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Senior Seminar Syllabus (BIOL 484)
List of MSUM searchable databases of primary literature
Spring 2010 Biosciences 484 – Senior Seminar
Course Description:
Oral presentations by students and staff based on critical evaluation of scientific literature
and/or independent research.
Instructors:
Dr. Donna Bruns Stockrahm
- Biosciences Department
- Office: Hagen 407-S
- Office Phone: 218- 477-2576
- Home Phone: (218) 937-5280
- Cell Phone: (701) 367-3045
- Email: stockram@mnstate.edu
Web Site: web.mnstate.edu/stockram/index.htm
Dr. Dan McEwen
Biosciences Department
Office: Hagen 407-O
Office Phone: 218- 477-5003
email: mcewenda@mstate.edu
Office Hours: See office hours posted on office door of each professor.
Class meets 12:30-1:20pm.
Days
Tues/Thurs
Room
HA 411
Instructor
Dr. Dan McEwen
Topic
Mixed Topics
Tues/Thurs
HA 417 & 410
Dr. Donna Bruns
Stockrahm
Mixed Topics
There is no required text for this course.
The course objectives are two:
1. To gain skills in accessing and critically evaluating the primary literature
2. To gain skills, through direct experience, in communicating science as an informal
discussion group and as a formal seminar presentation.
a. Gain skills in accessing the primary literature
b. Critically evaluate primary literature
c. Formulate questions during a discussion
d. Gain an appreciation for the nature of scientific enquiry
e. Gain public speaking skills
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Expectations:
1. Attend class. Giving a presentation is a learning experience and a valuable skill that
will help you in whatever career your future holds for you. Equally valuable is the ability
to listen critically, to evaluate a presentation and formulate and ask probing questions.
This is critical thinking – another hugely valuable skill that applies to any career
path. Much of what this course offers is acquired as an audience member.
Therefore, attendance is mandatory and part of the calculus of the “Pass” grade.
Two unexcused absences will be tolerated. After that, the grade is an automatic fail.
2. Participate in discussions as animatedly as your personality and the law will allow.
3. Lead a paper discussion of a paper in the primary literature.
4. Present a “major” presentation – a synthesis of 4 or 5 related papers from the primary
literature, and prepare a written abstract to be distributed at your talk.
5. Provide constructive feedback to the speaker of major presentations.
Grading rubric:
There are 100 points. A total of 60 points is needed to pass the course.
Attendance is mandatory and not part of the point system
15 points = Participation in class. Each person should contribute to the discussion each
day. The proportion of days for which each person takes part in conversation (asks a
question, weighs in with a comment, etc) will be the proportion of 15 points earned for
participation.
15 points = Submitting questions to D2L (or email mailing list, depending on which
one is working best). Each student must submit 2 questions for each minor
presentation. One question should relate to either the introduction or the methods of the
paper being discussed. The second question should relate to the results or the discussion
of the paper being discussed. Submit the questions at least 24 hours before the
presentation so that the facilitator has a chance to read, research and prepare answers to
the questions. The grade for questions will be assessed as the proportion of the number of
questions that were submitted as a ratio of the number of questions that should have been
submitted.
20 points = Minor presentation. Each student will lead a paper discussion of an assigned
paper. These papers will be posted as pdf’s on Dr. Stockrahm's web page.
50 points = Major presentation. 30 points will be for the presentation itself, 20 points
will be for the process of preparing for the presentation. Details on this rubric are
forthcoming.
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Guide to paper discussions:
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Read the article. Read it again, flag areas that still don’t seem clear. Ask a faculty
from that specialty to clarify jargon, concepts.
Sketch out the main skeleton of the article:
o What was the main question?
o How did they test it?
o What did they find?
o What does it mean? What is the larger significance of their findings?
During the discussion, avoid re-reading the paper verbatim, or sections of it
(except the occasional statement) because presumably everyone has read it.
Instead, paraphrase the article using your own words, highlighting the main points
and areas that you were particularly impressed by and areas that you thought
didn’t make sense or were just plain wrong (from your perspective).
Try to think of at least 2 questions you had about the study, either a fault in the
logic of the arguments and reasoning, or a question about methodology that is not
clearly described. Be aware that scientists write for other scientists and often
assume a certain amount of background in the reader.
Listen carefully. There are bound to be aspects of the paper that missed you on the
first read, and people from different viewpoints read a manuscript differently and
may have a different interpretation of the paper than you did.
Major presentation:
The major presentation is done by each individual in the course. You are required to work
with a faculty member as you prepare your talk. You will not be allowed to present your
talk unless your faculty advisor has signed off on it verifying that you have met with
them during preparation of the talk and rehearsed the talk with your advisor.
The talk is a 35-40 minute PowerPoint presentation on 4 or 5 related papers from the
primary literature. These papers should be chosen carefully so that they link together to
tell a larger story. The presentation should be organized as follows:
1. General introduction. An overview of the whole talk to introduce the audience to
the phenomenon being presented. The major presentations are often attended by
students from introductory biology (Cell, Organismal); therefore, you should be
careful to explain terminology for a general audience.
2. Paper 1. Provide the title, authors, and source of the paper (journal, date, volume,
pages). Then proceed to describe the specific question(s) addressed in this paper,
the methods used, the results (include figures and tables as much as possible), and
interpretation of the findings.
3. Paper 2.
4. Paper 3.
5. Paper 4.
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6. Paper 5.
7. General conclusion. These are the wrap-up over-all conclusions of the whole
presentation. The format of the talk can be summarized thusly: tell them what
you’re going to say, say it, them tell them what you just told them. The conclusion
is important because it allows you to highlight the main take-home message of
your presentation.
General advice for the major presentation:
1. Rehearse your talk with your advisor at least once and rehearse some more with
friends/family so that you are comfortable and confident with the content and
timing of your talk.
2. Avoid too much text. A common error is to write the talk in prose on the
PowerPoint slides. Stick to bullet lists with minimal verbage. Better still, use no
words on the slide and instead post an image and talk through the contents while
the audience looks at a picture of what you are talking about.
3. Avoid busy background templates with swirling lines and dark and light areas. No
color of text can contrast well with a background that varies from light to dark.
4. Generally, light text on a dark background is easier to see than dark text on a light
background.
5. Dress neatly and comfortably.
6. Face the audience and make eye contact during the presentation. A common error
is to spend much of the talk facing the screen.
7. Try to control repetitive body movement (rocking, fidgeting) and excessive
“umms”.
Academic honesty: All students are expected to be honest in all their work for this class.
In the event of joint projects, all students working on the project are expected to
contribute equally to the final product. See MSUM Student Handbook address:
http://web.mnstate.edu/shandbook/POLICY/index.htm.
Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities who believe they may need an
accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of
Disability Services at 477-5859 (voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as
soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
Attendance policy: Students are expected to attend all seminars (see above). See
MSUM Student Handbook address above.
MSUM Home Page
Stockrahm's Home Page
Biosciences Home Page