Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

BIOL 1011: Medical Biology II | Summer 2016

Credits - 4

Description

Overview

Medical Biology II is a four credit course incorporating an at-home laboratory component. This course is designed for individuals with a baccalaureate degree who need Biology as a prerequisite to apply for admission to various health professions’ programs, such as, but not limited to, graduate programs in dietetics, nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant, nurse anesthesia, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, dental medicine and medicine.  The emphasis of the course is on providing a conceptual framework for understanding the basics of modern medical biology, ecology and biodiversity so that the student will be well equipped to apply this knowledge in his or her further studies.

For general course information, such as registration, questions regarding financial aid, etc. please contact an OWL Enrollment Consultant at 1-855-325-0894 or prehealthadmissions@une.edu. Most of your questions may be answered in our FAQs at http://online.une.edu/science-prerequisites/faq/

Instructor and Support Contact Information

Check the course welcome page in Blackboard for specific instructor and support specialist contact information.

Further Assistance
Your student support specialist, listed on the course welcome page, monitors course progression and provides assistance or guidance when needed. They can assist questions regarding ordering course materials, University policies, billing, navigating the course in Blackboard, and more.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Objectives

Upon the completion of this course, the student will be able to…

• Understand the basic principles of introductory biology
• Understand how scientists solve problems in the discipline
• Collect, organize and interpret data
• Understand some of the quantitative methods needed to interpret data
• Demonstrate skills in observation

SELF PACED DESIGN

On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.

Assignments

Lectures and Laboratories

Lectures

For the lecture portion of the course, Medical Biology II is divided up into 15 modules that follow the first specific chapters of the textbook. Each module contains a reading assignment, lectures consisting of PowerPoint slides with audio, a homework assignment and a quiz. When you have completed the assignments and feel that you understand the material, take the quiz.

Laboratories

For the laboratory portion of the course, most modules will also have an assigned laboratory exercise.  The assigned exercise can be found in the course outline at the end of this syllabus.  You will conduct the laboratory experiments and answer the questions provided for you (these do not need to be submitted to the instructor).  Once you feel that you have a solid grasp of the material, take and submit the laboratory quiz associated with the exercise.

Examination and Grading Information

Homework Assignments

Each module contains homework assignments associated with the textbook.  These are LearnSmart assignments designed to help you understand the material.  If you answer the questions correctly, you will move on to the next topic.  If you struggle with the material, the software will continue to test you until you have a better understanding.  It will also point you to sections of the text for additional clarification. The grade for the homework is based on completion of the assignment, such that if you answer all of the questions, you will receive a grade of 100%.

Discussion Board Posts

Discussion questions cover interesting current events or materials that contribute to a deeper understanding of key concepts and allow you to interact with your classmates and the instructor. Most of the discussion questions are designed to accompany particular chapters (see specific discussion questions for more information). Each question will require you to conduct internet research, read additional materials (a short journal or magazine article), visit a specific webpage, OR view a short video. Then you will write a response following the guidelines in the assignment.

To earn full credit: you will need to post a response, respond to the original posts of at least two other students, and then contribute to an ongoing discussion. For special cases where one or two students are accelerating faster through the course, the instructor will participate in the discussion so that everyone has the opportunity to interact.

Discussion Question Guidelines

1. Read the assignment carefully so that you are familiar with the materials that you need to cover and how to craft your post.
2. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings, and experience. Some of the questions involve areas of disagreement. Expect your classmates to have different opinions.
3. Use proper writing style. Correct spelling and sentence structure are expected just as if you were writing a regular paper. Use spell check and grammar check before you submit.
4. Write your posting in a word document! That way you can save a copy and use spell check and grammar check.
5. Cite the sources that you use to write your response. Follow the AMA guidelines.
6. Avoid posting large blocks of text. Break your writing into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs to make your posting easier to read online.
7. Subscribe to the discussion so that you get email updates when there is activity.
8. Use the “reply” button rather than the “compose” button when responding to someone else’s post.
9. When responding to a classmate, address them by name.
10. Do not use postings such as “I agree,” “I don’t know either,” or “ditto.” They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and will not be counted.
11. Everyone benefits from an active discussion. Check back in frequently to see what others are saying.
12. Plan your time carefully. You will need to give your classmates time to respond to your postings. This is an asynchronous class where students will be in different points of the class.
13. Contact your instructor if there are schedule problems or other issues that need to be resolved.

 

Laboratory Assignments

Most of the modules include a laboratory assignment. The laboratory assignments for each module are in each module as well as in Lecture/Lab schedule at the end of this syllabus. You will perform all laboratory assignments in a non-laboratory setting, such as your kitchen. There will be 12 laboratory assignments distributed throughout the course. Once you have completed the experiment, take the laboratory quiz before moving on to the next module. You do not need to hand in the questions included with the eScience lab kits, but these will help you to complete the laboratory quiz (which must be completed and submitted).

Module & Lab Quizzes

All module & lab quizzes are open book and open notes and are not timed. The quizzes will be taken online through the course Blackboard site. Doing well on the quizzes will help prepare you for the timed-proctored final exam.

Final Exam

The final will be a timed-proctored exam. No access to notes, the internet, or other communication devices is allowed during the final. The final exam consists of 75 multiple choice questions and you can have up to four hours to complete the exam. There are two different ways you can arrange to take your final exam (see below).

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Homework	10%
Discussion	10%
Labs	20%
Quizzes	20%
Final Exam	40%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00