Biology: Discovery and Innovation Fall 2008

Grades will be based on:

• Weekly paper summaries, including one or more weeks writing the paper 1/3
  1. Each week, you will have 1 or 2 scientific papers to read, some may be reviews
  2. A 1-page review will be due by Wednesday night after each talk (to allow you to discuss this with your classmates and ask me questions).
     1. The summary will include
        1. what is the major question addressed by this research?
        2. what are the approaches used in this work?
        3. what were the major conclusions?
        4. what are 4 questions that you have about the work?
           1. At first you can ask about techniques, but I am looking for questions that deal with the research question, e.g. how to these structures assemble?  How do we identify appropriate groups for sequencing?
        5. how would you move this work forward to the next level? This part should show increasing depth of vision as the semester goes on.

         

• Class participation 1/3 - with points awarded each week. This includes in-class, interactive, and office hour participation
  1. Each student is expected to ask at least 1 question, in class each week.  Active participation in discussion hours (see below) will also count for this. The questions are expected to become more in depth and informed as the class proceeds. One think I look for are some whole-class, spontaneous discussions towards the end of the semester.
     • I will have 2 office hours each week, during which we will discuss the previous weeks talk and questions about the upcoming talk. Hours will be arranged so that most students can attend one or both discussions.One discussion per week is required for graduate students.

      

• Research Proposal and final 1/3
  1. This will be a short (2-5 page) proposal based on work presented in class or other research the student proposes (by agreement with MWW).
  2. The proposal will have an introduction, giving an overview; background based on a review paper; and 3 specific aims.
  3. Topics need to be approved by date to be added; paper outlines by date to be added;papers by date to be added.
  4. Typically, I will edit the proposals and give them back for a re-write. However, if they are great the first time I get them, then you are done.
  5. I will post some helpful suggestions for writing a great proposal as we get closer to this.

   

• Final exam
  1. This will be a take home exam, dealing with some of the presentations we have had in class.