BIOS 394 - UG Research & Inquiry & Analysis in EEB Spring Semester

SYLLABUS BIOS 394 - UG Research & Inquiry & Analysis in EEB – Spring Semester

INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Reilly, Ph.D., 129 LSB, 593-0424, [email protected] CLASS TIME: 12-2 159 Irvine OFFICE HOURS: By appointment. PREREQUISITES: permission by admission to the UGRIP program

SCOPE This undergraduate research course uses a weekly research seminar series as the basis for research lectures and directed discussions of current research topics, research methods, and experimental design in ecology and evolutionary sciences. It is part of the Undergraduate Research Immersion Program (UGRIP) offered by the Ohio Center for Ecology & Evolutionary Studies (OCEES). The purpose of this course is to provide undergraduate students with exposure to state-of-the-art research in a variety of topics in ecology and evolutionary biology. COURSE CONTENT Students will attend the BIOS seminar series (ECOLUNCH) weekly, which hosts research presentations by faculty, visiting faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and senior honors undergraduates from across the campus. BIOS 394 students will attend these seminars with pre-assigned readings for each talk, followed by an hour of discussion with the speaker after the seminar. OCEES will bring leading researchers to OU each year as keynote speakers for BIOS 394 students. COURSE GOALS The goal of this course is to provide research experiences to develop critical thinking skills and scientific foundations underlying the research in ecology and evolutionary biology. Lectures (seminars) will provide formal research presentations followed by discussions of details of the research assumptions, methods, experimental design, statistics, hypothesis testing, and the implications of the conclusions. In addition, the course will serve our students by identifying their extra involvement in research during their degree work. And it is our hope that earlier engagement in research will direct more students into further research experiences/ courses and into department honors programs. The course is offered spring quarter and may be taken once a year for up to 5 times for credit (10 units total, to accommodate 5th year seniors). The goal is to immerse the students in research engagement early and throughout their undergraduate tenure. ASSIGNMENTS - GRADING POLICY Reading assignments on the topic covered by the seminar will be required. Required readings will include reviews and articles from the primary literature and the web. Attendance is mandatory. In the event of illness or other legitimate absence and excuse and make-up assignments can be worked out. CR will be determined by attendance and participation in follow up discussions. Attendance will be taken each week of class and during the final wrap-up discussion. Excused absenses will be accepted and students with more than two unexcused absences will be given receive a grade of F. Participation in follow up discussions will be judged on the basis of one written question the student asks each week that the students will submit (with the answer) each week as evidence of participation. The course will finish in the 11th (finals) week (Monday, June 6, at 8:00 a.m.) with a meeting of the students and instructor to review that quarter's seminars and discuss research plans. In each of weeks 1-10, students concentrate on a particular topic. The final meeting provides an opportunity for synthesis and comparison of approaches used in different fields of study. ACADEMIC CONDUCT The OU Student Code of Conduct prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty including "cheating and plagiarism". Academic misconduct (cheating or permitting another student to cheat) during exams or quizzes will result in an F in the course and/or referral of the case to the Director of University Judiciaries with the possible penalty of dismissal from the University.

Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies UGRIP The UnderGraduate Research Immersion Program The special learning community of OCEES faculty, post-docs, visiting professors, and graduate students provides the opportunity to engage EEB undergraduates in scientific inquiry-based learning and research. The UGRIP plan is open to all EEB majors on a competitive basis. It consists of two components (see below) designed to engage students during freshman through senior years with research engagement and a formal research course experience in the junior/ senior years. Our philosophy is to invoke research experience early and in parallel with their core major requirements, then add formal research experience as upper classmen. UGRIP graduates will receive a letter of accomplishment that will explain their research experience and serve as a letter of recommendation for future employment/ academic opportunities. UGRIP Course Components Component 1: OCEES SEMINAR SERIES BIOS (394) EEB Research Inquiry & Analysis - Wednesdays at Noon, Room TBA 2 Cr. Hr. course each spring quarter UGRIP students will attend research seminars weekly (which are also attended by the OCEES student body and faculty) and follow up each presentation with a tutorial discussing the research with the presenter. This new undergraduate seminar program will bring in visiting speakers to add more formal and more diverse research exposure to the UGRIP students and our OCEES community. This goal is to immerses the UGRIP students into research thinking and methods early and throughout their undergraduate tenure. Because of the variety of speakers in the program (peers, graduate students, post- docs, faculty and visiting researchers) the participants are exposed to a wide variety of research areas, methods, and types of oral presentations. UGRIP students take BIOS 394 each spring quarter in each of their 4 years for a total of 8 credits.

Component 2: Formal Research Immersion Courses (4 cr. hrs.) This component of the UGRIP program involves active engagement in research offered in existing undergraduate research related or directed research courses (listed below). UGRIP students must complete 4 cr. hrs. or more of directed undergraduate research during their sophomore though senior years. Component 2 course list: ______BIOS 481 Methods in computational neuroscience GEOL 476 Subsurface methods BIOS 492 Topics in Zoology GEOL 481 Groundwater flow modeling BIOS 422 Microbiological techniques GEOL 490 Seminar in Geology BIOS 491 Biological internship GEOL 491 Geologic studies BIOS 493 Directed undergraduate research GEOL 492 Geology Internship BIOS 494 Undergraduate research GEOL 495 Senior thesis BIOS 495 Senior Honors thesis PBIO 415 Quantitative methods in plant biology GEOG 418 Research methods in plant PBIO 499 Senior thesis biogeography PBIO 404, 406, 407 Undergraduate research GEOG 466 Principles of Remote sensing PBIO 411 Global Plant Biology GEOG 478 Principles of GIS PBIO 480 Mol.appr. in syst., ecology & evolution GEOG 481 Senior seminar PBIO 490 Plant biology internship GEOG 485 Geography internship ______GEOG 490 Geography studies GEOG 494 Geography field problems

GEOL 475 Field Camp I OHIO CENTER FOR ECOLOGY & EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES - UGRIP OHIO UnderGraduate Research Immersion Program Student record- Spring 2010

Name: Email address: Quarter started (Qtr - year): Class status when started UGRIP (FR/ SO/ JR): Current class status (FR/ SO/ JR): Major: GPA as of last DARS: Short statement of initial research interests:

Research experience prior to UGRIP:

Faculty worked with: Name Title email address phone brief research description

UGRIP COURSE REQUIREMENTS: BIOS 394 courses (each spring): in progress….

Formal Research Course(s) (need 4 credits) specify quarter, course number, name, faculty member, details of research experience

Final research interests:

Graduation Quarter: