BIO 342 ("Internship in Biology") -- Syllabus

College of Mount St. Joseph
BIO 342
INTERNSHIP IN BIOLOGY
Autumn Term, 2006
SYLLABUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Course Description
Preface
Instructor
Meetings
Oral presentation
Written report
Grading
Academic honesty
ADA
Relationship of this course to your liberal-arts education
About the picture at the top of this web-page
About this web-page -- Caveat lector !

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In this course, the student will participate in a practical experience at a business, hospital, laboratory, or other institution, under the direction of a faculty member in the Department of Biology or a designee of the Department. The internship is individually designed to provide the student with knowledge, skills, and so on, in his or her chosen profession or field of study. The student will present an account of the work as agreed upon by the student and the instructor-of-record of the course. Normally this will include an oral-presentation open to the Public and a written paper.

Prerequisite: Major in the Department of Biology; Departmental permission

Note:

A College "Learning Contract" must be completed and approved before the start of the term in which this course is taken.

Credit-hours: 1 - 4.

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PREFACE

Even as every course is a living thing, this syllabus is a living document. In the course of the term, it might be advisable (or even necessary) to make modifications in the syllabus. (Of course, proposed changes will be discussed with the one or more persons enrolled in the course prior to going into effect.)

A Note on Format:

This syllabus is designed for "The Web". Hence, some parts of of it are below, whereas others are reached by following links. If you choose to print out the syllabus, please, be certain to print out the documents reachable by links.

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INSTRUCTOR

The instructor-of-record for this course depends on the subject area of the internship. The actual instructor will be agreed upon by the student and the Academic Advisor of the student.

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MEETINGS

This course comprises individual work by the student, under the direction of a faculty mentor. Consequently, the number, times, and place of meetings will be determined on an individual basis.

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ORAL PRESENTATION

The student will present an oral report on his or her internship in a session open to the Public.

The nature, time, and place of this presentation will be agreed upon by the student and the instructor-of-record of the course.

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WRITTEN REPORT

The student will submit a written report on his or her internship.

The nature, format, and time of submission of the written paper will be agreed upon by the student and the instructor-of-record of the course.

Here is a tentative outline of what is to be included:

PREFACE

In the following, "their" and "them" refer to the site (or sites) of the internship and the people who worked there, especially the supervisor (or supervisors).

OUTLINE

I. Introduction

A. Where the internship was spent

B. Time spent

1. amount

2. when

C. Background about position

1. History of the position, including at least the following

a. How you found out about the position

b. Why you chose that opportunity

c. Who supervised you

II. Activities

A. What you did

1. Instruction or training received

2. List of projects and the amount of time you spent on each

3. What you learned in each project and overall

a. for you

b. about you

B. Context

1. How your work fits into their overall project or activity

2. How your work fits into your overall life, your college courses, your career plans, your future

III. Personal gains

Reflect on the whole experience and its impact on you

IV. Bibliography

V. Appendices

A. Their evaluation of you and your work

B. Your evaluation of them

C. What you would have changed in your college career, in light of the internship experience; How; Why

D. What you would not have changed in your college career in light of the internship experience; Why

VI. Other material specified in the learning-contract but not covered above

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GRADING

The grade a student earns in this course will be based on the following:

1. Fulfillment of the goals determined by the faculty mentor and the student, as defined in the learning contract

2. How well the internship experience demonstrates the student’s ability to understand the use of the scientific method to solve a problem

3. The quality of the student’s written account of the work

4. The quality of the student’s final oral-presentation

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ACADEMIC HONESTY

The goal of this course is to add to your individual knowledge, perceptions, skills, etc. Thus, in order to evaluate your, individual progress, we need to be certain that what we see of your work really is yours.

The College has adopted the policy on academic honesty printed in the College Catalogue. Please, familiarize yourself with it ----- and conduct yourself accordingly.

Please, follow this link for further information, details, and advice on academic honesty in this course.

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RELATIONSHIP OF THIS COURSE
TO YOUR LIBERAL-ARTS EDUCATION

Learning Outcomes and Performance Indicators

The College has adopted a series of "learning-outcomes" and "performance-indicators". (These are presented in the College's Undergraduate Catalogue [source: http://www.msj.edu/catalog/0305/core.htm on 05 January 2004]. The lettered items are "learning-outcomes", and the "performance indicators" are numbered thereunder.)

A. "Global/Citizenship" -- Understand and appreciate the interdependence and interrelatedness of all people as well as of people and their environment:

1. Document and reflect on participation in a service or leadership experience during the College years;

2. Demonstrate knowledge about global issues confronting persons in the contemporary world;

3. Explain aspects of the Judeo-Christian tradition as they intersect with other religions, philosophical ideologies, and global issues;

4. Reflect critically on personal and professional development during the college years in the context of global citizenship.

B. "Ethics" -- Understand the Judeo-Christian ethical tradition and recognize ethical responsibility in one’s personal and professional life:

1. Describe ethical responsibilities in the context of professional and/or scholarly practice;

2. Explain how the Judeo-Christian tradition emphasizes social justice and responsibility;

3. Assess ethical concerns of a problem or dilemma;

4. Construct and defend an ethical response to a problem or dilemma.

C. " Interdependence/Interdisciplinarity" -- Draw on disciplinary perspectives and integrate their insights through construction of a more comprehensive perspective:

1. Demonstrate a capacity for inclusive, not dualistic, thinking recognizing the presence of ambiguity;

2. Compare and contrast viewpoints from different disciplines and perspectives (multidisciplinarity);

3. Integrate knowledge and concepts across disciplines (interdisciplinarity);

4. Explain the global interconnectedness of social and natural systems.

D. "Sociocultural Relationships" -- Understand social and cultural influences on behavior:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of culturally held and socially maintained biases;

2. Explain the influence of social and cultural diversity on human systems;

3. Explain how religious and spiritual values influence social practices;

4. Demonstrate knowledge of the continual development of societies (for example, religious influences, economic conditions, philosophical ideologies, etc.);

5. Understand the interdependence of people from different social and cultural backgrounds.

E. "Communication" -- Construct and interpret various forms of communication including written, oral, and visual effectively and ethically:

1. Control surface features (syntax, grammar, punctuation, spelling), presentation and documentation;

2. Adapt messages (form and structure) to meet the needs of the audience and context;

3. Use communication media effectively and creatively.

F. "Critical/Creative Thinking" -- Reason in an open-ended manner to evaluate a situation, generate multiple solutions and support the reasoning behind a solution:

1. Distinguish among categories of information (e.g., fact, opinion; relevant, irrelevant; biased, unbiased);

2. Interpret quantitative and qualitative information;

3. Support a position with appropriate evidence;

4. Integrate one’s own ideas with those of others to address an issue;

5. Demonstrate an ability to apply a creative process using imagination and intuition to solve a problem.

How this course relates to the above

LA & S "Learning Outcomes" and "Performance Indicators",
and Evaluation of Student Performance of Same

At the completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Understand and appreciate the interdependence of scientists as they work to improve human understanding of natural phenomena and solve problems confronting Contemporary Society

("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicator" A2)

2. Recognize the ethical responsibility of professional scientists to work for the betterment of the environments of Planet and of the people and organisms that inhabit it

("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicator" B1)

3. Use your knowledge in both Biology and in other disciplines to interpret data and draw conclusions as well as to relate the knowledge you gain to broader natural and social systems

("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicators" C1, C3, and C4)

4. Communicate your experimental design, procedures, results, and conclusions in a clear, logical manner, both in a written paper and in an oral presentation to the Public

("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicators" E1, E2, and E3)

5. Critically evaluate the internship experience in the light of biological and other scientific principles and their application, interpret information gained during your internship experience, demonstrate your ability to integrate your knowledge of Biology and the scientific method into a practical work-experience, and integrate what you learned during the internship experience with your own ideas

("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicators" F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5)

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ABOUT THE PICTURE AT THE TOP OF THIS WEB-PAGE

The image at the top of this web-page is a "cartoon" of Professor William Buckland of Oxford University in about 1840 (from p. 52 IN Dott, Robert H., jr., and Roger L. Batten, 1971, Evolution of the Earth: McGraw-Hill, New York, xiii + 649 p.).

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ABOUT THIS WEB-PAGE -- Caveat lector !

This web-page was constructed using MS-FrontPage and its version of html. The results have been previewed by way of MS Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, things that look fine when viewed with Internet Explorer sometimes look rather peculiar when viewed with Netscape. For example, there can be unexpected and unpredictable changes in the size, shape, style of type, or some combination of these. Moreover, sometimes different versions of Internet Explorer do not present the same web‑page in the same way; for example, hyphens in one version can mutate into empty rectangles in another. Alas!

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To return whence you came,
please, use the "BACK" feature of your web-browser.

01, 03, and 10 March 2005; 21 February 2006; 16 November 2006

Note:
		A College "Learning Contract" must be completed and approved before the start of the term in which this course is taken.

I.	Introduction
	A.	Where the internship was spent
	B.	Time spent
		1.	amount
		2.	when
	C.	Background about position
		1.	History of the position, including at least the following
			a.	How you found out about the position
			b.	Why you chose that opportunity
			c.	Who supervised you
II.	Activities
	A.	What you did
		1.	Instruction or training received
		2.	List of projects and the amount of time you spent on each
		3.	What you learned in each project and overall
			a.	for you
			b.	about you
	B.	Context
		1.	How your work fits into their overall project or activity
		2.	How your work fits into your overall life, your college courses, your career plans, your future
III.	Personal gains
		Reflect on the whole experience and its impact on you
IV.	Bibliography
V.	Appendices
	A.	Their evaluation of you and your work
	B.	Your evaluation of them
	C.	What you would have changed in your college career, in light of the internship experience; How; Why
	D.	What you would not have changed in your college career in light of the internship experience; Why
VI.	Other material specified in the learning-contract but not covered above

1.	Fulfillment of the goals determined by the faculty mentor and the student, as defined in the learning contract
2.	How well the internship experience demonstrates the student’s ability to understand the use of the scientific method to solve a problem
3.	The quality of the student’s written account of the work
4.	The quality of the student’s final oral-presentation

1.	Document and reflect on participation in a service or leadership experience during the College years;
2.	Demonstrate knowledge about global issues confronting persons in the contemporary world;
3.	Explain aspects of the Judeo-Christian tradition as they intersect with other religions, philosophical ideologies, and global issues;
4.	Reflect critically on personal and professional development during the college years in the context of global citizenship.

1.	Describe ethical responsibilities in the context of professional and/or scholarly practice;
2.	Explain how the Judeo-Christian tradition emphasizes social justice and responsibility;
3.	Assess ethical concerns of a problem or dilemma;
4.	Construct and defend an ethical response to a problem or dilemma.

1.	Demonstrate a capacity for inclusive, not dualistic, thinking recognizing the presence of ambiguity;
2.	Compare and contrast viewpoints from different disciplines and perspectives (multidisciplinarity);
3.	Integrate knowledge and concepts across disciplines (interdisciplinarity);
4.	Explain the global interconnectedness of social and natural systems.

1.	Demonstrate an understanding of culturally held and socially maintained biases;
2.	Explain the influence of social and cultural diversity on human systems;
3.	Explain how religious and spiritual values influence social practices;
4.	Demonstrate knowledge of the continual development of societies (for example, religious influences, economic conditions, philosophical ideologies, etc.);
5.	Understand the interdependence of people from different social and cultural backgrounds.

1.	Control surface features (syntax, grammar, punctuation, spelling), presentation and documentation;
2.	Adapt messages (form and structure) to meet the needs of the audience and context;
3.	Use communication media effectively and creatively.

1.	Distinguish among categories of information (e.g., fact, opinion; relevant, irrelevant; biased, unbiased);
2.	Interpret quantitative and qualitative information;
3.	Support a position with appropriate evidence;
4.	Integrate one’s own ideas with those of others to address an issue;
5.	Demonstrate an ability to apply a creative process using imagination and intuition to solve a problem.

1.	Understand and appreciate the interdependence of scientists as they work to improve human understanding of natural phenomena and solve problems confronting Contemporary Society
		("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicator" A2)
2.	Recognize the ethical responsibility of professional scientists to work for the betterment of the environments of Planet and of the people and organisms that inhabit it
		("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicator" B1)
3.	Use your knowledge in both Biology and in other disciplines to interpret data and draw conclusions as well as to relate the knowledge you gain to broader natural and social systems
		("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicators" C1, C3, and C4)
4.	Communicate your experimental design, procedures, results, and conclusions in a clear, logical manner, both in a written paper and in an oral presentation to the Public
		("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicators" E1, E2, and E3)
5.	Critically evaluate the internship experience in the light of biological and other scientific principles and their application, interpret information gained during your internship experience, demonstrate your ability to integrate your knowledge of Biology and the scientific method into a practical work-experience, and integrate what you learned during the internship experience with your own ideas
		("Learning Outcome" and "Performance Indicators" F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5)