Laboratory: Laboratory sessions will consist of weekly lab practicals and a self-designed lab project.

Lab practicals: Students will carry out various lab practicals on a weekly basis. A report on your lab practical is due a week after completion of the lab exercise. The average of all lab reports is worth 10% of your final grade (from a total of 9 labs). You cannot repeat a lab practical. If you fail to hand in the lab report in a timely manner, you will receive 0 for that particular lab practical. This grade will count toward your average for all the lab practicals.

Below you will find the schedule for the lab practicals and the deadlines for submitting the lab reports (refer to BIOL 255-LABORATORY SCHEDULE). In order to optimize the time you have in the lab, you are expected to read the lab assignment prior to arriving to the lab! This will help to focus your dissecting and learning efforts. For each lab you should bring: a printout of the lab exercise, a floppy disk, pen, and notebook.

The lab report should include: 1) a brief statement of the purpose of the experiment and the hypotheses to be tested; 2) a description of the procedures employed in the experiment; 3) a description of your results, with any pertinent supporting data including tables, figures, or graphs with proper legends and captions; and 4) a discussion and explanation of your results. Please be concise and do not provide simple YES or NO answers to the question in the lab manual. The lab report should not be longer than 3 pages of written material (please use additional pages for figures and references). Use 1.5 spacing and Times New Roman font (size 12).

Self-designed lab project: Students will carry out a lab project supervised by the instructor and teaching assistants. The lab project is worth 20% of the final grade and will test your ability to think creatively and independently. As a rule, three students will work together on one project and write a final report. The report must be written as if it were to be submitted to a scientific journal and should consist of abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and references.

You are required to write a short proposal of your project (no more than two pages) describing the hypothesis to be tested, how are you going to test the hypothesis and the materials and method used. This proposal is due by Nov. 9, 2007 (or earlier). A list of possible projects will be discussed throughout the semester. Usually, it is possible to have the project of your choice but please, discuss your project with your instructor before starting any experiments. You are also responsible for making all the necessary arrangements to conduct your experiments.

The final report on your project should not be longer than 10 pages including figures and references. Use 1.5 spacing and Times New Roman font (=size 11). For the report on the lab practicals and the self-designed lab project, each group of students has the option of providing the instructor with a single report or each student in the group can write his/her own report. The final report for your self-designed lab project is due on Dec. 6, 2007 by 12 noon (the last day of class).

Evaluation of the self-designed lab project (maximum 10 pages, including figures, tables and references):

Abstract (10 pt): This should be a concise statement of the purpose of the experiment, an abbreviated description of the procedure, and brief results and conclusions. Introduction (20 pt): This should include any pertinent background information. The purpose of the experiment should also be included, with a hypothesis, if applicable.

Materials and Methods (15 pt): A description of the procedures employed in the experiment, specific enough that the experiment could be reproduced by anyone reading your report. Included may be tissue preparation, recording procedures, and listings of equipment used.

Results (25 pt): A statement of your findings with any pertinent supporting tables, figures, or graphs with proper legends and captions.

Discussion (25 pt): The discussion should include an explanation of your results with respect to other research, theoretical impact and physiological implications of your data. Error analysis and explanation of unexpected or unusual results should also be included in your report.

References (5 pt): In any standard journal bibliographical format.

Grading:

Grading scale:

Extra Credit: Students can earn 5% toward the final grade by attending lectures regularly (Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8am). To earn this credit, the instructor will call the roster list in 5 different occasions unannounced. ONLY STUDENTS PRESENT EVERY TIME WILL EARN THE EXTRA CREDIT! (Unless you have a well-documented reason why you didn’t attend class)

Course Policies:

Lecture attendance: The only way to ensure success in the course is to regularly attend both lecture and lab. Lecture exams draw heavily from the materials presented in lecture. Since the exam dates are given on the course schedule, students should always be prepared to take exams on their scheduled dates. If a student has to miss an exam for health or varsity sports reasons, it is his responsibility to inform the instructor and to reschedule a make-up exam within a week of the missed test. A lecture exam may be taken early if arrangements are made ahead of time (valid excuse required). A lecture exam may be taken early if arrangements are made ahead of time (valid excuse required).

Lab attendance: Lab time is limited to the scheduled section; there are no provisions for "extra lab time" outside of your regularly scheduled lab section. If you have to miss a lab for health or varsity sports reasons, please inform your instructor before the lab is missed.

Laboratory safety regulations: Students should observe all safety rules in the lab and use care in handling tools & equipments. Please dress appropriately for the lab, especially when considering the fact that we will be using a variety of chemicals. Use eye protection when required; students wearing contact lenses should be aware that the chemical preservatives in anatomy specimens could irritate the eyes of contact lens wearers. Use gloves to handle preserved tissue.

Class withdrawal: It is the responsibility of the student to officially withdraw. It is advisable to speak to the instructor first; however, this does NOT mean that the student is officially withdrawn from the class. Do not assume that I will drop you if you simply stop attending class. The deadline to officially withdraw from the course is Oct. 28, 2005 (according to the , UVM Academic calendar).

Exams: There will be two midterm exams and a comprehensive final exam. The schedule for the exams is presented below (refer to BIOL 255-LECTURE SCHEDULE). Exams will make special emphasis on applicable knowledge not plain memorization!

NO STUDY GUIDE IS PROVIDED IN THIS COURSE, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GO OVER THE WHOLE MATERIAL FROM LECTURES AND TEXTBOOK IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED FOR YOUR EXAM. REVIEW SESSIONS ARE AVAILABLE UPON STUDENT REQUEST AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER. INSTRUCTOR IS AVAILBALE TO CLARIFY YOUR QUESTIONS ANY TIME INCLUDING AFTER CLASS OR AT MUTUALLY AGREEABLE TIMES.

Cheating: Cheating will not be tolerated and may reflect badly in your future professional career. A student found to be cheating on an exam or plagiarizing a report will receive a zero on that exam. Cheating may result in disciplinary action. The use of cell phones and pagers is strictly prohibited during an exam! Problem Solving: If you have a problem, question, complaint or concern the first person to see is your instructor. Class Conduct: It is expected that all class members will exhibit respectful and courteous behavior in their words and actions during class sessions and in all interactions with other students, faculty, staff and graduate teaching assistants. Examples of respectful behavior include the following:

• Turning off cell phones and pagers when entering the classroom.
• Putting away newspapers and other reading materials unrelated to class.
• Arriving in the classroom on time so that the class session is not interrupted by tardiness.
• Refraining from bringing food or drinks to the classroom.

ADA: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodations of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester so that accommodations may be made in a timely fashion.

Religious Holidays: Students have the right to practice the religion of their choice. Each semester students should submit in writing to their instructors by the end of the second full week of classes their documented religious holiday schedule for the semester. Faculty must permit students who miss work for the purpose of religious observance to make up this work.

Tips for success in this course: