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BIOL 1401: Developmental Biology
Spring 2003 Instructor: Lauren Yaich, Ph.D. Telephone: 362-0260 Office: 203 F Fisher Hall E-mail: yaich@pitt.edu Lectures: M W F 3 - 3:50 pm Lab: Thurs. 2:30 - 6:30 pm Office Hours: M W F 1 - 3 pm Textbook: Wolpert, L., Beddington, R., Jessell, T., Lawrence,
P., Meyerowitz, E, and Smith, *Additional readings will be placed on reserve in the library. Lab Manual: Tyler, M. S. Developmental Biology: A Guide for Experimental Study, Second Edition. Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA, 2000. Class Web-Sites: http://courseweb.pitt.edu
and http://www.pitt.edu/~yaich/classes.htm Class Description and Philosophy: Lecture Schedule January
February
March
April
Final Exam
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The labs will consist of both descriptive and experimental exercises. Attendance at laboratories is required. Any unexcused absence from a lab session will result in a 10-point deduction from your lab grade. Occasionally you may be asked to set up or take down part of an experiment at other times than the standard lab period. In addition to your lab manual, there will be handouts for most of the laboratories. You will be expected to have done the appropriate readings before coming to lab! The lab grade will consist of both exercises and a lab practical exam at the end of the course. Therefore, you should take the laboratories seriously and make an attempt to understand clearly what you are doing in lab throughout the semester! Make notes and observations in your laboratory manual and handouts and hang on to them until the final lab exam. Lab Schedule
February
March
April
Grading Lecture Exam #1 100 points Total Points = 780 points Final Grades will be calculated as follows: Total Number of Points Earned / 780 points X 100 = Final % Grade The percentile grade will correspond to the following letter grades: Class Policies: 1. Attendance at lectures is strongly recommended. Most (but not necessarily all!) of the material appearing on the exams will be based on lectures. Attendance at labs is REQUIRED. An unexcused absence from lab will result in a 10-point deduction from the lab grade. If you will be missing a lecture exam or lab for a legitimate reason, contact me as soon as possible, preferably in advance. More than two absences in a semester due to illness will necessitate a note from your doctor or the college nurse. Make-up exams will only be given if I feel that the absence was justifiable. Arrangements for any make-ups should be made within three days of the absence. 2. A "poster" is a way of presenting scientific information at meetings and conferences. In place of a term paper we will be having a poster session in which each student will present a poster detailing library research on a particular topic related to developmental biology. This will be a significant part of your grade, so I recommend beginning work on this early in the semester. I will pass out a handout giving more information regarding this assignment. 3. I may occasionally offer an extra credit assignment at various times throughout the semester. This is primarily to allow you to catch up on a few points if you had bad luck on an exam or assignment. However, these will only be worth a minimal number of points! Extra credit alone will not be able to take you from a D to an A, so you should try to do your best in all aspects of this class. 4. Please establish your personal e-mail account as soon as possible. Any special announcements will be made by e-mail and/or in lecture. Also, e-mail is a great way to reach me for simple questions or to arrange for an appointment. 5. This syllabus is subject to change. While I will try my best to adhere to the schedule, occasionally changes may be necessary. If so, I will announce the change(s) both in lecture and on Blackboard. 6. Students in this class will be expected to adhere to The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's Academic Integrity Policy, which reads as follows: Members of a university community, both faculty and students, bear a serious responsibility to uphold personal and professional integrity and to maintain complete honesty in all academic work. Violations of the code of academic integrity are not tolerated. Students who cheat or plagiarize or who otherwise take improper advantage of the work of others, face harsh penalties, including permanent dismissal. The academic integrity guidelines set forth student and faculty obligations and the means of enforcing regulations and addressing grievances. Please pay particular note to the prohibition against plagiarism. You must use your own words in any written work! Any evidence of plagiarism will immediately result in a failing grade for that assignment. Continued plagiarism beyond this or cheating on exams will potentially result in the student being brought before administrative review. If you are unsure of how to properly "paraphrase" sources, please come see me and I will be happy to help you with this. 7. If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Academic Success Center's Disability Resources and Services Office (Hanley Library, Room 218) as early as possible in the term. The ASC will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. Contact Kara Kennedy, Learning Development Specialist, at 362-7609 for more information. Tips for Success: 1. Read the material BEFORE coming to class!! We will be covering a lot of material relatively quickly. If you are prepared before coming to class, your understanding of the lectures will be immensely enhanced. Although the exams will be primarily based on what is covered in lecture, the readings are critical for strengthening your comprehension of the material. Avoid relying heavily on the PowerPoint notes as your primary study tool! They only provide a rough outline of what you are expected to understand and are meant to complement, not replace, lecture attendance and careful note taking and reading. 2. Review your lecture notes before the next class. I strongly recommend re-writing them or outlining them - believe it or not, there is a direct link between the hand and the brain! This is a good time to coordinate what you are learning in lectures with what you are reading in the book, BEFORE the class moves ahead to the next topic. If there is still an area of confusion, then please come to me for help, which brings me to my next tip.... 3. DO NOT GET BEHIND!! And I don't just mean with the readings!! Biology is built from simple principles, but eventually we will be learning about relatively complex phenomena. If you don't understand the basics, then you won't understand the more advanced materials. Please come to me if there are concepts that you are really stuck on. Which again leads to yet another point... 4. Take advantage of your instructors!! (And I don't mean that in the negative sense.) We have office hours and discussion sessions for a reason. And, remember, there is no such thing as a "stupid question"! Nonetheless, please make at least some effort to find out the answer yourself before coming for help. Part of being a college student is learning how to find the answers on your own. e-mail is another good way to get some help, especially for relatively short queries. 5. Find the study aids that work best for you. Some students learn well in informal study groups with their friends. Others prefer aids such as flashcards, etc... A combination of all of the above often works well. Do not waste time extensively reviewing the "easy" stuff, focus on the material that gives you the most difficulty. Here is where testing yourself can really help a lot, whether you use flashcards or your friends as the testing aid! |
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