Instructors:
|
Dr.
David R. Howard |
Dr.
Jennifer Miskowski |
3016 Cowley, 785-6455 |
3018 Cowley, 785-6456
|
|
Labs: L53 = M |
Lab:
L54 = M |
The
laboratory segment of this course is designed to provide an atmosphere of
inquiry and experimentation. It will
give you an opportunity to obtain hands-on experience with the scientific
process, to enhance your powers of observation, to learn some specific
techniques, and ideally, to reemphasize important concepts that were discussed
in lecture. It will also probably demonstrate that scientific research is not
always perfect and can reveal unexpected results. To this end, some of the Cell Biology labs involve
you performing experiments of your own design, with some guidance from the
instructors, instead of simply doing “cookbook” labs where there is one
expected outcome. Therefore, the data
that you generate will not be inherently “right” or “wrong”, but will need to
be explained by you and supported by literature.
The labs are organized into
multi-week modules, so you will have time to learn the necessary techniques and
then to use them in your independent investigations. We expect you to draw upon ideas and
experiences from previous classes or research opportunities, to incorporate
concepts from lecture and your Cell Biology text, and to use analytical and
critical thinking skills when designing experiments or interpreting data. In addition, your laboratory
reports (discussed below) will give you practice in scientific writing which
should be as clear and concise as possible.
Because you are actively
involved in shaping your lab experience, you cannot simply show up to lab unprepared
and follow a list of instructions. To
help you succeed, you are required to complete a set of “entrance requirements”
before each lab period. These pre-lab assignments are each worth 3
points. Entrance requirements are
geared to (1) help you understand WHY you are performing a particular type of
experiment, (2) to assure that you carefully plan WHAT you will be testing, and
(3) to give you practice with relevant data calculations. You will be given two copies of each week’s
entrance requirements, and you must fill out both (or make a photocopy of
one). One copy will be handed into your
instructor as you enter the lab and subsequently graded. The other will be kept for your own use
during the pre-lab lecture and throughout the lab module.
· LAB IS MANDATORY! Any
unexcused absence will result in a full grade reduction of your final lab grade
for the semester. For a
university-approved absence, follow the guidelines outlined in the lecture
syllabus.
· You are expected to have your entrance
requirements completed before
you enter the laboratory. Students without the completed entrance
requirements will lose 5 points from their lab grade in addition to receiving a
zero on the entrance requirements (a net loss of 8 points).
· Bring a floppy disk to lab every week.
· Unless otherwise announced, lab reports are
due at the beginning of lab the following week.
Reports handed in that same day, but after the beginning of lab will
receive an automatic half-grade reduction. Reports handed in up to a week late will
receive an automatic full grade reduction.
Reports will not be accepted
after a week late.
You will be responsible for a lab report (written, oral, or poster) after each of the three major sections/modules. See the table below for the type, due date, and point total for each lab module.
Grading Your Laboratory Performance
As stated above, the labs that you will perform are not “canned” experiments, hence, there is not usually a “right” or “wrong” answer. Therefore, it is up to you to critically analyze your data and explain your results. However, it is first essential that you carefully design your experiments and accurately and precisely follow the provided protocols. Unexpected results should not always be explained by the scapegoat of experimental error. In order to give you credit for your preparedness and technical prowess, lab instructors will assign up to 15 points for each group’s laboratory performance over the semester. As scientists, we fully understand that mistakes are sometimes made and accidents happen resulting in an unsuccessful experiment. However, it is unacceptable to frequently make substantial errors, repeat the same mistakes, or do sloppy and careless work. A rubric for assessing your lab performance is below.
Laboratory Performance Rubric
|
For 14-15 points |
For 11-13 points |
For 8-10 points |
Below 8 points |
|
Protocols are followed accurately with few to no mistakes, interpret- able data are obtained from all experiments, work is done in a careful, but timely, manner. |
Mistakes are some-times made when per-forming experiments, interpretable data are obtained from most experiments, work is sometimes careless and/or delayed due to lack of preparation. |
Mistakes are frequent-ly made when per- forming experiments, interpretable data are obtained from some experiments, work is often careless and/or delayed due to lack of preparation. |
Mistakes are usually made when perform-ing experiments, interpretable data are obtained from few experiments, work is usually careless and/or delayed due to lack of preparation. |
Group Grades
Your assignments and your laboratory performance will be graded as a group. To account for any discrepancies in the effort put forth by different members in your group, you will be doing a self-assessment and a peer assessment of the other members of your lab group. Each student will be assigned a number of points by themselves and their fellow lab members that reflects the amount of effort they put forth in the laboratory part of this class. Based on the scores you receive from your group members, you, as an individual, will eventually receive a fraction of the total group points as your grade. For example, if your three other group members give you an “8.5”, “9.5”, and a “9”, respectively, you received 27 of 30 points possible. That is an average of 0.90. Therefore, you would receive 90% of the group points that had been awarded to your group throughout the semester. This assessment is included in the lab manual, and it will affect your final grade.
Cell
Biology Laboratory Schedule
Week of Topic Report deadlines
|
Sep. 13 |
Mastering
the Micropipetter, etc. |
No
report due. |
|
20 |
Localization
and Activity of ALP in Earthworm TissuesER |
|
|
27 |
ALP
continued – Enzyme Simple Activity Assays ER |
|
|
Oct. 4 |
ALP
continued – Specific Activity Assays ER |
|
|
11 |
ALP
lab calculations & Discs
lost Bioinformatics lab ER |
|
|
18 |
Discussion
of hINADl – Discs lost paper |
15
pts |
|
25 |
Immunofluorescence:
Labeling of cells ER |
ALP
report due 10/25 = 40 pts |
|
Nov. 1 |
Immunofluorescence:
Digital imaging & analysis ER |
|
|
8 |
Immunofluorescence:
Digital imaging & analysis continued |
|
|
15 |
Poster presentations on Immunofluorescence module |
Poster
= 40 pts |
|
22 |
Thanksgiving Week – No
lab. |
|
|
29 |
Eukaryotic
Cell Growth and Division ER |
|
|
Dec. 6 |
continued
ER |
|
|
13 |
Oral
presentations on the Cell Growth and Division module |
Presentation
= 40 pts |
|
|
|
|
ER = Entrance Requirements due at start of lab.
Break down of lab points:
|
Lab
reports: oral (1), written (1), & poster (1) |
120
points |
|
Bioinformatics
& journal article presentation |
15 points |
|
Entrance
requirements (3 pts X 8) |
24 points |
|
Laboratory
performance |
15 points |
|
Total lab
points |
174
points |