EXAMPLE SYLLABUS

INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
BIOL 40021, Fall 2004


COURSE COORDINATORS
Dr. Ray W. Drenner, Biology Department
Office — 401 Winton Scott Hall    817-257-6180    
Office Hours — Anytime you need to see me

Dr. Phil Hartman, Biology Department
Office — 510 Winton Scott Hall    817-257-6176   

 
COURSE OBJECTIVES:

The course has four major objectives:
(1) introduce students to the diversity of research approaches used in biological research
(2) familiarize students with the research programs of individual faculty
(3) stimulate student interest in the Murphy Undergraduate Research Program. The Murphy Undergraduate Research Program was initiated within the department in the Spring of 1991 to promote undergraduate research in Biology.
(4) have students take the Biology Majors Field Test as part of departmental assessment.
 
LECTURE SCHEDULE
 
THURSDAY LECTURER LECTURE TOPIC
8/26 Hartman & Drenner Academic Pathways
9/2 Hartman & Drenner Grantsmanship
9/9 Drenner & Hartman Publish or Perish
9/16 Drenner & Hartman Strong Inference and Hypothesis Testing
9/23 Horner Origin of Species — Revisited
10/30 Couch Lobster Adventures in Japan and on Cape Cod
10/7 Paquet Immunology and Handwashing
10/14 Misamore The Science of Sex
10/21 Akkaraju Virology and Gene Therapy
10/28 Hartman Worm Adventures in Japan and Space
11/4 Ferguson Studies of Behavior and Husbandry in Reptiles
11/11 Kroh Forest Ecosystem Development
11/18 Britton Research in Marine Science: There’s More in
the Ocean than Dolphins
11/25 Thanksgiving Recess  
12/2 Janovec Impact of Botanical Studies on Conservation in the Peruvian Amazon
12/14 Drenner/Hartman Biology Major’s Field Test
     
     
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

The course is Pass/No Credit.

Students will be required to write an essay out of class on each lecture. Essays should be typewritten and not longer than two double-spaced pages or shorter than one page. Essays will be graded on a pass/no pass basis. To pass the course, students cannot have more than 2 “no passes.”

Student attendance is mandatory with unexcused absences counted as “no pass” for the missed lecture. Excused absences must be documented by a note from the attending physician or another appropriate authority.

Students must take the Biology Majors Field Test, which will be administered during the final exam period, 8:00-10:30 Tuesday, Dec. 14.

 

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