COURSE OUTLINE
SENIOR SEMINAR BIOL 490
FALL 2014
Instructor:
Office:
Telephone:
Dr. Virginia Shervette
SBDG 119A
641-3607
Office Hours:
Email:
Wednesdays
virginias@usca.edu
Lecture:
Seminar:
Text:
Th, 4:30-5:45 PM in SBDG 327
Fri 1:00-2:15 PM in SBDG 327
None
Credit:
One Semester Hour
Co-requisites: Students must be concurrently enrolled in BIOL 499.
Course Description: Discussion and presentation of current topics in biology and geology by students, faculty, and visiting scientists.
Emphasis is placed on effective oral and written communication and critical examination of scientific information and ideas. Students
will, critique peer writing and oral presentations, practice giving scientific presentations, and present a final formal presentation.
Course Objectives: Students will be introduced to current research in the fields of biology and geology through research seminars by
attending the Department of Biology and Geology Seminar Series. Students will learn how to prepare a research proposal, give a
formal research presentation, and critique the work of their peers in a constructive manner based on scientific principles. Students will
write a proposal outlining a potential investigation. Students will present the results of an investigation at the end of the semester in
the form of a PowerPoint presentation.
Students will be expected to:
1.
develop strategies for oral and written presentation of scientific work;
2.
critically analyze written and oral scientific presentations;
3.
attend and participate in the Department of Biology and Geology seminar series; and
4.
prepare and present an oral presentation of research.
Methods of Evaluation: Performance in this course will be evaluated for a letter grade as outlined below.
Biology senior exit exam
Writing assignment
Written peer review of writing assignment
Written exam
Practice presentations
Peer-review of practice presentations
Final oral presentation (in class practice for BIOL 499)
Seminar critiques
Seminar participation (questions for speakers)
Grading Scale:
5%
10%
10%
20%
10%
10%
15%
10%
10%
A (90-100%), B (80-89%), C (70-79%), D (60-69%), F (0-59%)
Attendance Policy: The objectives of the course are best served by the observation of presentations by professionals and peers, and
by the presentation of research. Thus, attendance is the most critical component of this course. For every Friday seminar that a student
misses, 10% (one letter grade) will be deducted from the overall grade, and 5% will be deducted for missing a class. Attendance in this
class is not a passive process. The speakers we recruit travel a long distance for no compensation, and deserve your respect and
attention. To earn full points for attendance each student must ask one “good” (by the instructor’s standard) question of one of our
speakers during the course of the semester. Attendance points will be deducted for behavior that is construed by the instructor as
impolite or inattentive (including the use of cell phones for text messaging, or having a cell phone ring during the presentation).
Students also will be expected to complete a critique of the style and content of the seminar presentation, which will be discussed
during the next class period.
Disability Statement: If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability which might affect your performance in this
class, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 126A B&E, (803) 641-3609, as soon as possible. The Disability Services
Office will determine appropriate accommodations based on medical documentation.
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Classroom Behavior: It is the instructor’s right to remove from the classroom any student who disrupts or disturbs the proceeding of
the class. Disruption of the class includes but is not limited to the use of any portable electronic devices, including cell phones, MP3
players, iPods, etc. unless prior approval has been given to a student or unless required for the course. In extreme cases, the faculty
member can request assistance from University Police. If the student who has been ejected causes similar disturbances in subsequent
meetings of the class, he/she may be denied admittance to the class for the remainder of the semester and assigned a grade of F.
Date
Aug 28
Sep 4 and 5
Sep 11 and 12
Sep 18 and 19
Sep 25 and 26
Oct 2 and 3
Oct 9 and 10
Oct 16 and 17
Oct 23 and 24
Oct 30 and 31
Nov 6 and 7
Nov 13 and 14
Nov 20 and 21
Nov 27 and 28
Dec 4 and 5
Dec 9 at 5 pm
CLASS SCHEDULE
Topic
Introduction
Discuss expectations for seminar etiquette, questions, and
critiques
Brief discussion of the final products (presentation)
Discuss primary literature sources
Detailed expectations for your presentations
Students provide research project titles and topics
Discuss primary literature sources more
BIOL 499 first practice using Powerpoint: Titles and Objectives
BIOL 499 first practice using Powerpoint: Titles and Objectives
Students provide one primary literature article for their topic.
BIOL 499 Powerpoint presentation: Titles, Objectives, Methods
Discuss figure description assignment
BIOL 499 Powerpoint presentation: Titles, Objectives, Methods
Figure descriptions from articles due via SafeAssignment on
Blackboard; Assign peer reviews
No class – But don’t miss Friday seminar
Practice - complete presentation
Peer Reviews are due at the beginning of class
Final practice - complete presentation
Final practice - complete presentation
Final practice - complete presentation
Thanksgiving NO CLASSES
No Thursday Afternoon Class OR Seminar
Exit Exam
Seminar
Regular Friday seminar
Regular Friday seminar
Regular Friday seminar
Regular Friday seminar
Regular Friday seminar
Regular Friday seminar
Regular Friday seminar
No seminar - Fall Break
Regular Friday seminar
BIOL 499 Student Seminars
BIOL 499 Student Seminars
BIOL 499 Student Seminars
BIOL 490 Writing Assignment
Select a single figure from your research presentation and use this as a basis for a formal scientific description of your research. You
are limited to one single-spaced page of text, in addition to the figure and a literature cited section (i.e., three pages total). Tell the
reader why this one figure is important for your particular project, and be sure you include the following in your text:
•
a brief introduction to your topic that contains an appropriate number of references from the peer-reviewed scientific literature;
•
a statement of the objectives and or tested hypothesis;
•
an overview of the methods used to obtain the data shown in the selected figure, including the data analyses used to support your
conclusions; and
•
a summary of your results and conclusions.
The paper must include in-text citations and a literature cited section. The figure must be referred within the body of the text and must
be placed on an individual page following the Literature Cited section. A description of how to write a research paper can be found in
chapters 4-8 in your text, “Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences.” References must be cited in the text using CSE format as
described in Chapter 6.
The first draft is due through Safe Assignment on Blackboard on Oct 24. It will be reviewed by your peers. The final report is due on
Dec 5 through Safe Assignment.
Note: This assignment does not take the place of any final reports due to your research mentor.
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