Syllabus

BioS 010:  Bioscience in the 21st Century
Fall 2012
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10-11:00 am

Instructor | Objectives | Format | Resources | Requirements | Accommodations | Schedule | Contacts

ALL Students enrolled in BioS 10 as well as students enrolled in BioS 90 courses, “The Ever-Changing Brain,” "Aging in the 21st century”, “Mate Choice”, and “Biotechniques: Book to Bench” will attend BioS 10 lectures on MWF at the regularly scheduled class time. 

Faculty Coordinator and Instructor:

Prof. Vassie Ware, Ph.D.
B-222 Iacocca Hall
Department of Biological Sciences

Course Objectives:

A major goal of this course is to communicate to students seeking training in a biologically-based discipline the importance of a systems-driven, multidisciplinary approach in bioscience. Several contemporary bioscience-related issues (e.g., neurophysiology-related topics, aging, infectious diseases, cancer, stem cell biology, advances in genome-based medicine, bioinformatics, environmental biology, microbiology, interfaces between organic chemistry and biology, advances in engineered biomedical systems, social/bioethical considerations) will be discussed by faculty from different disciplines in order to highlight cross-disciplinary perspectives on fundamental problems and potential solutions in bioscience. This course is envisioned as a new tool at Lehigh University for shaping an intellectual approach to bioscience that routinely values interconnections among disciplines and reduces/eliminates the tendency to compartmentalize learning “by subject.” 

A second goal of this course is to provide scientific literacy for non-majors and the public.  Students who are not formally registered for the course are encouraged to attend lectures based on their interests.  Course materials including the syllabus and all lectures are available on the web with full access for the entire Lehigh community and interested members of the public.

Format: 

Lectures will be presented on MWF at the regularly scheduled class time for both BioS10 and BioS90 students. 
BioS90 students will meet each week with their primary faculty instructor (Professors Julie Haas, Michael Kuchka, Murray Itzkowitz, or Vassie Ware) for a discussion session. 

BioS10 students will NOT meet weekly outside of the regular lecture period.  There will be additional “out of classroom” assignments that may include participation in choices of departmental seminars, laboratory demonstrations, writing/reading assignments, field experiences, etc. These assignments will be evaluated by Professor Ware and our graduate teaching assistant, Michael Kearse (mgk207).

Class assignments and course reading materials will be available only for official course registrants through Course Site. Course Site is accessible using your Lehigh ID and password. 

 

Course Resources:  

No texts are required for the course.  All lectures and most additional course resources will be available through the course web site.  Reading assignments may be required by some lecturers and will be posted on the course web site.  Access to required or suggested reading materials will be available for official course registrants only through the BioS010 Course Site. 

Course Requirements: 

Your regular attendance is important.  While all course materials and lectures are accessible on the web, there will be opportunities to participate in discussions with faculty lecturers and/or to have questions answered.  Active participation in discussions is only possible if you are present in class.  Additionally, opportunities to earn extra course points may be presented to class participants on occasion.

This is a 4-credit course; as such, 75% of the course grade will be based on your performance on exams based on the lecture content (3 credits’ worth).  For BioS010 students and BioS90 students, the remaining 25% of the course grade will be based either on “other assignments” (see below for BioS010) or the requirements from your discussion session determined by your faculty instructor (BioS90). 

Four (4) multiple-choice exams are scheduled (see schedule and below), worth 75% of the final course grade.  Please note that changes in the exam schedule may be required if a lecture(s) needs to be re-scheduled.

EXAM schedule: 

Exam 1	Friday, September 28, 2012
Exam 2	Monday, October 22, 2012
Exam 3	Monday, November 12, 2012
Exam 4	Scheduled during final exam period by the Registrar.

For EXAM 4, 50% of the test will be based on lecture content from previous exams (1-3), based on previous exam questions.  This format will encourage you to re-visit content from previous exams to be assured of your competency in these areas.  The remaining 50% of the exam will be based on new material from lectures given after EXAM 3.

Exams will be based on lecture content and assigned readings (if any).  Exams 1-3 will not be cumulative throughout the semester.  Fifty percent of EXAM 4 will be cumulative, as stated above.

In general, grading will be based on the following scale:  90-100% (A range); 80-89% (B range); 70-79% (C range); 60-69% (D range); below 60% (failing). 

Other BioS010 assignments (worth 25% - based on a total of 100 points): This section is relevant for students enrolled in BioS10 only.  BioS 90 students are not responsible for assignments listed here (your 25% is determined by your BioS90 faculty leader).

1. (Worth a total of 40 points) Several topics with relevant literature will be posted on Coursesite for class discussion.  All students are required to participate in the FIRST discussion topic and will then have the choice from among other topics to participate in ONE additional discussion online over the course of the semester by posting relevant commentary.  Detailed instructions will be provided on Coursesite. 
2. (Worth a total of 40 points) TWO seminars outside of class must be attended over the course of the semester.  Numerous seminar possibilities will be available (for example, Biological Sciences seminar series , Health, Medicine,& Society Fall 2012 Speaker Series on Community Health, Chemistry seminar series, iBioseminar series [www.ibioseminars.org]).  Seminar attendance/viewing documentation will include the submission of a relevant unanswered question based on the seminar attended/viewed.  Note that ONLY one of the required seminars may be from the iBioseminars series, if necessary, and must be a different seminar from those presented in the lecture schedule for the course.  Additional details will be available on Coursesite.
3. (Worth 20 points) Students may select a bioscience topic of interest for which they report and discuss a scientific advance in this area (in a written report of no more than ~2-3 pages, typed, double-spaced).  This assignment is due no later than the last day of class (Friday, December 7, 2012). 

MAKE-UP EXAMINATION POLICY:  Make-up exam privileges will only be considered in the case of excused absences, requiring written documentation from medical or administrative personnel.  There are no exceptions to this requirement. 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:  All members of the Lehigh community have a responsibility to uphold the value of academic integrity in their intellectual pursuits.  We have a responsibility to maintain intellectual honesty and to value intellectual property.  Details of expectations in the Lehigh community are available at http://www.lehigh.edu/academicintegrity.  It is expected that students will abide by these standards in all course endeavors (e.g., exams, writing assignments). Violations of academic integrity standards will not be tolerated and will be handled according to guidelines in the University Conduct System.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: 

If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting accommodations, please contact Professor Ware and the Office of Academic Support Services, University Center 212 (610-758-4152) as early as possible in the semester.  You must have documentation from the Academic Support Services Office before accommodations can be granted.

CONTACTS:

Professor Ware  
B222 Iacocca Hall, Office hours by appointment 
Telephone: 610-758-3690 (voice mail is available)

Department of Biological Sciences Office:
B217 Iacocca Hall,
Telephone: 610-758-3680 or 610-758-3681.

For technical assistance with videos, CourseSite or course website:
Mrs. Maria Brace, Biological Sciences Business Manager
Telephone: 610-758-6235

BioS90:

Professor Haas
Biological Sciences
D226, Iacocca Hall, Office hours by appointment
Telephone: 610-758-6276 (voice mail is available)

Professor Kuchka
Biological Sciences
B224 Iacocca Hall, Office hours by appointment
Telephone: 610-758-3687 (voice mail is available)

Professor Itzkowitz  
Biological Sciences
B217 Iacocca Hall, Office hours by appointment
Telephone: 610-758-3680 (voice mail is available)

Professor Ware  
Biological Sciences
B222 Iacocca Hall, Office hours by appointment
Telephone: 610-758-3690 (voice mail is available)