Disease project - Lab classes

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.
• 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.

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).
• 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.
• Your group members names (first and last names).
• The PDF file of the scientific paper you will be using for the project.

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.
• 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 new thread under the discussion board “Disease Project – Group X” (where X is your assigned group number).
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.

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.
• Go to discussions in iCollege and submit the written responses for the above as a reply to their response.

Disease project grading

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

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.

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.