Course Description
Capstone course required of all Cellular Biology majors usually taken in the fourth year or after completion of core requirements of the major. Presentation and discussion of current research in specific topic areas of cellular biology.
Athena Title
Fourth Year Seminar in CBIO
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course is designed to give the student the opportunity to present a seminar to a group of their peers and the instructor. Presentations should be based on readings of original research and critical surveys of cellular biology literature. The desired learning outcome is A)to develop skills in researching and reading the primary scientific literature; B) to develop organizational skills to take information from a variety of sources and synthesize it into a coherent oral/written presentation; and C) to develop public speaking and communication skills for a scientific audience. A seminar course is also unlike most other courses in that you the students determine the content and the quality of the course. Students will be expected to thoroughly research a topic gathering information from a variety of review and primary literature papers. Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the research, organization of the material, and presentation to the class. Each presentation will be followed by a short discussion period and participation is expected from each student. For this reason class attendance is MANDATORY. Depending on the number of enrolled students each participant will be expected to do one of the following: Option A) One thirty (30) minute presentation plus an eight to ten page term paper or Option B) Two thirty minute presentations. Each presentation must be accompanied by a list of references used. The majority of these references should be current (last five years) and at least half them should be from the primary literature. Review articles, texts, and book chapters are acceptable but should not form the majority of the references cited. In addition if readings are assigned by either the instructor or a student presenter it is expected that each student will have read the assignment before attending class. Reading assignments will be distributed at least one week in advance of class. There are no exams in this course. Course grades are determined by a) the quality of the research presentation, b) the quality of the written assignment [Option A], c) thoroughness with which the topic was researched and d) participation in class discussions. Again, attendance is mandatory. This course is required of all cellular biology majors.
Topical Outline
Course Outline: Week 1 Introduction to course Week 2 Methods in literature research and assignment of topics Week 3 Sample presentation by instructor Weeks 4-14 Student presentations and discussions Week 15 Course summary The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
Syllabus