DEPARTMENT OF LIFE SCIENCES
STAFF HANDBOOK FOR BIOLOGY DEGREES
2014-15
Life Sciences Education Office, Room 202, Sir Ernst Chain Building
Department of Life Sciences
Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ.
Telephone: External: 020 7594 5399, Internal: 45399
e.mail: j.snelling@imperial.ac.uk
Table of Contents
Foreword – What is this handbook for? .............................................................................................. 3
Biology: Important Dates for Academic Year 2014-15 ........................................................................ 4
Dates of First, Second and Final Year Courses..................................................................................... 5
Summary of Undergraduate Examination Dates................................................................................. 7
Where to find information on content of 1st, 2nd and final year courses............................................ 8
Contact Details for Key Teaching Staff ................................................................................................ 9
Contact Details for Support Staff ....................................................................................................... 10
Who is on the Biology Teaching Committee and what is it for? ....................................................... 11
List of Biology Degrees 2014-15 ........................................................................................................ 12
Student Placement Years Abroad and in Industry ............................................................................ 13
Guidance on Personal tutorials ......................................................................................................... 14
Guidance on First and Second Year Academic Tutorials ................................................................... 15
Guidance on Lecturing ....................................................................................................................... 16
Peer Review of Lecturing ................................................................................................................... 16
Recording of Lectures – the Panopto system .................................................................................... 16
SOLE (Student Online Lecturer Feedback)......................................................................................... 18
Good teaching Practice Workshops .................................................................................................. 18
Guidelines for Marking Exams ........................................................................................................... 19
Marking Criteria for Exams and Coursework..................................................................................... 21
Procedures if students are ill or absent during or prior to examinations ......................................... 22
2
Foreword – What is this handbook for?
This handbook used to be a much longer document which was distributed in printed form but we
are gradually moving all documents related to teaching activities to Blackboard* or Sharepoint^,
where we hope these will be easier to find (and maintain).
Maintaining a staff handbook remains a sensible method of providing somewhere to access dates,
departmental information and some guidance on good practice in, for example, tutorials and
exam marking. New faculty are always welcome to contact the Director of UG Studies, the Senior
Tutor, the Chair of the Board of Examiners or indeed any experienced member of staff for advice.
We hope you will find this a useful resource. It remains a work in progress so please let us know if
you find any errors or have ideas about additional material that it would be useful to include. We
would be particularly keen to hear from newer members of staff about items we may have
overlooked.
Dr Mike Tristem, Director of UG Studies (Biology)
Mr James Andrewes, Education Office Manager
Dr Steve Connolly, UG Liaison Officer
Sept 2014
*Blackboard:
https://bb.imperial.ac.uk
^Sharepoint (DoLS Teaching Site):
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/
Both these sites require your College username and password for access.
3
Biology: Important Dates for Academic Year 2014-15
Autumn term - Saturday 4th October 2014 to Friday 19th December 2014
• Personal Tutorials Group A: Thursday 9th October 2014 Group B: Friday 10th October 2014
• Commemoration day: Wednesday 22rd October 2014
• DOLS Academic Staff Meeting at South Kensington: Wednesday 29th October
• Personal Tutorials Group A: Thursday 30th October 2014 Group B: Friday 31st October 2014
• Student-staff meeting: 12.30pm Thursday 6th November 2014
• Biology Teaching Committee: Wednesday 19th November 2014
• Exam papers for AMB/GEN due: Wednesday 19th November 2014
• Exam papers for Final Year, slots 1 and 2 due: Wednesday 19th November 2014
• Student-staff meeting: Thursday 4th December 2014
• Exam papers for BCM/OB due: Wednesday 10th December 2014
Spring term - Saturday 10th January 2015 to Friday 27th March 2015
• Final Year exams, slot 1&2: Monday 12th – 14thJanuary 2015
• AMB & GEN exam: Tuesday 13th – 15th January 2015
• Personal Tutorials Group A: Thursday 15th January 2015 Group B: Friday 16th January 2015
• Biology Teaching Committee: Wednesday 21st January 2015
• Exam papers for Final Year, slot 3 due: Wednesday 21st January 2015
• BCM & OB exam: Tuesday 3rd – 5th February 2015
• Student-staff: Thursday 12th February 2015
• Final Year exams, slot 3: Friday 27th February 2015
• Final Year projects begin: Monday 2nd March 2015
• Spring examiners' sub-board meeting for Y1 and Y2: Friday 6th March 2015
• Student-staff meeting: Thursday 19th March 2015
• Personal Tutorials Group A: Monday 23rd March 2015 Group B: Tuesday 24th March 2015
• DOLS Academic Staff Meeting at South Kensington: Wednesday 25th March 2015
• Exam papers for CBG/EE due: Wednesday 22nd April 2015
• Exams papers for BP/CDB/RM, BE/VIR, ECOL/IMM/PARA due: Wednesday 22nd April 2015
Summer term - Saturday 25 April 2015 to Friday 26 June 2015
• Student-staff meeting: Thursday 14th May 2015
• Biology Teaching Committee: Thursday 21st May 2015
• Personal Tutorials Group A: Tuesday 26th May 2015 Group B: Wednesday 27th May 2015
• Final Year project hand-in: Friday 5th June 2015
• Project vivas: Monday 8th June – Friday 12th June 2015
• BP/CDB/RM exams: Monday 8th June 2015
• BE/VIR exams: Wednesday 10th June 2015
• EE exam: Thursday 11th June 2015
• ECOL/IMM/PARA exams: Friday 12th June 2015
• CBG exam: Monday 15th June 2015
• Final Year Exam Board meeting: Friday 26th June 2015
• DOLS Academic Staff Meeting at Silwood Park: Wednesday 15th July 2015
• Summer examiners' board meeting for Y1 and Y2: Friday 17th July 2015
• Resit examinations: Tuesday 1st September–Friday 4th September 2015
• Resit examiners’ meeting: Monday 14th September 2015
4
Dates of First, Second and Final Year Courses
First Year Courses 2014-15
Dates
Courses (Convenors)
10 Oct to 13 Jan
Biology of Organisms OB (Brazeau)
3 Nov to 19 Dec
Biological Chemistry & Microbiology BCM (Cook)
14 Jan to 5 Feb
Revision and Exam for BCM & OB
9 Feb to 1 Jun
Ecology & Evolution EE (Hodgson)
23 Feb to 27 Mar
Cell Biology & Genetics CBG (Cook)
2 June to 15 Jun
Revision and Exam for EE and CBG
Second Year Courses 2014-15
5
Dates
Courses
7 Oct to 31 Oct
Applied Molecular Biology AMB (Spanu)
3 Nov to 7 Nov
Bioinformatics Week
10 Nov to 14 Nov
Reading & Computational Biostatistics week
17 Nov to 12 Dec
Genetics GEN (Charalambous)
15 Dec to 19 Dec
Computational Biostatistics week
13 Jan & 15 Jan
AMB and Genetics Exam
19 Jan to 13 Feb
Cell & Developmental Biology (Turnbull) or Bacterial Physiology
(Williams) or Resource Management (Knight)
23 Feb to 20 Mar
Virology (Tristem) or Behavioural Ecology (Charalambous)
27 Apr to 22 May
Immunology (Brady) or Parasitology (Wright) or Ecology (Ewers)
25 May to 12 Jun
Revision and Exams
18 July
Examiners’ meeting
Third Year Courses 2014-15
Listed are the options available to Biochemistry/Biotechnology Students
Option 1: Wednesday 6th October – Friday 7th November 2014
Damage and Repair in Biological Systems (Gounaris)
Macromolecules in 3D (Matthews)
Stem Cells, Regeneration and Ageing (Hall/Lo Celso)
Medical Microbiology (Filloux)
Neuroscience Research (Djamgoz)
Plant Biotechnology and Development (Buck)
Tropical Biology Field Course (Savolainen)
Population & Community Ecology (Banks-Leite)
Option 2: Monday 17th November – Friday 19th December 2014
Cancer (Mann)
Mechanisms of Gene Expression (Weinzierl)
Integrative Systems Biology (Endres)
Metabolic and Network Engineering (Jones)
Advanced Topics in Parasitology and Vector Biology (Crisanti)
Symbiosis, Plant and Disease (Bidartondo)
Advanced Topics in Infection and Immunity (Christophides)
Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (Bastos Araujo)
Evolutionary Biology (Koufopanou)
Options 1 and 2 Examinations: 12-14th January 2015
Option 3: Monday 16th January – Friday 20th February 2015
Medical Glycobiology (Drickamer & Taylor)
Biotech Applications of Proteins (Polizzi)
Molecular Basis of Bacterial Infection (Frankel)
Bioinformatics (Pinney & Stumpf)
Synthetic Biology (Baldwin)
Systems Neuroscience (Brickley)
Molecular Biodiversity (Leroi)
Epidemiology (Aanensen & Shirreff)
Global Change Biology (Woodward)
Option 3 Examinations: 27th February 2015
Final Year Projects: 2nd March to 5th June 2015
Project Vivas: 8th Jun to 12th Jun 2015
Moderation Days: 24th-26th June 2015
6
Summary of Undergraduate Examination Dates
2014-15
Day
of Week
Date
Time
Location
First Year
Biological Chemistry and Microbiology
Biology of Organisms
Ecology and Evolution
Cell Biology and Genetics
Tuesday
Thursday
Thursday
Monday
03-Feb
05-Feb
11-Jun
15-Jun
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Second Year
Applied Molecular Biology
Genetics
Tuesday
Thursday
13-Jan
15-Jan
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Bacterial Physiology
Cell and Developmental Biology
Resource Management
Monday
Monday
Monday
08-Jun
08-Jun
08-Jun
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Wednesday
Wednesday
10-Jun
10-Jun
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Friday
Friday
Friday
12-Jun
12-Jun
12-Jun
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Monday
Monday
Monday
Monday
Monday
Monday
Monday
Monday
12-Jan
12-Jan
12-Jan
12-Jan
12-Jan
12-Jan
12-Jan
12-Jan
10.00-12.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Wednesday
Wednesday
14-Jan
14-Jan
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Wednesday
14-Jan
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
Wednesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
14-Jan
14-Jan
14-Jan
14-Jan
14-Jan
14-Jan
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
10.00-13.00
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
460/560 SAF
Molecular Basis of Bacterial Infection
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Boinformatics
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Synthetic Biology
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Systems Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain in
Health & Disease
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Biodiversity Genomics
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Epidemiology
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Global Change Biology
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Medical Glycobiology
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Biotechnology Applications of Proteins
Friday
27-Feb
10.00-13.00
Behavioural Ecology
Virology
Ecology
Immunology
Parasitology
Final Year
Tropical Biology Field Course
Stem Cells, Regeneration and Ageing
Medical Microbiology
Neuroscience Research: From Molecules to Mind
Plant Biotechnology and Development
Population and Community Ecology
Damage and Repair in Biological Systems
Macromolecules in 3D
Integrative Systems Biology
Metabolic and Network Engineering
Advanced Topics in Parasitology and Vector
Biology
Symbiosis, Plant Immunity and Disease
Advanced Topics in Infection and Immunity
Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Cancer
Mechanisms of Gene Expression
Resit Examinations: Tues 1 Sept - Fri 4 Sept 2015 (timetable to be finalised and circulated at end of July)
7
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Great Hall,
Sherfield
Where to find information on the content of 1st, 2nd and final year courses
The outline timetable information is given on the preceding pages and should enable staff to keep track of
where students are in the program.
We also have summary documents that provide a more detailed description of the content of each courses.
These are maintained by course convenors. This information should be useful for personal tutors but
should also enable those running courses or planning new ones to avoid duplication of material and to plan
course material based on an appreciation of what students will have learned in their first and second years.
These documents are available on Sharepoint:
1st year Biology Courses:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/First%20year%20documents/first_
year_biology_handbook_2014_2015.docx
2nd year Biology Courses
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Second%20year%20documents/Se
cond%20Year%20Grid%202014-15.pdf
For info on the content of 3rd year courses, please contact the course convenor. The full list of final year
courses offered by the department (and their convenors) is available in the final year grid (a one-page
document which also shows timetable information):
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Final%20year%20documents/Final
%20Year%20Grid%202014-15.docx
Just in case documents move around on Sharepoint, the general link to the Life Sciences Teaching Page is:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/SitePages/Home.aspx
8
Contact Details for Key Teaching Staff
Academic Staff
Prof Murray Selkirk
Dr Mike Tristem
Dr Hugh Brady
Dr Colin Turnbull
Dr Laurence Bugeon
Dr Dave Hartley
Dr Huw Williams
Dr Steve Connolly
Dr Steve Cook
Dr Magda
Charalambous
Head of Department
Director of Undergraduate Studies
(Biology)
Admissions Tutor
Chairman, Biology Board of
Examiners
Year in Industry/Research
Co-ordinator
Research Abroad Co-ordinator; Final
Year Projects Co-ordinator
Biology Careers Adviser
UG Liaison Officer
Year 1 Convenor
Year 2 Convenor/Women’s Tutor
Offices are in the Sir Ernst Chain Building unless otherwise indicated
9
m.selkirk
m.tristem
204
SAF 505
h.brady
c.turnbull
SAF 504
SAF 449
l.bugeon
SAF 6th Floor
d.hartley
206
huw.williams
stephen.connolly
SAF 507
201
SAF 505
SAF 505
m.charalambous
Contact Details for Support Staff
Life Sciences Education Office
Mr James Andrewes
Dr Linda Giorgi
Education Office Manager
Examinations Officer
Disabilities Liaison Officer
(for UGs)
Biology UG Administrator
Biochemistry UG Administrator
PG Research & Doctoral
Training Programme
Administrator
PG Administrator
Senior Learning Technologist
j.andrewes
l.giorgi
202
202
j.snelling
s.ewart
james.ferguson
202
202
202
l.york
m.sarsfield
202
211
Faculty ICT Support Manager
ICT Site Manager
service.desk
service.desk
323
SAF G31
Senior Technician
Year 1 Technician
Year 1 Technician
Year 2/3 Technician
Year 2/3 Technician
d.featherbe
b.carnell
s.rehman
s.peters
c.campbell
SAF 566
SAF 566
SAF 566
SAF 566
SAF 566
Mr Adrian Clark
Faculty Team Leader:
Life Sciences
a.clark
Ms Elizabeth Killeen
Life Sciences Liaison Librarian
e.killeen
4th Floor,
College
Library
4th Floor,
College
Library
Mr Jerzy Snelling
Ms Shannon Ewart
Mr James Ferguson
Ms Lucy York
Ms Moira Sarsfield
Computing
Mr Adrian Mannall
Ms Kat Parkins
Teaching Technical Support
Mr Dave Featherbe
Mr Brian Carnell
Ms Sophia Rehman
Mr Scott Peters
Mr Colin Campbell
Library
10
Who is on the Biology Teaching Committee and what is it for?
The Biology Teaching Committee oversees the delivery of our UG programs and helps to direct our
educational strategy. There is an equivalent committee that oversees the Biochemistry degrees.
Please feel free to bring any teaching or educational issues to the attention of the Director of UG Studies. If
you feel there are topics that should be discussed by the teaching committee, you can do so by notifying
any member.
The present membership is:
Dr Mike Tristem
Director of UG Studies, Y3 Convenor
Prof Stephen Curry
Director of UG Studies
Dr Steve Connolly
UG Liaison Officer
Dr Hugh Brady
Admissions Tutor, Cells Stream
Dr Colin Turnbull
Chair, Board of Examiners
Prof Pietro Spanu
TD Convenor, AMB Convenor
Prof Armand Leroi
Organismal Stream
Prof Jon Lloyd
Ecology Stream
Dr Steve Cook
Senior Teaching Fellow, Y1 Convenor
Dr Magda Charalambous
Senior Teaching Fellow, Y2 Convenor & Women’s Tutor
Mr Dave Featherbe
Senior Technician
Mr James Andrewes
Education Office Manager
Ms Sinziana Giju
Student Dept. Rep.
Ms Moira Sarsfield
Senior Learning Technologist
Mr Jerzy Snelling van Buren
Education Office Administrator
11
List of Biology Degrees 2014-15
BSc Honours
3 year degrees

Biology (C100)

Biology with Management (C1N2)

Ecology and Environmental Biology (C180)

Microbiology (C500)
4 year degrees

Biology with Management (C1NG)

Biology with French for Science (C1R1)

Biology with German for Science (C1R2)

Biology with Spanish for Science (C1R4)

Biology with Management and a Year in Industry / Research (C1NF)

Biology with Research Abroad (C102)

Biology with a Year in Industry / Research (C110)
5 year degrees

Biology with Management with a Year in Industry/Research (C1NA)
Scheme for the Award of Honours
The Scheme for the Award of Honours is a document that formally specifies the course content for
our degree programs (listed above), defines the credit attached to each course, specifies the
requirements for passing each course and the marks required to achieve a given level of
performance (1st class, Upper 2nd, Lower 2nd etc.).
Should staff need to consult the Scheme for Honours it is available on Sharepoint at:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Policy%20documents/biology_sche
me_for_honours_2014_2015.docx
12
Student Placement Years Abroad and in Industry
BSc degrees with a Year in Industry / Research
Co-ordinator: Dr Laurence Bugeon (Email: l.bugeon)
6th Floor, Sir Alexander Fleming Building
Placements are arranged during the second year and are at the discretion of the Sub-board. The
student’s academic record must be at the upper second class level to be permitted to undertake a
placement, otherwise the student will return to College for their final year and they will not be
eligible for the degree title.
Students undertake supervised research projects in Industry or Research Institutes (Year in
Industry / Research degrees) for a period of at least 34 weeks. Their work is assessed but the mark
is not used in the calculation of the final degree result, although it may be taken into consideration
at the final meeting of the Examining Board. Satisfactory reports from Imperial College examiners
are required for the award of the degree title.
BSc degrees with Research Abroad
Co-ordinator: Dr Dave Hartley (Email: d.hartley)
Room 206, Sir Ernst Chain Building
Placements are arranged during the second year and are at the discretion of the Sub-board. The
student’s academic record must be at the upper second class level to be permitted to undertake a
placement, otherwise the student will return to College for their final year and they will not be
eligible for the degree title.
Students undertake supervised research projects in university laboratories abroad, most
commonly in continental Europe, but also in North America or further afield for a period of at least
34 weeks. Students also write a non-biochemical dissertation on a socio-economic aspect of the
region in which the year is spent. To prepare for the year abroad, the second year Supplementary
course normally must be in the language of the host country. Their work is assessed by a written
final report and an oral examination, but the mark is not used in the calculation of the final degree
result. Satisfactory reports from Imperial College examiners are required for the award of the
degree title.
13
Guidance on Personal tutorials
Personal tutorials are generally intended to complement the academic content of the course.
Personal tutors are a point of contact with individual students that will be maintained throughout
their time on the UG program. As such they will often be called upon to write references for
students when they are applying for placements, studentships and employment, so please get to
know your tutees.
There are a range of different activities that you can do in your personal tutorials. The only ones
that are defined by the department are the exam feedback sessions that are run in the 1 st and 2nd
year. We have a defined procedure on what staff can and cannot do when giving feedback (e.g.
students must not see the marks or comments on the front of the script, though you can relay
these comments to them verbally and you are allowed to show them any comments that are
written on the inside of the script). The particular aim of these sessions is to provide feedback on
exam performance so that the students can recognise their strengths and weaknesses in
answering exam questions.
Guidance on how to tackle exam feedback sessions and ideas for other activities to do in personal
tutorials in the 1st and 2nd year is provided in a separate document that is available on Sharepoint
at:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Personal%20tutors/Biology%20Per
sonal%20Tutorials%20-%20Guidance%202014-15.docx
Exam feedback for BCM and OB occurs in the Year 1 Spring term, for EE and CBG it is the Autumn
term of Year 2. For the Year 2 courses, AMB exam feedback is given in the Spring and GEN exam
feedback is given in the Summer of Year 2 by their respective course convenors.
If you have any queries about Personal Tutorials please contact the Senior Tutor.
14
Guidance on First and Second Year Academic Tutorials
Organisation and the Tutor’s role
At present, each first year student will have seven tutorials in the autumn term, five in the spring
term and three in the summer term. The tutorials will be linked to one of the first year courses,
Biology of Organisms, Biological Chemistry & Microbiology, Ecology & Evolution, Cell Biology &
Genetics. Each member of staff has been assigned to give tutorials for one of these courses.
Academic tutorial timetables are normally drawn up by the Education Office and distributed at the
start of the academic year. In some cases these may clash with other commitments. If you find
that you are busy at the time of your tutorial, please contact Jerzy Snelling with a substitute as
rearranging the slot is extremely difficult.
Each year group is divided into tutorial groups of about seven or eight students for each tutorial –
students are reallocated to new tutors in Spring for variation. Typically students will be given a
work/problem sheet in advance and will be expected to have prepared for the tutorial by
answering the set questions or equivalent preparation. Tutors will be provided with the work/
problem sheet and with the answer sheet.
The role of the tutor will be to go through the work sheet with the tutorial group and use this as
the basis for discussion. Work sheets/problem sheets should take up no more than 30-40 minutes
leaving time for other topics to be addressed. Tutors will not see the same tutorial group more
than once and will be asked to repeat the same tutorial with different groups.
According to SOLE feedback the students place great value on interaction in their teaching
activities. Although they may sometime seem hesitant to participate, the tutor should endeavor to
make sure that every student is involved. A mechanical recitation of the answers to the problems
is not recommended; rather, please try to get a discussion going. For example, ask the students to
explain their approach or ask extension questions that lead off from the problems they have been
tackling.
Professor Stephen Curry,
DUGS
September 2014
15
Guidance on Lecturing
How should you lecture? There is no single correct answer to this: many different teaching styles
work well so staff should opt for one that suits them best. You may wish to use slides; you might
prefer not to.
From student feedback we do know that large numbers of slides packed with information that the
lecturer simply reads out to the class is a big turn off. There is always the temptation to keep
adding material to lectures because a lecturer thinks it adds interest and colour, but we must also
try not to overload the students.
The students very much appreciate interaction in lectures, even though this can sometimes be
difficult to achieve and the students in class may appear inhibited from responding to questions!
It is always worth persevering and a good idea is to build Q&A sessions into your lectures. Q&A
sessions are more easily run using electronic applications like Socrative and Mentimeter which can
be used in conjunction with smart phones and other wireless devices. These allow students to
select answers to MCQs in real time. The current pedagogical trend is toward more active learning
methods and rapid (formative) feedback.
You will find out from SOLE (Student Online Lecturer Evaluation – see below) what aspects of your
teaching are working well or may need adjustment. Students are sometimes a little cynical about
SOLE but as long as we use their constructive criticisms — and tell them that we are doing so —
the value of this feedback for us will only increase.
Peer Review of Lecturing
New staff will receive feedback on their lecturing technique as part of the Learning and Teaching
Development Program that they need to complete within their probationary period. This will be
provided by the DUGS and other experienced members of the teaching staff
However, this is a facility that we would like to offer to all staff. Any member of staff is welcome to
request this from the DUGS who will be happy to make arrangements. The review feedback will be
provided verbally and in written form; the department would like to keep a record that the peer
review has taken place but has no plans to keep a record of the outcome of the review. The
emphasis will be on developing and improving your technique, hopefully though learning from an
experience colleague.
In case where SOLE feedback indicates that there may be some deficiencies in lecture delivery will
trigger a request from the DUGS that peer review is performed. This may be done by the DUGS or
a nominated senior member of staff. In many cases it may be suitable for course convenors to
provide peer review to staff teaching on their courses.
Recording of Lectures – the Panopto system
In recent years the College has installed the technology to record the audio, video, slide
presentations and visualiser feeds in most lecture theatres. The system adopted is called Panopto.
Full details on how to use the system can be found on these ICT web-pages.
There has been much internal discussion of the pedagogic value of this practice in the department.
There are fears, for example, that it may lead to student dis-engagement or non-attendance at
lectures, though this is not the experience of other departments or universities who have started
16
using these systems.
The identifiable teaching benefits for students are:




Lecture recordings allow them to re-run parts of a lecture they did not follow at first.
Usage statistics for video capture systems suggest that most students typically watch only
5-10 minutes of recordings, which is consistent with this pattern of use.
The recordings are particularly valued by students whose first language is not English, and
can use the material to make sure they have heard correctly. We recruit many such
students, who pay high fees.
Recordings enable a student who has missed a lecture — which sometimes happens for
genuine reasons! — to catch up.
The technology makes it straightforward for staff to record presentations outside the
lecture theatre (e.g., at your desk), which can then be uploaded to Backboard. This is
useful for providing quick lecture summaries, or for software demonstrations or creating
materials that the students can watch in advance of lecture sessions, possibly allowing
them to be more interactive (e.g., using live quizzes to test understanding). This could also
be a way to provide the class with generic feedback on coursework or exam performance.
Accessing and using Panopto
You need first to request access from ICT, which you can do via the link on this page. This is usually
granted overnight. Please notify our Learning Technologist Moira Sarsfield that you are doing so
because she will be able to set up folders for you on the Panopto server that are linked to the
courses you are teaching on.
The Getting Started (PDF) guide will take you through the basic operation, though Moira (and
other members of staff who are familiar with the system) can also provide support.
The simplest way to use the system is by presenting via the PC installed in the lecture theatre. This
will capture Powerpoint slides and (if you wish) the feed from the visualizer. Unless you like
presenting from behind the lecture, you will need to make sure to wear the wireless microphone
(these are available in the Read and SAF G34 lecture theatres). Please remember to return the
microphone back to its base station for charging and try not to walk off with it, particularly to the
toilet.
You can also record lectures if presenting using PowerPoint on your own laptop (Windows or
Mac). In that case, you need to download the Panopto software to run on your machine (this is
provided free). If you are recording via your own laptop, the system will capture your PowerPoint
file and a video feed of what is being displayed on your screen (i.e., the slides, with all animations,
transitions etc). The video of the lecturer and the audio capture will rely on the camera and
microphone facilities of your laptop. It is highly recommended that you test the system well in
advance.
If you use Apple’s Keynote software on a Mac, it is still possible to use Panopto although there are
a few issues that you need to be aware of before going down this route. Please ask Prof Stephen
Curry (DUGS) since he has figured out how to do it.
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SOLE (Student Online Lecturer Feedback Evaluation)
SOLE is the students’ opportunity to tell us what they thought of their lecturers and courses. The
surveys should run either at the end of term or at the end of the course (for courses which span
more than one term).
Registry will send you your individual feedback by email once the survey is complete. The results
for the whole department are sent to the DUGS who will distribute them to course convenors as
part of the process of monitoring our teaching prowess.
You can also access SOLE results online at:
https://wwwb.imperial.ac.uk/SOLE/
You need to log in using your College username and password and then click on the Results tab
and search for Life Sciences to find your way to the course of interest. It’s not the nicest web-site I
ever saw but it is just about useable.
The same site also has the results of TOLE (Tutorial Online Evaluation).
Good teaching Practice Workshops
The Good teaching Practice Workshops have run since 2012 and are a termly event in which one
or two members of staff give an account of their approach to various teaching activities. These
sessions provide a highly useful forum for discussing ideas about teaching & pedagogy. The slides
and other resources from previous workshops are available from within the Bb website:
https://bb.imperial.ac.uk. Topics covered include: teaching with and without PowerPoint, marking
online, how to create exploratory lab practicals and use of video in teaching etc.
If you are interested in offering a short presentation or asking for a particular topic to be
discussed, please contact Prof Stephen Curry.
Course Convenors
If you are a Course Convenor, new or old, you may wish to consult the course convenors
handbook on Sharepoint which distills the collective experience of others in the department into
one short document:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Policy%20documents/biolog
y_convenors_handbook.docx
The document also provides some useful guidance on setting exam questions. Further guidance on
the art of writing Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) can be obtained from:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Policy%20documents/writ
ing_mcqs.docx
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Guidelines for Marking Exams
Department of Life Sciences – Biology Degrees
Course convenors should provide the following to the first marker, who should then pass them on
to the second marker:
1.
A copy of the procedures set out below
2.
A copy of the assessment criteria
3.
A copy of the exam paper
4.
A copy of the model answer
The above materials will be assembled by the Education Office staff and provided to convenors
Procedures for marking examination scripts –
All scripts should be double marked and annotated to show that first and second marking has
taken place. Marking must be clearly visible to External Examiners and is most obvious if the
markers use different coloured pens, distinguishable from the student’s work. N.B. Each page
should be marked with at least one indication from each marker to show it has been considered.
Please make sure that your comments are sufficient to explain the mark awarded (all years) and
to form the basis of useful feedback to students from their personal tutors (years 1 and 2), who
are unlikely to be experts in the topic: please briefly indicate what was good, what was
misunderstood or omitted, and other suggestions for improvement. Students greatly appreciate
this feedback.
The first marker should:
a) Record all examples of outside reading in the margin with e.g. OR.
b) Highlight all factual errors.
c) Indicate irrelevant material.
d) Insert summary sentences along with the mark in the relevant boxes at the front of the answer
book, explaining the mark awarded based on the marking criteria and giving brief feedback.
Please ensure that marks and comments are consistent with the criteria; for example, do not
combine an overall comment of ‘excellent’ with a mark below 70%.
e) Check every page of every script has been marked before passing them to the 2nd marker.
f) Let me know if multiple students seem to have mis-read a question in the same way.
The second marker should:
a) Read the script, annotating every page of it appropriately
b) Insert (typically brief) summary comments along with the mark in the relevant boxes at the front
of the answer book, explaining the mark awarded based on the marking criteria and giving brief
feedback. Please ensure that marks and comments fit the criteria.
c) If the two markers agree on the mark, fill in the ‘Agreed mark’ box on the front of the answer
book – no moderation comment is needed in such cases.
Both markers must agree a mark on scripts where there is a discrepancy. When the two marks are
adjacent, as given in the assessment criteria schedule (e.g., 65 and 68), it is usual to give the benefit
of the doubt, agreeing on the higher mark. When the two marks differ by two in the set of
recognised marks (e.g., 65 and 72), it is usual to agree on the mark in between (here, 68). There is
no need to give a justification for the agreed mark if it conforms to this common practice. In all
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other cases, however, the markers must explain how discrepant marks were moderated in the
relevant box at the front of the answer book.
Please note that inadequately marked scripts are liable to be returned.
The following main points summarise the stipulations given above:

Please note in the guidelines the advice given as to what to include with regards to your
written comments and when to include moderation comments when you have agreed a
mark.

Please remember that markers’ comments and marks should go in the relevant boxes at
the front of the answer book, and not inside the booklet.

Please ensure that there is evidence on all pages that both examiners have read every
page of the script, including those pages at the end of a student’s answer where there may
only be one or two lines.

The two examiners should use two different coloured pens for annotations, which are also
different in colour to the pen used by the student.
Please pass on the above reminders to your markers (if you think they need them), and ensure
that they return their marking to you in good time so that you can meet the deadline given below.
Deadline for marking and returning the marked scripts to the examinations officer (Dr Linda
Giorgi) is 3 weeks after the date of your exam.
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Marking Criteria for Exams and Coursework
The department has produced detailed marking criteria that apply to different assessed activities
(e.g. written coursework and exams, presentations, laboratory work etc). These should always be
consulted and followed when marking students work in order to ensure consistency. The student
have access to these criteria — via Life Sciences (General Information) — so it is important that we
can reassure them that these are used for assessment.
The criteria were extensively revised in advance of the academic year 2011-12 so please make
sure not to use any earlier versions.
The most up-to-date copy of the document will be maintained on Sharepoint at:
https://share.imperial.ac.uk/fons/LifeSciences/ugt/lifesciencesteaching/Policy%20documents/life_s
ciences_marking_criteria_2013_2014.docx
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Procedures if students are ill or absent during or prior to examinations
Students must make every effort to attend all examinations, unless there is a very serious reason
for not doing so. Failure to attend an examination without a valid reason will result in the student
failing that examination. Following this, if the student is allowed to sit the examination at a future
date, this will be for the pass mark only. The following comprise the instructions issued to students
in this situation:
A) Illness on the day of an examination
i) Medical Assessment – “not fit to attend an examination”
If you miss an examination because you are ill on the day of an examination, you must attend a
doctor on that day. If the doctor agrees that you are not fit to sit an examination, you must
arrange for the Education Office or Senior Tutor to be sent a medical certificate within one week
of the date of the examination with a full explanation of why you are deemed to be unfit.
All students who feel too ill to sit their examination should visit the Imperial College Health Centre
before 10.00 hours on the morning of the examination and tell the receptionist that that they
need to be seen urgently as they have an examination that day. You should also inform the Senior
Tutor or the Education Office to ensure that the necessary certification can be obtained from the
Health Centre. You will usually be allowed to sit the examination at a future date, and if this is the
case, you will gain full credit for any marks earned.
Students who feel too unwell to attend Imperial College Health Centre on the day of their
examination must telephone the Health Centre and discuss their symptoms with the duty doctor.
If a student is not registered with the Health Centre then, after telephone consultation with the
Health Centre duty doctor, they may be referred to their own GP for further medical examination
and to provide a medical note for the Senior Tutor. In any event, if students are considered to be
unfit to sit an examination, it is their responsibility to arrange for a medical certificate to be sent to
the Senior Tutor, as described above.
Students must also contact the Education Office (020 7594 5234) on the morning of the
examination to inform them of any illness.
ii) Medical Assessment – “fit to attend an examination”
If, after consulting a doctor, he/she considers you are fit to sit an examination, then you must sit
the examination. Failure to sit an examination without providing a medical certificate stating you
are unfit to sit the examination will result in you failing that examination. You may be able to sit
the examination at another time, but the maximum mark you will achieve will be the pass mark. A
medical certificate presented to the Education Office which does not state specifically that the
student was unfit to sit the examination will not be considered a valid certificate for the purposes
of resitting the examination for full credit.
B) Illness during the revision period
It is completely normal for students to experience periods of stress in the few weeks prior to an
examination. Students are advised to eat, drink and sleep normally during revision, and not to try
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to work all night, or to rely on excess quantities of stimulants to keep awake. It is also normal for
some students to feel that they will never learn all the material expected.
All students should organise their revision so that if they are ill for a few days, this will not affect
their studies. For example if a student suffers gastroenteritis for a few days, or has a migraine, we
expect them to recover and carry on with their revision. Similarly if a student is stressed for a few
days, they are advised to rest and then resume their studies.
In general, illness during the revision period is not an acceptable excuse for not sitting an
examination. Submitting a medical certificate stating that you were stressed for a short period of
time will, in most cases, not be regarded as a sufficient reason for not sitting an examination.
Any student who experiences a long period of physical or mental illness at any time, whether
during the revision period or during normal studies, should inform the Senior Tutor. They are also
advised to see one of the Health Centre Doctors to obtain advice or treatment and to have their
symptoms documented. The Department is sympathetic to these cases and will make appropriate
arrangements for the student to resume their studies and to sit examinations when they have
recovered. Students will have to provide medical certification for both their illness and their
fitness to resume their studies and attend examinations.
C) Personal and family circumstances
Students who are affected by personal and family circumstances during the period of revision are
also expected to sit examinations. However, we are sympathetic to students who are affected by a
particularly traumatic event, for example bereavement of a near relative. In all cases students
must contact the Senior Tutor before the examination and explore the options available to them.
It may be possible to allow the student to sit the examination for full credit at a later date. While it
is not possible to list our response to all circumstances, we generally do not consider the illness or
death of a grandparent during the revision period as a sufficient reason to miss an examination.
Students who are resident overseas, or who travel prior to an examination must make every effort
to return to College on time. Travel arrangements can be changed at the last minute by travel
operators, and students must anticipate such things. The cancellation of a flight resulting in a
student missing an examination will not automatically count as a valid reason. We recommend
students plan to arrive in the UK several days prior to any examination.
Biology Teaching Committee
October 2014
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