Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

BIOL 1011: Medical Biology II – Fall 2018

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.

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.

Study Lounge

The Study Lounge Discussion Board is a designated support forum in which students may engage with each other and grapple with course content. Feel free to post questions, seek clarification, and support each other, but be mindful of UNE’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Your instructor will monitor this forum. However, if you are seeking specific and timely answers to questions about content-matter or your personal grades, please contact your instructor via course messages. For questions about course materials, program policy, and how to navigate and proceed through the course, please contact your Student Support Specialist through the course messaging system.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Objectives

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

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic content of the discipline
• Discuss and demonstrate how scientists solve problems in the discipline
• Evaluate the validity of scientific arguments
• Apply knowledge to scientific problems
• Ask a question and develop a hypothesis that can be tested
• Plan and conduct an investigation to test a hypothesis
• Analyze data and apply scientific ideas to evaluate the strength of a hypothesis
• Communicate results of scientific experiments by basing conclusions on valid and reliable evidence

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 3 units that cover 15 weeks work of coursework  Each week you will start by completing the reading assignment and finishing the homework associated with the reading. Then you need to view several mini-lectures, complete a laboratory experiment with laboratory assessment, and then complete the week quiz. Once you have completed these, you can then move on to the next week’s material. (if you are waiting for the lab materials to arrive, you can move ahead with the next week’s material and come back to complete the labs if necessary).

Laboratories

For the laboratory portion of the course, most weeks will also have an assigned laboratory exercise. Assessment for each lab lesson will be the questions that are listed throughout each lesson. These will be graded as soon as you complete them but it may take a few days for the grade to appear in Blackboard, as the instructor will be reviewing your lab data and then transferring the grades over. If you appear to only be taking the quizzes and not actually conducting the labs (i.e. you have no data or photos) a grade of zero will be entered for the lab. So, be sure to conduct the experiments, collect and record the data and then take the lab assessment.

 In addition to conducting the laboratory exercises and taking the assessment, you will also need to write a lab report. This lab report will be based on the data you collect in the Microbes Everywhere lab and is due by the end of the semester.  There are additional guidelines for writing the lab report that will be found in blackboard.

Examination and Grading Information

Homework Assignments

Each week contains a homework assignment associated with the textbook. You can find these by clicking on the homework links in blackboard and then answering the “practice” questions in the text. 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. Use the “reply” button rather than the “compose” button when responding to someone else’s post.
8. When responding to a classmate, address them by name.
9. 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.
10. Everyone benefits from an active discussion. Check back in frequently to see what others are saying.
11. 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.
12. Contact your instructor if there are schedule problems or other issues that need to be resolved.

Laboratory Assignments

Most of the weeks include a laboratory assessment. The laboratory assessments for each week can be found in the course outline portion of this syllabus. You will perform all laboratory assessments in a non-laboratory setting, such as your kitchen. There will be 13 laboratory assessments distributed throughout the course. As you work your way through the laboratory exercise, be sure to record your data and answer the questions. Once you have completed the experiment and questions, these will be graded in the HOL software but it may take a few days for the grade to appear in Blackboard, as the instructor will be reviewing your lab data and then transferring the grades over. If you appear to only be taking the quizzes and not actually conducting the labs (i.e. you have no data or photos) a grade of zero will be entered for the lab. So, be sure to conduct the experiments, collect and record the data and then take the lab assessment.

In addition to conducting the laboratory exercises and taking the quiz, you will also need to write a lab report. This lab report will be based on the data you collect in the Microbes Everywhere lab. There are additional guidelines for writing the lab report that will be found in Blackboard.

Weekly Quizzes & Lab Assessments

All weekly quizzes & lab assessments are open book and open notes and are not timed. The quizzes and lab assessments will be taken online through the course Blackboard site or the HOL site for the lab questions. Doing well on the quizzes and lab assessments will help prepare you for the midterm and final exams.

Midterm Exam

The midterm exam can be taken once you have completed all of the assignments for Units 1 and 2, including the quizzes, labs and the first discussion board. It is a timed and proctored exam. It is timed and proctored. It is a closed book and closed notes exam. You may have a single blank sheet of paper to use while taking this exam. While a calculator is not necessary for this, or any of the course assessments, you may bring a four-function calculator if you choose. Scientific and programmable calculators are not allowed. You will not have access to any material saved on your or any other computer. No access to the internet or other communication devices is allowed during this exam. The exam consists of 56 multiple choice questions and you have up to two hours to complete the exam. You will need to arrange to take your midterm exam with Proctor U. Information on the proctoring process is available below.

Final Exam

The final exam can be taken once you have completed all of the assignments for Units 3 and 4, including the quizzes, labs, second discussion board, and the lab report. The final will be a timed-proctored exam. It is a closed book and closed notes exam. You may have a single blank sheet of paper to use while taking this exam. While a calculator is not necessary, you may bring a four-function calculator. Scientific and programmable calculators are not allowed. You will not have access to any material saved on your or any other computer. No access to the internet or other communication devices is allowed during this exam. The final exam consists of 49 multiple choice questions and you can have up to two hours to complete the exam. You will need to arrange to take your final exam with Proctor U. Information on the proctoring process is available below.

Grading Policy

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

Grade Breakdown

Homework	10%
Discussion	5%
Lab Assessments	20%
Lab Report	5%
Quizzes	15%
Midterm Exam	20%
Final Exam	25%

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