Disease project - Lab classes

Board of Regents Core Impact Statement for Science classes:
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.
This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:

• How do I ask scientific questions or use data, mathematics, or technology to understand the universe?

Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcomes:

• Students will use the scientific method and laboratory procedures or mathematical and computational methods to analyze data, solve problems, and explain natural phenomena.

Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:

• Inquiry and Analysis
• Problem-Solving
• Teamwork
• Information Literacy

 

To meet the Board of Regents (BOR) IMPACTS for this course, a group project requiring writing, application of the scientific method, inquiry and analysis of scientific literature and data, problem-solving, teamwork, and information literacy will be completed. During the first week of classes the groups will be assigned (tables you sit at). The project will cover week 2 of the semester to the last full week before classes end. Components of the project will be submitted on a weekly basis (mini-mester classes) or biweekly basis (full semester classes).

 

Expectations from students and groups

• All students will do some work each part (week) of the project. This could include giving idea's, writing, posting, reviewing, etc. It does not mean everyone posts something each week on the discussion board. You can divide the week's work up among your group, on a weekly basis, but you are all expected to do something each week.
• You cannot divide different week's work to different students, such as Mark will do part 1, Emily will do part 2, and Luke will do part 3. Everyone should do some of the work each week. At the start of each post you make, you need to identify who did which part. If someone did not contribute for that part, then you need to state they did not contribute.
  • Example for part 2: Mark answered questions 1 and 2, Emily answered questions 3 and 4, and Luke answered question 5 and turned one of the questions into a lie. Sam did not contribute.
• If dividing weekly work, you should create a separate thread under your group in the discussion board (separate to where you post the parts of the project) and identify who is responsible for each component of that week's work. If someone does not do their part and it has been identified in the discussion board that it was their work, then only that person will lose points.
• Make sure to look at the grading rubric further down this page each week. Some points are easy points, such as what should be bolded and what should not. Don't lose the easy points because you didn't read or had someone make the post that did not know how to do that.
• Students are required to have their work reviewed in the Learning and Tutoring Center each week on the Writing side (CB-1200) before posting it on the dsicussion board. I encourage all group members to attend, but only one student from the group is necessary for each part (you could have a different group member go each week). When you have the assignment checked, you need to request a stamped, signed, and dated piece of paper showing you attended (this will uploaded as an attachment to your post for each part).
• All posts (except the original article and documentation of having it reviewed at the Learning and Tutoring Center) MUST be posted directly into the discusssion board. Attaching your responses as a file is not allowed. A single thread will contain all parts of the project, with subsequent ones posted as a reply to the last comment (small reply button at the bottom of the page). A score of zero will be earned if you attach answers as a document.

 

Disease project assignment

Part 1

• Dr Hollier will assign students to groups based on the tables you sit at in the lab class. You will be informed of your group number, make sure you write it down.
• Pick a disease. You can pick any disease you want, but it is best to look over parts 2 onwards to make sure you can complete them for whatever disease you pick.
  • A&P1: The disease cannot be caused be a pathogen (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.). The disease must relate to one of the following body system: integumentary system, skeletal system, muscular system, or nervous system.
  • A&P2: The disease cannot be caused be a pathogen (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.). The disease must relate to one of the following body system: endocrine system, cardiovascular system, lymphatic system, immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, renal system, or reproductive system.
  • Microbiology: The disease must be caused by a pathogen (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, helminths). The disease can be linked to any body system (integumentary system, skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, endocrine system, cardiovascular system, lymphatic system, immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, renal system, or reproductive system).
• Find a scientific research paper / article for your disease. Use Galileo through iCollege or at a campus library. If you have not used Galileo then you can go to a campus library and ask a librarian to explain how to use it.
• A scientific research paper is a scientific paper (not a review article) from a peer-reviewed journal where the authors actually did some laboratory experiments, presented the data, and made conclusions about their data (these articles must contain an abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections).
• You are expected to evaluate the accuracy of the articles contents and of the conclusions drawn by the authors. The purpose of this is to teach you how to find accurate information (the internet is not always correct!), how to read a scientific research paper, and to develop the skills in assessing the accuracy and conclusions made by others (critical thinking skills).
• Review at the Writing side of the Lerning and Tutoring Center:
  • Review with you how to critically read a published paper.
  • You can take the paper you want to use in your project with you or find one on the day to use as an example.
• Go to discussions in iCollege and submit the following as a new thread under the discussion board “Disease Project – Group X” (where X is your assigned group number).
• The disease name you will be investigating and your group members names (first and last names).
• The PDF file of the scientific paper you will be using for the project.
• The stamped, signed, and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.

Part 2

• Answer the following questions about your scientific paper:
• What two main points did you understand from the abstract?
• What methods were used to conduct the research? Why were they appropriate?
• What key finding did you see in the results?
• Provide a summary of the author’s conclusions.
• Were the conclusions accurate for the results presented in the paper?
• The answers require explanations. Simply answering “yes” or “no” is not acceptable. Justify all of your answers. A minimum of 5 sentences of text is required for answering each question.
• For one of the answers (and only 1 answer), turn it into a lie. Change it so it is no longer correct / true, but don’t make it too easy to notice as a lie. Save the true version of the lie for a part 5, but do not post this information yet.
• Review at the Writing side of the Lerning and Tutoring Center:
  • Discuss how to change a truth to a lie.
  • Discuss summarizing content and how it could result in multiple lies being told uninteionally (word choice).
  • Review answers for grammar, spelling, and coherence.
  • Review formatting (number of sentences) and correctness (following assignment directions).
• Make sure you have the question above the section for each answer. Put the Question in bold and answer not in bold.
• Go to discussions in iCollege and submit your questions / answers as a reply to teh last post/comment in the thread under the discussion board “Disease Project – Group X” (where X is your assigned group number).
  • All parts of the disease project must be posted on the same thread by replying to the last comment.
  • The entire project will be posted on the same page so all parts can be seen at once / read without changing pages.
• If you do not submit part 2 by the resubmission deadline at the latest, then it cannot be submitted after that point. You will earn zero points for part 2. By not completing part 2, you also cannot complete part 5 and will therefore have zero points for both parts 2 and 5.

Part 3

• Pick a statement made in the scientific paper that is stated and cited as coming from a different scientific paper. This must be a citation in the scientific paper you investigated and that you can access the full version of the cited scientific paper in Galileo.
• Find the section in the cited scientific paper that contains the information that was cited in the scientific paper you investigated. Evaluate if you think that section supports the statement in the scientific paper you investigated or not. The answer requires an explanation. Simply answering “yes” or “no” is not acceptable.
• Review at the Writing side of the Lerning and Tutoring Center:
  • Discuss citations and how to confirm if they match what the source paper stated.
  • Review answers for grammar, spelling, and coherence.
  • Review formatting (number of sentences) and correctness (following assignment directions).
  Go to discussions in iCollege and submit your questions / answers as a reply to teh last post/comment in the thread under the discussion board “Disease Project – Group X” (where X is your assigned group number).
  • All parts of the disease project must be posted on the same thread by replying to the last comment.
  • The entire project will be posted on the same page so all parts can be seen at once / read without changing pages.
• Write out the statement word-for-word from the scientific paper you investigated in bold.
• In a new paragraph, write word-for-word (not in bold) the information that was used for the statement you picked.
• In a new paragraph, write out your explanation for why it either does or does not support the statement.

Part 4

• You will be assigned a different group number to respond to by Dr Hollier.
  • Group 1 will read and respond to group 2.
• Group 2 will read and respond to group 3.
• Group 3 will read and respond to group 4.
• Group 4 will read and respond to group 5.
• Group 5 will read and respond to group 6.
• Group 6 will read and respond to group 1.
• If there are less than 6 groups, the last numbered group will respond to group 1.
• Read the scientific paper and answers to the 5 questions from the group you were assigned to respond in the discussions board.
• Work out which answer contains the lie and what the lie was.
• Quote the part that is the lie in bold.
• Explain why it was a lie (not in bold).
• State what the lie should have stated to be true (not in bold). Another way to word this is convert the lie into a truth.
• Review at the Writing side of the Lerning and Tutoring Center:
  • Discuss word choice for converting the lie back into a truth.
  • Review answers for grammar, spelling, and coherence.
  • Review formatting (number of sentences) and correctness (following assignment directions).
  If the group you have been assigned to review did not complete part 2 by the resubmission deadline then you will just post a statement on their discussion board stating they had not completed part 2 and you had nothing to review. This will count as a record of the situation and you will be credited the points as if you successfully completed part 4 (full points).
• Go to discussions in iCollege and submit your responses for the above as a reply to their questions / answers on their discussion board (reply to the last post / comment).

Part 5

• Respond to what was posted on your groups discussion for part 4:
• State if the group correctly identified the lie.
• Analyze their reasoning for why they said it was a lie.
• Post the true version of the lie that you saved in part 2.
• If you did not complete part 2 by the resubmission deadline then you have nothing to respond to and will earn zero points for both parts 2 and 5.
• If a group did not reply by the due date for part 4, then for part 5 you just have to make a post stating "No response was received from reviewing group. As they did not do their work, we have nothing to review". Then state where your lie was located and paste the true version of.
• Review at the Writing side of the Lerning and Tutoring Center:
  • Review answers for grammar, spelling, and coherence.
  • Review formatting (number of sentences) and correctness (following assignment directions).
  Go to discussions in iCollege and submit the written responses for the above as a reply to their response (reply to the last post / comment).

 

Disease project grading

	Excellent	Average	Poor	Missing
Part 1	20 points All of the following are posted: Disease name and group members (first and last names). PDF file of scientific paper. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	14 points Two of the following are posted: Disease name and group members (first and last names). PDF file of scientific paper. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	8 points One of the following is posted: Disease name and group members (first and last names). PDF file of scientific paper. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	0 points None of the following are posted: Disease name and group members (first and last names). PDF file of scientific paper. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.
Part 2	20 points All of the following requirements are met: All 5 questions are answered with a minimum of 5 sentences. Each question is bolded and each answer is not in bold. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	14 points Two of the following requirements are met: All 5 questions are answered with a minimum of 5 sentences. Each question is bolded and each answer is not in bold. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	8 points One of the following requirements is met: All 5 questions are answered with a minimum of 5 sentences. Each question is bolded and each answer is not in bold. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	0 points None of the following requirements are met: All 5 questions are answered with a minimum of 5 sentences. Each question is bolded and each answer is not in bold. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.
Part 3	20 points All of the following requirements are met: Selected statement is quoted word-for-word and in bold, and statement from cited scientific paper is quoted word-for-word and not in bold. An explanation for why it either supported or not supported is included. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	14 points Two of the following requirements are met: Selected statement is quoted word-for-word and in bold, and statement from cited scientific paper is quoted word-for-word and not in bold. An explanation for why it either supported or not supported is included. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	8 points One of the following requirements are met: Selected statement is quoted word-for-word and in bold, and statement from cited scientific paper is quoted word-for-word and not in bold. An explanation for why it either supported or not supported is included. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	0 points None of the following requirements are met: Selected statement is quoted word-for-word and in bold, and statement from cited scientific paper is quoted word-for-word and not in bold. An explanation for why it either supported or not supported is included. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.
Part 4	20 points All of the following requirements are met: The lie was quoted in bold and an explanation for why it was a lie is present not in bold. A statement of what the lie should have stated to be true is present. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	14 points Two of the following requirements are met: The lie was quoted in bold and an explanation for why it was a lie is present not in bold. A statement of what the lie should have stated to be true is present. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	8 points One of the following requirements is met: The lie was quoted in bold and an explanation for why it was a lie is present not in bold. A statement of what the lie should have stated to be true is present. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	0 points None of the following requirements are met: The lie was quoted in bold and an explanation for why it was a lie is present not in bold. A statement of what the lie should have stated to be true is present. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.
Part 5	20 points All of the following requirements are met: Statement verifying if the lie was correctly identified, including an analysis of reasoning for why it was a lie. Post the true version of the lie that you saved in part 2. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	14 points Two of the following requirements are met: Statement verifying if the lie was correctly identified, including an analysis of reasoning for why it was a lie. Post the true version of the lie that you saved in part 2. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	8 points One of the following requirements are met: Statement verifying if the lie was correctly identified, including an analysis of reasoning for why it was a lie. Post the true version of the lie that you saved in part 2. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.	0 points None of the following requirements are met: Statement verifying if the lie was correctly identified, including an analysis of reasoning for why it was a lie. Post the true version of the lie that you saved in part 2. Stamped and dated confirmation from the Learning and Tutoring Center.

During the semester, the number of points for each part will be posted.

• For parts 1 through 3, if you did not earn 20 points, you can resubmit the by the end of Tuesday the week after Dr Hollier posts comments to earn back 50% of the lost points. To get those points back, you must respond to every comment Dr Hollier left for the part when it was originally graded. This must be posted as a reply to Dr Hollier's comment by posting the entire part again with the fixes made, not editing the original post. Responses are expected to be at least 2 sentences per comment (but may need longer depending on the nature of the comment).
• Responses submitted later than the Tuesday deadline listed above will not be accepted.
• For parts 4 and 5, there is no option to earn back lost points.
• If you miss part 1 deadline (original date and the resubmission date), then your score for the entire disease project (all parts) will be zero.

At the end of the project, the points for each part will be summed and converted to a percentage. The percentage will be posted in the iCollege grade book as an overall disease project grade.