BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES SEMINAR

2006-2007

SPRING SEMESTER COURSE DESCRIPTION

Incomplete policy:  An incomplete for the course will be granted only for unusual circumstances beyond the control of the student.  Failure to attend or do the work assigned will not automatically qualify the student for an incomplete.  Except in unusual circumstances, failure to satisfy any incomplete work by the end of the 42 day period following the semester will result in a course grade of F.  ETHICAL BEHAVIOR: Each student is expected to behave in an ethical manner throughout the course. This includes demonstration of respect for the instructor and classmates, restraint from cheating, and avoidance of plagiarism on written assignments. The definition of plagiarism in this course follows that established by the Department of Biological Sciences and is succinctly stated as "representation of the work of others as one’s own." Incidents of cheating, plagiarism and unethical behavior will be referred to the Judicial Officer for action.  In addition, each student is expected to sign a copy of the "Code of Ethical Conduct" receipt form.  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Statement:  USP supports the educational endeavors of all students, including students with disabilities.  ADA defines a disability as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.  If you believe that you have a disability that may impact your ability to fulfill your course or degree requirements, and you would like more information on applying for an accommodation under ADA, please contact the Assistant Dean of Students who serves as the ADA Coordinator at 215-596-8980.

Objectives (Expected Outcomes)

At the beginning of the course, each student is expected to:

·        Be able to conduct a detailed primary literature search on a biological topic of the student’s choice

·        Be able to prepare a presentation to make a biological argument or explanation to an audience

At the end of the course, each student is expected to:

·        Be able to construct a detailed presentation using primary research data and present the seminar using electronic media

·        Be able to construct a poster presentation based on research of the student’s own or through evaluation of primary literature

·        Be able to conduct a detailed literature search on a biological topic of the student’s choice

·        Be able to demonstrate an understanding of biological principles through explanations of data and phenomena in presentations

·        Demonstrate interest in seminars and the presentations of other students through attendance of the class meetings

·        Be an active participant in the advancement of biological knowledge through attendance at seminar presentations outside the Biological Seminar course

·        Be able to construct one-paragraph abstracts of the planned presentations

·        Avoid plagiarism in all written work

Assignments

The presentation for the second semester of Biological Sciences Seminar will be a 50 minute seminar (35 to 40 minute talk with discussion following). These will follow the schedule which is provided. As was true last semester, you will not be graded so much on the performance in the presentation as on your success in completing the requirements of the course. However, I am more likely to assign a re-presentation in the final seminar, especially if a student has not made the effort to correct deficiencies discussed following previous presentations. As in the past, three deficiencies will result in course failure. Plagiarism of abstracts will result in immediate referral to the student discipline committee; the likely result will be failure of the course. The requirements are as follows:

  1. Attendance at presentations within your section (each presentation missed will result in one deficiency). In the event that absence is necessitated by illness, family emergencies, medical and graduate school interviews, and similar events, Dr. Porter is to be notified of the absence prior to the event or as soon after as reasonably possible [after the event only in emergency situations]). Such absences may be made up, with permission, by attendance at another of the regularly scheduled sections. Prolonged absences will be handled in accordance with the Student Handbook.
  2. Electronic submission of an abstract on your presentation at least one week prior to the presentation and approval from me that the abstract is acceptable as submitted (unacceptable but academically honest abstracts will be returned for revision). An acceptable abstract must be handed in and approved no later than early on the day before the presentation. Each student presenter must also turn in a biographical sketch on the form provided.  Abstracts that are plagiarized from another source will be considered to be a violation of the student conduct and course academic integrity policies – they will not be sent back for revision but will be forwarded to the Student Conduct Committee for appropriate action.
  3. Each student must make a presentation at the time scheduled.
  4. Each presenter must provide a list of references which were used in preparation for the presentation; these may either be handed out to the audience or incorporated as part of the presentation. References should be orally cited by the first author's last name with "and coworkers" or "and colleagues," as appropriate, as part of the seminar presentation. Appropriate references should also be provided on slides of graphs, tables, charts, and other visual support. (If the references are turned in at the same time as the approved abstract, Dr. Porter will duplicate these together.)  No part of the presentation may be plagiarized from another source.
  5. Within one week following a presentation, the presenter must make an appointment with Dr. Porter for discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation, and then keep the appointment.
  6. There are many seminar opportunities around campus.  To encourage familiarity with a range of styles and formats, each student is required to attend at least two seminars outside the Biological Sciences Seminar course and provide evidence of that attendance.
  7. The AV used during the final seminar will be in the form of a computer-based presentation (Corel Presentations or PowerPoint). It is the student's responsibility to make the arrangements for the preparation of these presentations.
  8. In the event that a presentation is not of the quality expected, as determined by Dr. Porter, arrangements will be made by the student to re-present any such deficient presentations prior to the end of the spring semester. Re-presentations will address areas found to be deficient in the previous presentation attempt. The topic may not be changed in a substantive way from a first presentation attempt to the subsequent re-presentation. Any required re-presentation may or may not be scheduled within a regular class meeting of the section, depending on the time available.
  9. Any student formally conducting directed research on-campus will be expected to make the topic of the presentation the same as the topic of the research project. Those engaged in research activities less formally on-campus or in some capacity off-campus are encouraged to report on that research in the final presentation.
  10. Each student will be expected to use the information presented in previous courses of the curriculum in developing the presentation, providing explanations, answering questions, and formulating hypotheses or reasonable approaches to new knowledge.

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Content created by Dr. John Porter, j.porter@usip.edu

Last revised 11 January 2007
http://is.usip.edu/biosem4.html