BIOL/PBIO 3333
Genetics
Dale Hall 122
Fall 2015 Syllabus
Lecturer: David S. Durica
Office: 300A Richards Hall/430 Bizzell Memorial Library
Lab: 216 Richards Hall
Phone: 325-1528
email: ddurica@ou.edu
Office Hours:
Monday 10:30 AM –12:30 PM (430 Bizzell Memorial Library)
Tuesday 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM (245 Wagner Hall)
Thursday 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM (245 Wagner Hall)
or by appointment...
For the Monday meeting time, I’ll be available at my office in the main library (on North corridor).
The Tuesday and Wednesday meeting times will correspond to the Genetics Action Center
sessions (see below) in room 245 Wagner Hall. If you can’t make these times, don’t hesitate to
contact me. If possible, though, I suggest that you phone ahead to make an appointment (3251528), or contact me via email so we can avoid time conflicts with your classmates. Please do
not hesitate to see me if you have questions, especially if you are encountering problems
with any aspect of this course.
Texts:
1) Hartwell, L., Hood, L., Goldberg, M., Reynolds, A., and Silver, L. 2015. Genetics: From Genes
to Genomes, 5th ed. McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y.
(Note: Readings for the earlier, 4th and 3rd editions of the Hartwell text will also be referenced in
the course materials, see below).
2) Thompson, J.N., Hellack, J.J., Braver, G., and Durica, D. S. 2007. Primer of Genetic Analysis,
3rd ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England.
The newest edition of the Hartwell textbook is also available as an ebook for rent ($75) the
McGraw-Hill website. The option is called ‘Smartbook’, and also includes programmed learning
problems associated with navigating the text. Information on the Smartbook ebook version can
be accessed at:
http://learnsmartadvantage.com/course-books/?product-search=hartwell&producttype=smartbook
Personal Response System:
Questions will be asked during class to monitor your degree of comprehension (and level of
alertness). A working group who has looked into response system use on campus has requested
that the iclicker Response System be adopted as a University Standard. I have decided to follow
this advice and will be using this response system this semester. iClicker2 clickers are available
at the OU Bookstore- you can share a clicker with anybody who isn’t taking the same class.
These clickers will be used for recording answers to in-class questions, so everybody in the class
will need a unique identifier linked to the clicker (see below). This company is also bundling
software for using smartphones and computers with this system. These devices require a wifi
connection, which unfortunately may be not reliable in our classroom environment; so only the
iclicker2 devices will be used. (There is also that ‘level of alertness’ issue when those screens are
out and flashing at you!)
iClicker Registration:
You can register your iclicker on-line (on the Course D2L site under ‘Course Information’) before
the first class; you will need your iclicker ID, which is found ‘bar-coded’ in an 8-character
alphanumeric on the back of the clicker, right above the battery compartment. You can register
the iclickers after the first day of class, but we will use them that first day, so please sign up on
this web site as early as you can. Remember- I can’t give you credit if you don’t register your
device.
Tentative Hourly Exam Dates and Final:
Exam #1 – Friday, 18 September
Exam #2 – Friday, 16 October
Exam #3 – Friday, 13 November
Exam #4 – Friday, 4 December
Final Exam: Tuesday, 15 December, 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM. For final exam schedule, click here:
Last day to withdraw with automatic grade of W: 30 October (Any student wishing to
withdraw on or before 30 October can do so with a W. Grades recorded for withdrawals after 30
October will be based on all examinations taken. Please note: there will be no exceptions to
this policy, so keep this date in mind.)
Grading:
4 one-hour examinations at 75 points each: 300
comprehensive final examination:
150
total points:
450
Normally, 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B, and so forth, though I reserve the option of lowering these
breakpoints (that is, curving the distribution in your favor). Your individual performance on the
final examination will be especially important in those instances in which your grade is near a
borderline; marked improvement will encourage me to award you the higher grade in such cases.
The keys to each examination will be posted by the afternoon of the exam day in the glass case
beside room 300A in Richards Hall. Copies of practice tests, with answers, are available on the
Internet on the Genetics Home Page (see below). Copies of previous quizzes, with answers, are
also available on the Genetics Home Page.
Unless special arrangements are made in advance, examinations missed for legitimate reasons
will be prorated, based upon the average of your other examinations, at the end of the semester.
As usual for missed examinations in this department, a note from a doctor or some other
appropriate written excuse will be needed for the grade file.
If any student has a disability or needs special assistance, please inform me as soon as possible,
so that any accommodations that are necessary can be arranged with the minimum amount of
inconvenience. Students with disabilities who require accommodations must register with the
Office of Disability Services, which is located in Goddard Health Center, Suite 166, phone
405/325-3852 or TDD only 405/325-4173.
Each student should be aware of the University regulations in regard to cheating on class
examinations or other work. Any instance of cheating will be dealt with seriously, under the
guidelines set out by the University. I sincerely trust that this will not be necessary.
Grades throughout the course will be posted on D2L, using your University ID number, unless
you specifically request that your grade not be posted. I am usually able to post the final grades
on D2L before they are available through the registrar.
The following chapters in the Primer of Genetic Analysis will be useful aids to your studying for
examinations. In addition, each chapter is associated with a practice test at the end of the
manual, and the glossary gives brief definitions of terms you might be asked to use or identify on
examinations. This complements the problems given at the end of every chapter and the glossary
of terms in the Hartwell textbook.
For examination 1:
For examination 2:
For examination 3:
For examination 4:
Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Chapters 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16.
Chapters 16, 13, 3, 17.
Chapters 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.
Quizzes and In-Class Questions (Extra Credit Points):
Quizzes and in-class questions will be periodically given throughout the course of the semester.
The quizzes and in-class questions are designed to aid you in evaluating how well you are
keeping up with the subject matter, and test your ability to use what you have learned. They can
earn you extra credit points. Here's how:
Any individual with a cumulative quiz average equal or above the class average will earn 10 extra
credit points, added to your final point total. This is usually equivalent to raising you a letter grade
on one in-class examination.
During regular lectures, I will also ask questions in class, and your individual answers will be
tallied using a personal response system (iclicker). My object here is to allow both you and me to
assess the level of understanding of lecture material. To earn additional extra credit points, your
individual responses over the course of the semester will also be scored relative to the overall
class point average for the semester. All students that score at or above the class semester
average will receive 10 extra credit points towards their final point total.
You are on the honor system to work out the quiz problems by yourself. Obviously, for clicker
responses, you should also be answering only for yourself, not your buddy who decided to sleep
in- I will be quite disappointed to see people with more than one clicker. Violations of this policy
constitute academic misconduct.
Extra help:
Review Sessions
Review sessions will be scheduled weekly throughout the semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays
(4:30 PM) at the Genetics Action Center, room 245, Wagner Hall. These sessions are a
particularly good time to meet with me (and undergraduate TAs who have previously taken the
course) to clarify lecture topics that may be unclear to you, go over end-of-chapter problems from
the assigned texts, specific practice problem sets covering lecture material, etc. Although these
reviews will be totally optional, I urge you to take advantage of these sessions- they are for
enrichment as well as review. Prior to the in-class exams, a review session will be scheduled in
Dale 122 and the questions on the practice exam will be covered. These exam review sessions
will be on the class day preceding the hourly exams (i.e. 16 September, 14 October, 11
November, 2 December) at 6:30 PM.
Genetics Web Page
The Genetics Web Page can be found at http://www.ou.edu/cas/zoology/Courses/3333/ (please
note capitalization of "Courses"). This site can also be accessed from D2L. The Genetics Web
Page is meant to supplement D2L and contains material not available on D2L. I do this
because D2L is a closed server only available to enrolled students- if someone wants to learn
about the course, they can therefore go to the Genetics Web Page prior to enrolling. I may be
moving the site this semester off of the biology home page, because it takes up to much space! If
and when a new URL is assigned, I will let you know and make this site accessible from D2L.
The D2L and Couse web sites will continue to develop as the semester progresses. I hope to
provide you with hyperlinks that will allow you to explore some of the broader implications of the
topics we are studying; topics which emphasize how the science of genetics increasingly impacts
many aspects of our personal lives and our society.
Personal Appointments
Again, if you are having difficulties with the course, please do not hesitate to schedule a personal
appointment. If my office hours conflict with your schedule, email me or call me at 325-1528 to set
up a convenient meeting time. Don't fall behind! I'm here to help.