 Lecture Topics from Chapter 23 Species and Their Formation and Chapter 1 Studying Life Speciation |
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W Mar 4 |
Begin Six Arabidopis Experiments: Updated Grant Proposals Each of the 6 Research Teams sets up their experiment. Design data collection sheets and to bring to lab for approval by professors. Template for Scientific Poster (a single "slide" in Powerpoint format.)
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Th Mar 5 |
Lecture Topic: Chapter 23 Speciation, Adaptive Radiation and Lessons from the Galapagos Islands Homer Simpson Evolution Video What's incorrect about this depiction of evolution? |
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T Mar 10 |
Lecture Topics: Chapter 1 (portions), Chapter 2, and mostly Chapter 3 Macromolecules | ||||||||||
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W Mar 11 |
Data collection for Week
1 of Arabidopsis Experiments Practice using ImageJ by measure the dimensions of this scan of a calculator or classring |
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Th Mar 12 |
Chapter 3 Molecules of Life | ||||||||||
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T Mar 17 |
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Moeller: Origins of Life, Part 1, Sadava Chapter 26 | ||||||||||
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W Mar 18 |
Data collection for Week
2 of Arabidopis Experiments |
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Th Mar 19 |
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Moeller: Origins of Life, Part 2, Sadava Chapter 27 | ||||||||||
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T Mar 24 |
No class meeting today | ||||||||||
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W Mar 25 |
Data Analysis and preparation of scientific communication | ||||||||||
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Th Mar 26 |
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Moeller: Evolution of Body Plans, Sadava Chapter 31 | ||||||||||
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T Apr 7 |
Five minute progress
report in Powerpoint format (links below) on Arabidopis
experiments from each research team:
Assignment
# 11: Each student
should generate twenty questions with answers based on the lectures
by Dr. Moeller and his |
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W Apr 8 |
Non-invasive indices of metabolism: Human electrocardiograms and surface temperature. Our website for EKG lab. Making scientific posters for Arabidopsis research (Rubric for evaluating research posters.) Introduction to a crocodile and a turtle. |
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Th Apr 9 |
Thermoregulation and Heat Exchange, Components of Reflexes and Negative Feedback Loops Lecture Powerpoint | ||||||||||
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T Apr 14 |
Thermoregulation and Negative Feedback Loops Lecture Powerpoint |
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W Apr 15 |
Heat Exchange and Thermoregulation: 1) Conduction and Radiation in clay models and 2) Correlations of ECGs and body temperature in reptiles Reference paper: R.M. Holtz and P. Holtz (1995) Electrocardiography in anesthetized red eared sliders (Pseudomys scripta elegans) Research in Veterinary Science 58(1):67-69 |
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Th Apr 16 |
Thermoregulation part 3 | ||||||||||
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T Apr 21 |
Test # 2 Study Questions for Test # 2 |
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W Apr 22 |
Create, peer review, and final print Arabidopsis Research Posters (What to do before lab) Revised Graphs for Arabidopsis Posters Each research team should copy their revised graph into their research poster. Rubric for evaluating research posters Use this as a checklist for your poster. Steps for Editing and Printing Posters SPSS data files for each research team: Oil Concentration, LED vs FL light, Surface vs Deep, Soil vs Agar, Ecotypes and Watering Conditions, Agar Concentration Second Drafts of Research Posters (Powerpoint file with all 6 posters!) |
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Th Apr 23 |
Thinking about Turtles and Evolution, Part 1: How the Turtle Got its Shell by Dr. Ab Abercrombie (read part 1 of this essay for class) | ||||||||||
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T Apr 28 |
Thinking about Turtles and Evolution, Part 1 continued: Genetic control, Transcription, Translation, and Gene Switches Powerpoint Lecture | ||||||||||
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W Apr 29 |
Organisms in natural habitats: Thermal regimes and macroinvertebrates at the Glendale Environmental Center Driving Directions to Glendale Environmental Center Background for Glendale Shoals Identifying the Critters in the Water at the Glendale Shoals: A Brief Key with Drawings
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Th Apr 30 |
Biogeochemical cycles and
the role of organisms: Friday May 1 at 2 pm: Absolute final deadline for Final Version of Research Poster in powerpoint format. Final revised versions of all 6 research posters in one powerpoint file |
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T May 5 |
Topic: Global Warming and The Tragedy of the Commons , an essay by Garret Hardin Assignment: Watch An Inconvenient Truth. Al Gore's Documentary on YouTube. Think about these questions as you view the movie: Assignment # 12: We'll consider these questions and others during class. To encourage you to view the movie and think about it, at the beginning of class, I'll ask you to respond in writing to one of the above questions (so be prepared to have something to write about each of them). |
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W May 6 |
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Th May 7 |
Lecture: The Biology
of Viruses |
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T May 12 |
Exam 9-noon
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The quality and quantity of contributions to class discussions
will be graded.
TECHNOLOGY SKLLS: Students will develop skills in using
electronic resources to locate reliable reference materials. Student will
create powerpoint presentation to be shared with the class.
INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT: Primarily class discussions in journal
club format supplemented with lectures as necessary.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance at all class meetings is mandatory.
Absences will excused only when proper documentation is provided (doctors
note, etc.) Students will be given up to 2 personal absences from lecture;
these require no explanation. Upon a third unexcused absence, students will
be reported to the Dean. Students are responsible for all assignments, announcements
and materials covered in class whether presented orally or in any assigned
readings or handouts. No exceptions are made for non-attending students. Excuse
for absence does not relieve a student from responsibility for materials from
the class meeting missed. It is the student's responsibility to notify the
instructor of the reason for their absence, preferably in advance, and provide
written documentation. Absence from lab should be avoided if at all possible.
Inform Dr. Davis PRIOR to lab if you must absent. Unexcused absences from
lab will result in a deduction of 5 participation points from your grade.
No lab make-ups will be allowed.
GRADING: 10 point scale:
A = 90-100, B = 80-89, etc. 60 = lowest passing grade. Grades of +
and - are determined once all grades have been obtained.
Course grade components:
5% Homework, 15% Class Participation, 20% Research Poster, 60% Test 1, Test
2, and Exam (drop lowest).
I reserve the privilege to alter the content and/or requirements of this course should I find this plan unsuitable at a future date.
Statement
for Academic Integrity: Cheating
occurs in many forms. Copying homework, lab work, sharing information regarding
material on a quiz or exam, or signing another person's name to an attendance
sheet are but a few. All acts of academic dishonesty will be addressed to
the fullest extent allowed by the guidelines set forth by the College (See
Student Handbook). Honor Code
Dr. Davis's home page
Other
Links
Advice
for preparing powerpoint presentations
Do's
and Don'ts for Effective Presentations