Semester 2: Developing Programme-specific Skills
Compulsory for All Degree Programmes
A) Practical write-up
You will be required to complete a formal report on one of the experiments that you will undertake in your second semester practical or field course unit. Specific information regarding the report and resources to help with its writing will be available on the Blackboard sites of these practical units, but you will receive generic guidance on writing such a report from your Academic Advisor during one or two tutorial sessions. You are also provided with generic guidelines on how to write a scientific report in Appendix 5 of this Handbook.
B) Further essay writing
In Semester 1 you were introduced to the basic process undertaken to prepare an essay. Here you will extend and develop the skills you learnt in Semester 1 by researching and writing an essay of relevance to your degree programme. Your Advisor will provide details of the subject, length and assessment process. You will be expected to apply the principles taught in semester 1 relating to references to ensure that you do not have any plagiarism in your essay. You will not be given the chance to see the plagiarism reports and make edits to this essay. What you submit must be the final version, which will then be electronically checked for plagiarism. The deadline for this essay is 4pm Thursday week 8 (23rd March 2017). Late submissions of the final essay will be penalised with a 10% mark deduction per day late.
C) Science Ethics and Society (“What is Science For?)
In Semester 2 students will attend a series of talks on current issues in science ethics.
The talks are:
Sarah Devaney: ‘Regulating the Innovators – Reputation, Reputation, Reputation?’
7th February, Tuesday 1300 -1400, Chemistry G.51
Sacha Waxman: ‘Ethics of Genetic Testing’
23rd February, Thursday 1300 -1400 Stopford LT 1
David Lawrence: ‘Human Enhancement’
5th May, Friday 1100 -1200, Samuel Alexander Theatre
Your Advisor will select one of these talks for you to prepare a one-page response, which should include a summary of the issues and arguments discussed, plus your own opinion and analysis of the ethical issues covered. Guidance for preparing this, including worked examples, will be available on the BIOL12020 Blackboard site; check with your Advisor for deadlines. Your Advisor may also use this response as part of a tutorial discussion or peer marking activity.
D) ‘Frontiers in Science’ talks
The ‘Frontiers in Science’ talks are a series of lectures given by leading researchers from the Faculty, which you are expected to attend. There are two talks this semester.
The talks are:
6th February – Dr Chris Knight – Title: Mutants – Experimenting with Evolution
Stopford LT3 13:00 – 14:00
6th March – Dr Sheena Cruickshank – Title: Are we too clean?
Stopford LT3 13:00 – 14:00
E) Employability Exercise
Writing a CV that showcases your strengths is a key step in preparing for employment applications. You will need a CV to apply for summer internships or industrial placements. In tutorials you will complete an exercise to evaluate different CV presentation styles to learn how to most effectively prepare your own CV.
F) Programme-specific activities
Your Programme Director will nominate two of the following types of programme-specific activities for you to complete with your Advisor. You will receive a mark for each activity, which will count towards your overall grade for the tutorial unit.
i) Data analysis/Problem Solving
These activities are designed to complement skills acquired in the Practical Module BIOL10402 and will focus on quantitative and analytical problem-solving tasks specific to your degree programme. Your Advisor will inform you of the details of the assessment.
ii) Group-based learning (GBL) sessions
GBL provides a means of developing team-working skills while exploring a topical issue in your degree subject. Your group will choose or be allocated a subject for investigation, in consultation with your Advisor. As a group you then research the subject, deciding amongst yourselves who should do what and the approach that should be taken. On completion of your research, all members of the group should contribute to the final outcome, which could be an oral presentation, written article or poster. The performance of the group will be assessed by the Advisor and this will contribute to your overall tutorial mark. Note that, if you are asked to give a short talk, there are some notes on giving an oral presentation in Appendix 4.
iii) Community/Environmental Project
This is a group-based tutorial activity. It involves identifying and putting together a plan for a group activity which benefits the local community e.g. raising money for a charity, organising an event for a community organisation, volunteering as a group for a project organised externally. The activity must be delivered, a reflective report produced and a group presentation made. Your Advisor will inform you of the details of assessment.