Syllabus

Instructor:

Dr. Kaci Thompson
1313 Symons Hall
301-405-2160
email: kaci@umd.edu

Office hours: by appointment 

Overview:

The Catalyst Seminar has two overarching learning goals:

1. Students will be able to identify and obtain research opportunities that are appropriate to their professional goals.

• Students will develop an awareness of the diversity of undergraduate research opportunities available to them in the chemical and biological sciences.
• Students will be able to evaluate and express how particular research programs resonate with their professional goals.
• Students will be able to communicate their interest to potential faculty mentors.

2. Students will better understand what it means to be part of the scientific community.

• Students will become proficient in basic forms of scientific communication (e.g., reading and interpreting primary literature, interacting with researchers at oral and poster presentations).
• Students will develop awareness of some of the basic ethical issues in the conduct of science.
• Students will understand the role and limitations of peer review in science.
• Students will develop increased awareness of how scientific knowledge is constructed

Students will learn about the research currently being conducted at the University of Maryland through a series of faculty seminars and informal receptions. The seminar will also provide an opportunity for students to learn skills essential for becoming successful student researchers, such as strategies for negotiating the research process, locating a faculty mentor, ethics in science, and critical analysis of research papers and proposals.

Text:

Pechenik, J.A. 2013. A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, 8^th ed. New York: Longman. The text is *required* but I am flexible about the edition. If you choose to purchase an older version, be aware that the chapter and page numbers may not correspond perfectly to the newest version.

Website:

Our course syllabus and information on each class meeting is available at http://hhmi.umd.edu/catalystseminar/syllabus. We will also make use of ELMS (http://www.elms.umd.edu/) for assignments, discussions, and posting grades.

Class meeting time:

3:30-4:45 Monday, room 1243 Biology/Psychology Building 

Assignment of grades:

The final grade for the course will be based upon a total of 160 possible points. Instead of having a small number of high stakes assignments, this course will have a larger number of small assignments that build over the semester. Instructions and due dates for all graded assignments are given in the Assignments section of ELMS. Late assignments will acrue a penalty of 10% for each day past the due date. 

Format of written assignments:

Some assignments will be submitted using the Calibrated Peer Review system, while others will be submitted in ELMS. For details on how to submit each assignment, see the the ELMS Assignments page.

Academic Dishonesty:

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council.This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.studentconduct.umd.edu/.

To further exhibit your commitment to academic integrity, remember to sign the Honor Pledge on all examinations and assignments: "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this examination (assignment)."

Class schedule: