PBIO 114: A Model Proposal for a Breadth of Knowledge Course in Natural Sciences
By: Dr. Sarah Wyatt
PBIO 114 - Cellular Foundations of Plant Biology is a lecture/lab course covering biological processes at the cellular level that provide a foundation for life, as we know it. Topics include DNA structure and function leading to genetics and evolution, theories of the origins of life leading to cell structure and function, and bioenergetics. The lab and lecture are highly integrated with the lab focusing on scientific method and experimental design. PBIO 114 is the entry-level course for all plant biology majors. I am dedicated to the idea that our majors (and all students) should be able to express themselves well in both written and oral formats. Several writing exercises will be required of the students. The most comprehensive of these are the keeping of a lab notebook or journal and the writing of formal lab reports. Essential to the use of the scientific method is the recording of data and the communication of results to the scientific community at large. This clearly requires good writing skills.
Lab Reports. The major writing, critique, and revision of writing will come in the form of 4 formal lab reports. Students will design experiments, obtain data, and be expected to synthesize their hypothesis, experimental plan and data into a formal lab report. Detailed instruction will be provided in the proper structure of a lab report. The length of lab reports is really dependent on the experiment but should generally run 3-5 typed pages. The reports will be evaluated for scientific merit as well as writing form and function. They will be assessed using a standardized rubric and returned with a formal critique page attached indicating weaknesses and methods for improvements. These forms will be included with the submission of next lab report. That will provide instructors (TA's and myself) a method to gauge writing improvement. Although rewrites of individual lab reports are not required, they are allowed if students so desire. The major critic and revision would come in the form of a new lab report.
Lab Notebook. Students will be expected to keep a lab notebook (or journal) with entries for each lab period. The lab meets 2X/wk and each entry would be a minimum of one handwritten page (some experiments would require significantly more than one page). Instruction on content to be included will be provided, and informal review of entries will be given on a somewhat random basis in-class. Because of the more personal nature of a lab notebook, format is less prescribed but content of entries is evaluated. Information from the entries is required for the writing of lab reports and, thereby, the lab reports serve as an additional measure of how well a student is keeping the lab notebook.
Informal Writings. In addition, students will be expected to do several less formal writings including several 1-min. papers and 2 opinion/response papers asking students to integrate lecture material, public knowledge and policy, and their personal views on selected controversial issues.
