“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never think up anything original.” - Sir Ken Robinson
"If you trust in yourself and believe in your dreams and follow your
star
you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and
learning things and who aren't so lazy." - Terry Pratchett
Required Book:
Jan A. Pechenik, A Short Guide to Writing About Biology (6th Edition).
Pearson Longman
Course Goals:
UNDERSTANDING:
Where our scientific understanding of the world originates and the many ways
it is transmitted.
Science as a process equal in importance to the body of knowledge it has produced.
CRITICAL SKILLS:
How to read a scientific paper for information.
How how to translate between the many different modes of representing scientific
information: words – diagrams – graphs – numerical
tables – statistics – equations.
How to take useful notes.
How to paraphrase and to attribute sources.
How to explain science to others, both orally and in writing.
How to craft and present a scientific
story.
Start to become a critical reader of the scientific literature.
Sending e-mail to your professors:
Please follow
a few simple rules so I can provide quality service (i.e., so I don't go
nuts).
Grades:
Weighting of graded credit for this course:
Quizzes |
~50% |
| Assignments, Preparation & engagement in class | ~50% |
Quizzes scoring: Check plus = 100; Check = 75; Check minus = 50; irrelevant essay = 0.
You can drop one quiz score (or one absence).
Three (3) unexcused absences will result in a Failed grade.
Life's Unexpected Problems:
If you experience life complications that interfere with your performance, please put them in writing, signed and dated, and they will be taken into consideration. Explanations provided in advance receive higher consideration than those provided afterwards. Excuses provided long after the fact are not taken very seriously. Bad traffic and difficult parking are not good excuses (leave home earlier). If your grandmother passes away, include a copy of her published obituary. If you're just totally overwhelmed by school, life, cyclones, global warming, or any combination of these, come by my office, I'll give you a piece of chocolate, and we'll see what we can do to help you make it through. It DOES get better.
Hints to the wise:
Useful links :
FIU Library connect from home (enter full number from back of ID card)
FIU Library - new catalog system
FIU Library - old catalog system
FIU Library - online biology resources
ISI Web of Science (link from FIU Library)
Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
Pubmed - U.S. National Library of Medicine www.pubmed.gov
"Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating
and
imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous
and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service. All students should
respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and
honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all
students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which
demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the
educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the
University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic
misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and
sanctions, as outlined in the Student
Handbook."
