MIC419Home Vaccine Proposal Tutorials ToolBox
Lecture: MWF 12-12:50 PM ILC 150
Discussion Sections: Vet Sci/Micro Building Room 129
Welcome to Immunology! MIC 419 is an introductory course for students interested in how the body protects itself from infectious disease. You should have completed General Biology and Organic Chemistry plus at least one other course in Microbiology (MIC 205A is strongly recommended), Genetics, Biochemistry, or Cell Biology. If you have had NONE of these advanced courses, please see me about your readiness to take this course.
Over the next 16 weeks, you will learn what makes up the immune system, how it functions to keep us healthy, and how it can cause allergic and autoimmune disease and transplant rejection. We'll also explore the ways in which immunology is used for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious disease and cancer.
When you finish this course, you should be able to:
Write you own goals here:
Why do we give grades (called assessment in educational jargon)?
Acquiring FACTS is just the beginning of learning. Some of the facts you learn in immunology this year will not be facts next year or the year after. More importantly, knowing facts without being able to apply them is "inert knowledge", good for Immunology Trivial Pursuit but not much else. In addition, we live in a time when information is widely available; however, all available information is not equally reliable. Educational skills I want to you acquire include the abilities to apply, analyze, comprehend, synthesize, and evaluate information in immunology.
The figure above shows how much information is retained for two weeks based on how one interacted with the material. Activities in MIC 419 cluster at the bottom of the pyramid: discussion, practice by doing, teaching others/immediate use (applications). These activities will only be effective if you prepare before class by doing the assigned reading and answering the case questions or doing your assigned part of the vaccine proposal.
Grades in the course will be based on several assessments with the relative weighting shown below:
|
ACTIVITY
|
POINTS
|
TOTAL
|
GRADES
|
| Exams Midterm and Final exams will be take-home open-book cases |
2@100
|
200
|
>=360 = A |
|
Vaccine Proposals |
50 100 50 |
200
|
|
| Course Total | 400 |
* Team vaccine proposal grade will be factored with self and peer participation scores to calculate each student’s final proposal score.
Exams Since MIC 419 emphasizes application rather than memorization, course material will be learned in the context of clinical cases. Your assignment will be to read the textbook chapters and use that information to identify signs of immune system function and explain how the immune system deals with the pathogen that is described in the case. All information that you will need to answer the questions is in the case and/or your textbook; no other sources are required. You are encouraged to work with other students in the course on the cases, as long as you each individually understand the material. Some time in every class period will be spent in your learning teams (see below) discussing case questions and additional questions posed in class; this is also a time to ask for clarification of the material. Although there will be no formal grade for completing these cases, they will be the best preparation for the formal exams.
The Midterm and Final Exams will be open-book take-home exams similar to the cases completed during the semester. They will allow you to demonstrate your competency in immunology and your ability to apply your knowledge to new situations. All exams are to be written independently, without consulting with anyone except Dr. Decker. Exams will be available on line a week before they are due and must be submitted as a hard copy to Dr. Decker and electronically to Turnitin.com by the due dates listed in the Calendar.
Vaccine Proposal Cooperative learning using formal teams is an integral tool in MIC 419. Teams will be formed the first week of the discussions to balance team membership based on student expertise (see AT1). Your team will then meet each week in discussion to solve problems leading to the submission of a formal team vaccine. Team members will evaluate themselves and teammates for participation throughout the semester; these ratings will be factored into the proposal score for each team member. Teams will also meet as study sections to evaluate another team's vaccine proposal and provide feedback to the authoring team in the form of individual peer reviews called "Pink Sheets". For more detailed information and due dates, see Vaccine Proposal and Calendar. Material covered in discussion is directly related to lecture material and will be included in cases and on the final exam.
Late papers Papers are due by 5PM in VSM 235 and by midnight electronically on the due date. Grades will be reduced 10% for each day late. No hand-written papers will be accepted, and no credit will be given for papers not submitted to Turnitin.com.
Grading scale The course is graded on how well you meet the objectives listed above, not on a curve. Grades are maintained to two decimal points and semester totals with decimals equal to or greater than .50 are rounded to the next highest integer and used to compute a letter grade (see above). I carefully examine scores within 1-2 percentage points of the next highest letter grade, and MAY award a higher grade in individual cases where I see a clear trend towards performance at the higher level. I cannot change your grade or allow you to do extra work once the class is over!!!
February 7, 2007 last
day to drop without a grade (course will not appear on transcript).
March 7, 2007 Last day to drop with a W if you are passing; needs
my signature on an add/drop form.
May 3, 2007 Last day to completely withdraw from the semester; see
your College dean.
Do NOT assume that if you just stop attending class you will be administratively dropped! Failure to follow these procedures will result in an "E" on your transcript. An incomplete will be given only when all of the work in the course has been completed except for the final exam (University policy). An incomplete agreed upon by you and me will be accompanied by an written agreement signed by both of us listing what work must be completed and a final due date.
Academic Integrity Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and freely discuss the principles and applications of the course work. However, examinations and individual assignments must be written independently . This course operates under the UA Code of Academic Integrity (http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~studpubs/policies/cacaint.htm). All forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited, including (but not limited to): cheating, fabrication, academic dishonesty, plagiarism, modifying any academic work to obtain additional credit without approval of instructor, or attempting to carry out any of the above. Committing any of the above will result in sanctions being imposed on the student's scores or grade up to and including the assignment of an "E".
YOU, the Student: Learning is not a Spectator Sport! How do you learn most effectively? Reading? Listening to lecture? Flash cards? Taking notes? Discussing the material with a study group? Writing a paper? In general, people learn most effectively when they do something. In this class, you will be doing a variety of things (because different activities work better for different learners) to help you learn immunology (and also enjoy doing so).
What I expect of you:
Your Fellow Students There are many reasons for working in teams, but I'll give you what I consider the most important: 1. The BEST way to learn something is to teach it. 2. Working effectively with a diverse group of people is a life skill you will need in any career you choose. The basis for much of our in-class activity and out-of-class learning will be the learning teams. Teams will be formed as much as possible to balance diversity in members' previous academic and extracurricular experience.
Texts and Other Resources I have asked the bookstore to order two texts for this course; you will need ONE of the two.
IMMUNOBIOLOGY The Immune System in Health and Disease C.A. Janeway, P. Travers, M. Walport and M. J. Schlomchik. Sixth Edition, Garland Publishing, 2005.
The Immune System by P. Parham. Second Edition, Garland Publishing, 2005.
I have also ordered A Short Guide to Writing About Biology by J. P. Pechenik, Sixth Edition, Pearson Longman, 2007. This is a very usable guide to scientific writing; I will expect you to follow it as you write your vaccine proposal. I have asked the library to get this book and put it on two-hour reserve.
Other readings may be assigned during the semester; they will be available on line. Sources for your vaccine proposal can be found in the Arizona Health Sciences Library and through their web site: http://www.ahsl.arizona.edu/ .
Electronic Resources All class materials are available electronically at http://microvet.arizona.edu/Courses/MIC419/mic419index.html. Check this site daily for announcements. Grades will be posted on line through D2L. You will need to be able to submit assignments electronically as email attachments to Turnitin.com.
Instructor
Janet M. Decker, PhD, Senior Lecturer
Dept. of Veterinary Science and Microbiology 235 VetSci/Micro (Building #90)
E-mail: jdecker@u.arizona.edu (best
way to get a quick answer) Office Phone: 621-8942
Office Hours: MTRF 9-10AM and by appointment. To check my on-line schedule go to Instructor; if I have nothing scheduled I am usually in my office (Home Office means I am not here). I post my weekly
schedule on my office door and electronically, and enjoy seeing students in my
office. Please come by as soon as you have something I can help you with or just
to chat. If you think you would like me to write a letter of recommendation for
you once you have successfully completed this course, make sure I know you as
more than a name and student number. I plan in-class activities to highlight
the most important topics or clarify the most difficult topics from the textbooks
and other assigned reading, not to substitute for doing the reading yourself
before coming to class. I welcome course-related questions in class as well as
in my office. Tape recorders are welcome at all class sessions.
What you can expect of me:
Special resources Students needing special accommodations or special services should contact the S.A.L.T. Center (621-1242) and/or the Disability Resource Center (621-3268). The needs for special services must be documented, verified by these UA units, and presented to me before the end of the second full week of classes. I will do everything I can to accommodate documented special needs.
MIC419Home Vaccine Proposal Tutorials ToolBox
http://microvet.arizona.edu/Courses/MIC419/mic419syllabus.html
Written by Janet M. Decker, PhD jdecker@u.arizona.edu
Last modified
January 18, 2007