LAB POLICIES

2009

Credit for Lab. 

Biology 321 is a 2-credit independent course.  Biology 221 is a co- or pre-requisite unless special permission has been granted from the course instructors.

In the past, students who were conscientious about their effort in lab did well.  This is a course where you are in control; by putting full effort into lab work, talking with TAs about how to improve, etc., you can determine your lab grade and improve your lab grade.  On the other hand, students who do not participate fully in their lab group’s work can have a very low lab grade.  

 Grading

          The following table gives the breakdown of your lab grade:

Cooperation 

  You will be working cooperatively in groups, exactly as scientists actually do, in proposing and executing your experiments.  We will be using Louis Schmier's "Triad Method".  In this approach, students work in 3's.  Why 3's?  In a word, "Power".  Groups of three are efficient (e.g., meetings can be arranged more easily than with larger groups) and there is no possibility of a tie vote on an issue.  More important, every individual counts.  Everyone must contribute to a group of three, because the 'load' increases sharply, and unfairly, with lack of participation of one person.  Because good science very often relies on the synergistic talents of several scientists (and we want you to experience this), part of your grade will be based on the group performance.  Total group participation and investment in the entire lab is therefore extremely important!  The pre-proposal, proposal and poster presentation will be given a group grade, which will be the same for all members of a group unless a majority of the triad decides to vote a person’s name off of the proposal or poster due to lack of participation.

Proposal Grading 

Since proposals are probably new to you, it will be important to understand how they are graded.  Your triad's proposal will be reviewed by your peers and by a member of the BSF 'Panel' (one of the TAs).  The TA will assign a grade based on these reviews and the panel discussion of your proposal.  If you are above a cutoff level (90% for the first round), then your proposal will be considered 'funded' in the first round of review.  If you are not funded (be forewarned - this is most of them), you will have a chance to revise and resubmit your proposal.  The panel member will then adjust your grade depending on the degree to which you have accounted for suggestions made in the review.  In fairness to scientists who were funded on the first round, your maximum grade on revision will be 90%.  The second-round threshold for 'funding' however, will be a lower value (80%).  A third round of submissions will be allowed as well for those who were not funded on the first two rounds, again with a lower threshold (70%) and a maximum possible grade on revision of 80%.  Upon awarding of funding, you will be permitted to proceed with your experiment under the direction of your research advisor (your TA!). 

Individual vs. Group Grade 

More than half (60%) of the lab grade is individual-based.  Because individuals bear a lot of personal responsibility in this lab for being involved and sharing equally in the tasks of the group, we have specifically included two areas where individuals in a group may be graded differently in the event that participation is not equal (Project Execution and Qualitative TA evaluation; see below).  The other individual-based grades will be your own efforts (Proposal Review, where you write a review of another student's proposal; Statistics Quiz, to test your understanding of the basic statistics skills needed for your analyses; Manuscript components and Whole Manuscript, where each student writes his/her own manuscript for submission to the journal).

Bonus Points 

This year, you will have the opportunity to receive a BONUS to your overall lab grade of up to 6% (total).  2% will be added to the total number of points accumulated for those students whose papers are recommended for publication by one of the Associate Editors.  The journal’s Managing Editors (Drs. McGraw and Peterjohn) then decide which specific manuscripts will be accepted.  Those approved by the Managing Editors will receive 3% (in addition to the 2% for the Assoc. Editor recommendation).  Those students whose paper was accepted are expected to submit electronic copies of their manuscript text, figures and tables as one document for inclusion in our online class journal, Global and Regional Environmental Change.  An additional 1% bonus will be added to the grade of any students attending the oral component of the grand semester-ending Symposium (regardless of whether the manuscript was recommended for publication).

  Credit for Positive Attitude! 

There are two parts of your grade where your TA will be providing a qualitative evaluation.  First is the Project Execution portion of the grade – this grade will be based on the degree of participation you display and the care with which you and your group carry out your experiment.  The other qualitative grade is based on your performance in the areas of enthusiasm, cooperation, effort, and participation in lab sessions.  

Absolute Grade Scale 

This course has an absolute grade scale: you are not competing with your classmates for a certain percentage of A’s, B’s, C’s, etc.  The grade range is set from the beginning, as follows:  A (90 - 100), B (80-89.9), C (70-79.9), D (60-69.9), F (<60).  If an entire lab section performs at the A level, congratulations!  If an entire lab section performs at the D level, not good, but so be it!  There will not be x number of A's, y number of B's, etc.  We ensure through our own frequent internal checks that grading is consistent across lab sections.  'A' means performance judged to be 'Excellent', 'B' means 'Good' or 'Very Good', 'C' means 'Average', 'D' means 'Below Average', and 'F' means 'Unacceptable Performance'.

The Role of Your TA

Unlike most lab courses, your TA will play a different role in this course.  First, s/he is your teacher, who will give you skills such as tips on cooperative research, tips on taking notes, strategies for coming up with research ideas, statistical techniques for evaluating data, writing skills for the proposal and manuscripts you will produce, and poster-making skills for the symposium.  Second, your TA is your triad’s research advisor; s/he will offer advice, when asked to help get you over rough spots in your project.  But they are advisors, not ‘managers’ who make decisions.  This is your research project (not theirs; most of them have their own research to do as graduate students!  They don’t need 8 more projects!).  So, while they will be available for advice, please understand that these are your projects, and you are ultimately responsible for decisionmaking and execution.  Third, your TA will be an anonymous reviewer and manuscript editor for other students (students of other TA’s).  That means your TA will not generally be grading your work.  This is how it works in the ‘real world’ of science too.  Proposals and manuscripts are judged by anonymous reviewers.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.  As defined in section 3.1.1.3 of the Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities of Students (1987 Revision), academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, cheating and dishonest practices, and forgery, misrepresentation or fraud.  This semester, proposals and manuscripts will be turned in using ‘Turnitin’ software.  This software checks for plagiarism from the web and in addition compares your work to that of other students in the class.  In addition, the software enforces strict course deadlines for assignments.  If Turnitin detects plagiarism, a penalty will be the result.   At a minimum, that section of the assignment will receive a grade of zero (e.g., if the Background section of your proposal contains plagiarism, you will receive a 0 for that portion of your proposal).   A second instance of plagiarism will result in a minimum penalty of a zero for the assignment.  Any instance of plagiarism may incur a greater penalty than the minimum, dependent on the severity and context.  Any form of academic dishonesty may result in an F, or unforgivable F in the course, at the discretion of the course instructors.  Note:  For group work, you are responsible for the integrity of any assignment with your name on it.

Special assistance 

If you are learning, sensory, or physically impaired and need assistance with the laboratory, please contact your TA or one of the course instructors (Dr. McGraw or Dr. Peterjohn) during regular office hours or by appointment and make appropriate arrangements with Disability Services (293-6700).  The first week of the semester is the best time for these discussions.  All matters will be kept confidential.

English as a Second Language. 

If English is your second language and you need assistance with the laboratory, please contact your instructor during office hours or by appointment.  The first week of the semester is best for these discussions.  All matters will be confidential.

Policy on Collaboration

Science is a collaborative enterprise.  You will be working as a group on several aspects of this lab.  You may also be consulting with faculty outside the course to help you with your project.  Please understand we encourage and expect close collaboration in planning, proposing and executing your experiment, as well as the production of your pre-proposal, proposal and poster. 

 

However, individual work is expected on your manuscripts for publication.  This means that every sentence of the manuscript must be unique and the result of your writing effort alone.  Remember, your written work will be compared to that of every other student in the class using Turnitin software.  Moreover, TA’s will check that every figure and table is your own work.  Copying all or parts of sentences from another student, or from the literature/online is plagiarism.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated.  Let’s be clear about what plagiarism is.  Plagiarism is “using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information” (Legal Definitions.com.   http://www.legal-definitions.com/M,%20N,%20O,%20P/plagiarism.htm).  Since we rarely if ever use quotes in scientific writing, that means your writing needs to be absolutely your own and unique, with appropriate citations for ideas that are not your own.

If you're not clear on what is permitted and what is not, ask your TA.

 
Social Justice

WVU is committed to social justice.  The instructors of this course are committed to maintaining a positive learning environment based on communication, mutual respect, and non-discrimination.  WVU does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex age, disability, veteran status, religion, sexual orientation, political party, color or national origin.  Suggestions as to how to further such an environment will be appreciated and given serious consideration.

 

If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class, please advise me and make appropriate arrangements with the Office of Disability Services (293-6700).

Evacuation Plan for Laboratories

In the event of an emergency, leave the classroom and proceed to the hallway in an orderly manner.  Turn left toward the east end of the building, go to the end of the hallway, and exit to the left down the steps to the curb next to Campus Drive across from the Penny Lane Café.  Don’t forget to buy a tall mocha latte for your TA.

Late Policy:  

Don't turn in your pre-proposals, proposals, or manuscripts late.  It costs a humongous 10 percentage points per day!  Again, just to be super-clear; many assignments have specific times they are due (see calendar above).  If an assignment is 1 minute late, it can be considered 1 day late (-10%).  If it is 24 hours and 1 minute late, it can be considered 2 days late (-20%!).