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Fall 2015

T/TH 10:00am-11:30pm Lab: T 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Fisher 338 COURSE DESCRIPTION AND

GOALS ............................. 1

COURSE LEARNING

OBJECTIVES, ASSESSMENT AND

GRADING.......................... 2

INTRODUCTION TO NEUROSCIENCE AND LABORATORY

PROFESSOR: SARAH N CASSELLA, PHD

OFFICE HOURS: THUR 1-4PM; FRI 9-10:30AM; BY APPOINTMENT.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

TEXTBOOOK: THE MIND’S MACHINE: FOUNDATIONS OF BRAIN

AND BEHAVIOR, WATSON AND BREEDLOVE 2012

CHAPTER READINGS LISTED IN THE SCHEDULE COME FROM

THIS TEXT

NO PREREQUISITES

COURSE SCHEDULE WITH

PRE-CLASS PREPARATION AND

LAB SCHEDULE ................. 4

Neuro

Understanding and

Appreciating Neuroscience in

the World around You

101-02

This fulfills the Scientific Explorations requirement for the Central

Curriculum. The goal of this course is to explore the interdisciplinary

field of neuroscience from a variety of perspectives while actively

engaging in scientific discourse and inquiry. Many disciplines have

contributed to the research questions and methods and techniques

used to address these questions. As a central curriculum course,

one of our emphases will be to obtain a sound understanding of the

scientific study of the brain in order to better inform our

understanding about the impact that developments in this field have

on our society.

MARKET WATCH

COURSE POLICIES......... 6

Course Description:

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Reaching our goals: Course Objectives

1. Class Participation (Journaling, Worksheets, Discussion, Attendance) make up 10% of your semester grade. To ensure you acquire all possible points, take part in class discussions, engage in the in-class activities and complete the homework assignments. Altogether, these activities will help you develop writing and communication skills which you will use for the rest of your life. Journal entries will be your reflections, additional inquiries and thoughts on material covered in lecture. These entries should be at least one well developed paragraph. This is an opportunity to work on organizing your thoughts and communicating them. Journal entries should be made following each class meeting, with the exception of exam days. Worksheets will be provided as in-class work on some lecture days to aid in understanding the material and will be graded on completion. Attendance is required for both lecture and lab. Missing more than one lab will result in a FAIL for the course.

Over the course of the semester, we will explore a number of biological topics. We will complete a number of activities that will help you remember, understand and use the information we cover. The learning objectives for this course, and those required by SU, are listed below. You will have successfully met the course goal if you are able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental components (e.g. nomenclature, classification, methods, principles, and relevant technologies) of biology.

Comprehend and interpret quantitative information.

Apply knowledge of biology, critical thinking skills and creativity to make observations and solve problems.

Describe the philosophical underpinnings of science as used in the world around you.

Use technology to gain knowledge and to find appropriate sources of information.

Apply one or more methods used by science in a research setting to gather and evaluate information for analyzing and solving problems.

Consider interactions between science, the applications of science, ethics, and societies.

SMARTER LEARNING:

Active vs. Passive

We will utilize active learning

techniques in our studies of

biology. This means that

lecture (passive) will only take

up a small portion of class

time while discussion, writing

and lab activities (active) will

take up a majority. For these

methods to help you the

most, be sure to prepare for

class according to the

schedule and be ready to get

involved!

Assessment and Grading: Demonstrating Your Knowledge

Your grasp of the material and completion of learning objectives will be assessed several ways. More information regarding these assessments is below:

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2. Lab Participation and Reports make up 30% of your semester grade. Lab time is the perfect opportunity to put lecture concepts to work. Lab activities will be planned for you to work through and report on. You will report lab findings in a lab report. A framework to follow for your lab reports will be provided to guide your writing. Expect to spend up to 3 hours writing up your weekly lab report. A rubric will be provided for lab reports, outlining the grading criteria.

3. Semester (GROUP) Projects make up 20% of your overall grade. These projects

will have many parts and will culminate in a class presentations, allowing you to demonstrate your communication skills and knowledge. In the first quarter of the semester you will select a topic to explore that you will ultimately teach your peers about. Detailed instructions for this project and the grading rubric for it will be provided on Blackboard. Students will be encouraged to create original, engaging content that helps teach a difficult biological concept.

4. Three exams and five quizzes make up 40% of your overall grade. These will give

you the opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the course learning

objectives. The course schedule shows specific dates as well as material covered

on each exam. The format for each exam assessment may be a combination of

any of the following formats: true/false definition, matching, short answer, or

identification over your knowledge of the science we covered, as well as short

essays linking and synthesizing concepts and ideas covered.

NO MAKE UP EXAMS will be allowed except in extreme circumstances (i.e. death

of a family member, serious illness, etc), and I have been notified of such a conflict

in an appropriate fashion PRIOR to the exam date. The final exam will be

composed of two parts: Part I covering specifically the third unit while Part II is

cumulative (and much shorter). No student is exempt from taking this exam.

STUDY TIPS:

What you can do for success

Review class notes and

reading notes after each

class and connect

concepts and information

Participate in and

contribute to class activities

and discussion

Group study with

classmates - ask each

other questions, make

each explain concepts

Practice recalling facts and

using concepts with

questions in the text and

on Bb

5. Extra Credit Options:

a. Instagram can be utilized to demonstrate your appreciation for biology in the world around you! Using #susquneuro, take photos and describe how they apply to the biological concepts you have learned. For each Instagram you take that meets this criterion, you will earn ½ extra credit point toward your final exam grade. To see some examples of acceptable posts, search #susquneuro on Instagram. Extra credit points will cap off at 3 points using instagram.

b. Fun Science Presentations will give students the opportunity to share some cool neuroscience while exercising their communication skills. Preparation of a 5 minute presentation discussing a recent scientific article and describing the science behind it in an organized and well-presented format will earn you 10 extra credit points on your final exam. Each student is limited to one presentation over the semester. Articles can be found on science websites, magazines, newspapers and journals. Presentations will be delivered on Thursdays and you must notify me at the beginning of the week that you would like to be scheduled. Only one presentation per week, so PLAN AHEAD.

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Attendance/Participation/HW________10% Semester Project__________________20% Lab _____________________________30% Quizzes/Exams____________________40%

Total___________________________100%

Grade Scale A = 90 – 100% B = 80 – 89% C = 70 – 79% D = 60 – 69% F = < 60%

Grade Breakdown:

Course Outline and Schedule:

Our exploration of neuroscience will begin with the anatomy of the brain and its cells, moving then to the functional systems and closing with the study of brain disorders. Everything we do involves our brain – movement, memory and the choices that influence us and others. It is really quite amazing what electrical impulses can accomplish! The following pages contain the tentative course schedule. Any changes to this will be posted on Blackboard and an email will be sent to your SU email account. Additionally, every day when you arrive to class learning objectives will be posted that you will be assessed on at exam time. These objectives will also be listed on Blackboard following the class meeting in which they were covered.

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Neuro 101 Lecture & Lab Schedule with Pre-Class

Preparation

Week Unit Lecture Topic Pre-Class Prep Lab

1

UN

IT 1

Sept-1 Intro to the course and study of

Neuroscience

Read the syllabus Chapter 1

Lab #1: Using WikiSpaces

Sept-3

2 Sept-8 Neuroanatomy

Chapter 2 Lab #2: Neuroanatomy

Sept-10

3 Sept-15 Neurophysiology

Chapter 3 Lab #3: Neurophysiology Quiz Sept-17

4 Sept-22 Neurotransmitters/ Neuropharmacology

Chapter 4 Lab #4: Neurotransmitters Quiz Sept-24

5

UN

IT 2

Sept-29 UNIT 1 EXAM **Lab #5: Senses Lecture and Lab** Oct-1 Exam Remediation

6 Oct-6 Sensorimotor Chapter 5 Lab #6: Sensorimotor

Oct-8

7

Oct-13 Visual System Chapter 7 Lab #7: Vision Quiz Oct-15

8

Oct-20 No Class – Happy Fall Break

Oct-22 Hypothalamus

Chapter 8 NO LAB

9 Oct-27 Chapter 9 Lab #8: Hormones Quiz Oct-29 Chapter 10

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Nov-3 Learning and Memory

Chapter 13 Lab #8: Learning and Memory Quiz Nov-5

11 Nov-10 Review Day Peer Evaluations of WikiSpaces

Nov-12 UNIT 2 EXAM

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UN

IT 3

Nov-17 Neuropathology Chapter 12 TBA (Bb)

Exam Remediation Lab #9 Neuropathology Nov-19

13 Nov-24 NO LAB

Nov-26 NO CLASS – HAPPY THANKSGIVING

14 Dec-1 Presentation Workshop Work on Group Presentations

Dec-3 Peer-Evaluated Practice Presentations

15 Dec-8 Student Presentations Student Presentations Dec-10 TBA

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Communication: All students are required to use BLACKBOARD for this course.

https://blackboard.susqu.edu/. This is the online portal for the site; announcements for the class will be posted here and forwarded to your email. You are expected to check email and the Blackboard course page daily to keep up with developments in the class. If you ever have any questions on course material, policies, issues, etc., contact me via my listed email. I check my account daily and you will hear from me within 24 hours. If I need to reach you individually, I will email your school account.

Academic Honesty: As integrity, honesty, and truthfulness are expected standards of ethical conduct,

cheating, plagiarism, and collusion will not be tolerated. The university policy on academic integrity is outlined in the SU Student Handbook. Any violation of these regulations will be penalized accordingly and could result in a failing grade for the course.

Accommodations: Any student with a documented disability that requires accommodation must

contact me immediately to discuss arrangements for exams and assignments. Attendance Policy: Attendance for this course is mandatory and will be necessary for you to learn the

material and to participate in discussions, activities, and lab work. If for some serious reason you must miss class, such as significant illness or family emergency, or you have a conflict with class time due to participation in a varsity athletics event, email me as soon as possible so accommodations can be made.

Late Assignment Policy: All assignments must be handed in on time. Late assignments will be deducted

50%, automatically. Electronic Media Usage: Computers are allowed and encouraged in class (and sometimes required!),

unless usage is a distraction to either me or other students. Inappropriate use of computers, cell phones and tablets during class will result in your excusal from class and an absence for the day.

Withdrawal/Drop Information: If you think you need to drop/withdraw from this course PLEASE

confer with me as soon as you can to discuss the wisdom and rational of your decision. Each semester or class term is segmented into three withdrawal periods. Please see the handy chart below.

September 11: Last day to declare S/U option in a 14-week course. September 18: Regular withdrawal deadline for a 14-week course. Last day to cancel S/U option for a 14-week course. October 9: Regular withdrawal deadline for a 14-week course (new first-year students only). November 6: Late withdrawal deadline for 14-week courses.

Additional information can be found at the following website: http://www.susqu.edu/academics/course-catalog/academic-calendar

Course Policies:

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