Winter Semester 2018 – Rm. C215 ESC
Richard Robison, MS, MBA
I. INTRODUCTION:
MMBIO 221 is a course in general microbiology designed to provide a broad introduction to the field, with a particular emphasis on how it relates to human health. This includes introductory discussions in several sub-disciplines of microbiology, including microbial structure and physiology, immunology, and virology. Since this course fulfills general education requirements for biology, we will also cover some major concepts in general biology from a microbial point of view. The general biology part of the course will take place in the first third of the semester with most of the rest of the course having a noticeable medical slant.
II. GRADING:
Grades will be computed based upon overall performance in the course. Six items will be used in this evaluation: Reading quizzes, exams, small writing assignments, Mastering Microbiology homework, individual participation and group participation .
Reading quizzes – will be given during class session once a week (on Mondays at the beginning of class). They will be ten-point quizzes that are designed to test whether you have thoughtfully read the material for that week. There will be 13 quizzes total, and you will be able to drop the lowest score of one quiz. There will be no make-up quizzes, due to the flexibility in the design to drop one.
Exams – there will be two interval exams (given in the Testing Center) and one final exam
(given in the classroom). As written in the Reading Schedule, you will have three days to complete each exam. There will be no make-up exams given without an exceptional reason, and prior permission from Professor Black. The final exam will focus mainly on the last third section of the course (80-90%), but will also have announced selected topics that were studied in the first two-thirds of the class.
Writing assignments –there will be three total, each worth 50 points. Please refer to Learning
Suite for details on each one, along with their due dates. At least one paper will be a critical evaluation of a current newspaper article related to microbiology. Each writing assignment shall be no longer than one page, double-spaced (about 300 words). It is expected that each assignment will be typed, express coherent thought, and written in a college level format. We are emphasizing quality , not quantity. Critical evaluations of a newspaper article will have the article
(original or photocopied) on one side and your evaluation on the opposite side of the page.
Mastering Microbiology homework – per the Reading Schedule, homework assignments at the website must be completed by their posted due date. Most of these will be animations followed by a short quiz. There will be no credit given for late submissions. Students must register on this site using the course ID: MMBIOBLACK2018 , and your Net ID. These assignments will be worth a total of 100 points.
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Group participation: Presentation - the class will be divided into study groups of 4 students each. You will be the subject experts for the material assigned. Each group will sit on the front row during their assigned day. It is expected that members of this group will have met together previously and discussed the material. They will be responsible for knowing their assigned material better than the rest of the class. The group will be given 5-10 minutes to make a presentation to the class dealing with some aspect of their subject matter. This shall be a creative work like unto a skit, play, or activity of some sort; the exact nature of which is up to you. The purpose of this activity is to help the class members learn more about famous people in microbiology and/or famous diseases that these people discovered or with which they worked.
Please adhere to the 5-10 minutes allotted. This presentation will be worth 40 points per person in your group.
Group participation: Information “Playbill” Pamphlet - the group writing assignment will be a tri-fold information pamphlet directly related to the topic your group was assigned. It is expected that each member of the group will contribute substantively to the creation of the pamphlet. The group collectively has the power to “vote off the island” any member of the group who does not put in their share of effort. The front of the pamphlet must have the class, semester, your group number, and member names. If all of the member’s names are listed, then I will presume the group collectively endorsed each member’s participation on the project. This writing assignment will be worth 25 points. This score will be all or nothing. If your name is on the pamphlet, you will be awarded 25 points. If your name is not on the pamphlet because you were voted off the island, you will not be awarded any points. Two originals of the Playbill must be given to Prof Black one lecture period before your presentation is scheduled.
Group participation: Purpose - Regardless of when your group is scheduled to be “up,” it is strongly recommended that you meet together on a regular basis to study and review. This will greatly improve your understanding of the material, and subsequently your grade.
Individual participation will consist of your responses to questions embedded in the class discussions. We will be using the Top Hat ( www.tophat.com
) classroom response system in class. You will be able to submit answers to in-class questions using Apple or Android smart phones and tablets, laptops, or through text message. You can visit the Top Hat Overview
( https://success.tophat.com/s/article/Student-Top-Hat-Overview-and-Getting-Started-Guide ) within the Top Hat Success Center which outlines how you will register for a Top Hat account, as well as providing a brief overview to get you up and running on the system.
An email invitation will be sent to you by email, but if don’t receive this email, you can register by simply visiting our course website: https://app.tophat.com/e/570572
Note: our Course Join Code is 570572 .
Top Hat will require a paid subscription, and although there are three pricing options, we strongly suggest you purchase the 1 year or 5 year license since there are no upgrade options for the single semester. A full breakdown of all subscription options available can be found here: www.tophat.com/pricing .
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Should you require assistance with Top Hat at any time, due to the fact that they require specific user information to troubleshoot these issues, please contact their Support Team directly by way of email ( s upport@tophat.com
), the in app support button, or by calling 1-888-663-5491 .
You will be graded via Top Hat participation. Top Hat will be used every day in class, and you are responsible for bringing your e-devices fully charged. If you miss class, or forget your edevice, these points cannot be made up.
Grading Scale: The table below shows the relative weights of the above items toward your final grade.
ITEM POINTS
Reading Quizzes (10*12)
Interval Exams (2*150)
Final Exam
Writing Assignments (3*50)
120
300
200
150
Group Participation (40 + 25) 65
Individual Participation (via Top Hat) 65
Mastering Microbiology homework
Total
100
1000
Final grades shall be tabulated based on the following scale:
93-100
90-92
A
A-
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
67-69
63-66
60-62
0-59
D+
D
D-
E
This scale may be adjusted in your favor if natural breaks in the class scores occur below the cutoff points. For example, if there are several people at “922” points (92.2%), then the cut-off for an “A” may occur at that point, and so on down the line.
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III. CONTACT INFO:
Instructor:
Office:
Richard Robison
2150 LSB
Phone: 801-422-3974
Office hours: W/Th, 3:00-4:00 PM
Email: richardrobison@byu.edu
TA: TBA
Office hours: by appt only
E-mail:
Phone:
TBA
TBA
IV. TEXT:
Microbiology with Diseases by Taxonomy, 5 th
Ed., by Robert Bauman. Published by
Pearson Higher Ed., ISBN: 9780134019192. Includes access to the Mastering Microbiology web site at: http://www.masteringmicrobiology.com
as required for the homework described above.
V. COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Understand the basic cell structures and staining properties of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
2. Understand basic cell metabolism and bioenergetics.
3. Understand microbial growth and the factors which affect it. Be able to describe effective strategies to both limit microbial growth and kill microorganisms.
4. Describe the basic workings of the innate and acquired immune systems and how they protect us from disease.
5. Relate the major infectious diseases caused by bacteria and viruses; describe how they are diagnosed, treated, and prevented, and identify the specific microbe involved.
6. _____________________________________________________________________
(Please add one of your own in the space above)
VI. LEGAL STUFF:
Honor Code
It is a violation of the Honor Code for a student to represent someone else’s work as their own. Also, as a condition of attending BYU, you affirmed that you would help others obey the Honor Code. We view violations of the Honor code with extreme seriousness. It is a department policy that those who cheat on examinations or plagiarize the work of another are given a failing grade for the course.
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Students with Disabilities
Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere which reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (422 -2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities.
Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the SSD Office. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures.
You should contact the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895, D-282 ASB.
Preventing Sexual Harassment
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended to eliminate sex discrimination in education. Title IX covers discrimination in programs, admissions, activities, and student-to-student sexual harassment. BYU's policy against sexual harassment extends not only to employees of the university but to students as well. If you encounter unlawful sexual harassment or gender based discrimination, please talk to your professor; contact the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895 or 367-5689 (24hours); or contact the Honor Code Office at 422-2847.
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