Biology 303:
Fall 2010
Microbiology In The News II
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
As we participate in this microbiology
course new discoveries in microbiology will continue to occur. We will attempt to keep informed about some
of the most newsworthy of these events.
You will be assigned one class day on
which to report recent findings in microbiology to the class. On that day you will offer the class an
approximately 3 or 4 minute presentation about some report concerning a recent discovery in microbiology that
you read about in the popular press
(NOT in scientific or medical journals) and that was published within one week
of your presentation. (The report should
present information about a new finding, i.e. it should not simply be a summary
of old data.) You may use information found
on the internet, but the electronic selection must have also been published in
a popular, printed periodical and
the article must be dated within the past week – preferably within the past two
days. The topic you report must contain
NEW information, i.e. it cannot have been reported by anyone else in the class
(however, for example, it is acceptable to report on the same organism or
epidemic as another student has reported, as long as your report offers new
information). Your oral report should
include:
a)
background necessary for the class to understand the content and
significance of the news item. This is
an essential part of the presentation.
The presenter should be able to explain ALL the science referred to in
the article.
b)
a cogent explanation of the news item.
The
student (not the author of the article!) is responsible for the accuracy of the
information presented. (Be careful! Some periodicals are not known for their
accuracy in scientific reporting.)
Oral reports should NOT be read verbatim. The use of audio-visual aids (e.g.
PowerPoint, overhead transparencies, slides, etc.) is strongly encouraged. If visuals will clarify your presentation,
they should be included. PowerPoint
might be an especially effective visual aid for some students. Feel free to seek assistance from BTMcP in preparing and presenting audio-visual aids. (This should be done in a timely fashion.)
After making your presentation, there will be time
for questions from the teacher and the class.
Your preparation should be thorough enough to allow you to adequately
deal with these questions.
In addition to the oral report you
will also submit a short (3-5 sentence) written summary of your news item. The summary will include:
1. a clear, thorough bibliographic reference for the article (and additional references for background
if necessary)
2. background information necessary for the reader to appreciate the
information
3. definitions of terms not familiar to the class (if necessary)
4. a summary of the news item with a clear indication of its relevance
5. (OPTIONAL) a list of
references (possibly including URLs)
(See
example on the next page.) Please follow
the format illustrated exactly.
The summary must be submitted
electronically via email. Submit it
to
as
a WORD for Windows attachment to an email.
The summary must be received no later than 24 hours after the presentation
is given to the class. If you have used
a PowerPoint presentation, email the presentation as an attachment along with
your summary. All attachments (Word
documents, PowerPoint presentations) should be submitted in an unzipped
format. Summaries (and PowerPoint
presentations) will be posted on the course web site so that all the students
in the class can easily refer to the information.
Microbiology in
the News: SCHEDULE
Students
are asked to give their oral presentations on microbiology in the news on the
following dates:
|
Thurs., Sept. 9 |
Rashan Lucas |
|
Tues., Sept. 14 |
Erin Nugent |
|
Thurs., Sept. 16 |
Clay Forshey |
|
Tues., Sept. 21 |
Mike Yayac |
|
Thurs., Sept. 23 |
Sara Ciaverelli |
|
Tues., Oct5 |
Serge Kovalenko |
|
Thurs., Oct.7 |
Kyle Finlay |
|
Tues., Oct. 12 |
Meghan Kelley |
|
Thurs., Oct. 14 |
Randy Kurzinsky |
|
Thurs., Oct. 21 |
Chris Low |
|
Tues., Oct. 26 |
Janel Paukovits |
|
Thurs., Oct. 28 |
Nick Dundon |
|
Tues., Nov. 9 |
Steve Contigiani |
|
Thurs., Nov. 11 |
Alex Carranza |
|
Tues., Nov.. 16 |
Brittany Studwood |
|
Thurs., Nov. 18 |
Alex Jones |
|
Tues., Nov. 30 |
bye |
|
Tues., Dec. 7 |
bye |
You may trade dates with
another student. However you are
responsible for determining that a presentation is given by someone in the
class on the date you are assigned. If
you trade dates, please inform the instructor.
It is also possible to change your presentation date to one of the “bye”
dates.
YOUR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION
OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, BACKGROUND, AND SUMMARY SHOULD FOLLOW THE FORMAT
BELOW EXACTLY.
Smythe, Alexander. “Microscopic Life
Forms Found in College Dorm Shower Drain Responsible for Poor Performance in
Chemistry Tests.” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 20, 2010, p. 82.
Background: Bacteria are small, single-celled prokaryotic
structures responsible for many infectious diseases (Microbiology: An Introduction by G.J. Tortora,
B.R. Funke, and C.L. Case, 10th edition, Menlo Park, CA:
Benjamin/Cummings Publ. Co., 2010, chapter 1)
Definitions:
Procaryotic – pertaining to cells that
do not contain a membrane-bound nucleus
Summary: Scientists have found bacteria in a
Reference: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Bacterial Waterborne Diseases (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/waterbornediseases_t.htm)
Presented by: Donald Jarman on December
25, 2010
Please,
note: The example given above is cited
for the sake of illustrating format,
not for illustrating good content.
Oral presentation (50%):
|
Criterion |
Value |
Score |
|
Accuracy of information |
5 |
|
|
Report is about a NEW finding |
5 |
|
|
Topic appropriate to class
(microbiology) |
5 |
|
|
Terms used correctly; correct
grammar; correct pronunciation |
5 |
|
|
Appropriate background presented |
5 |
|
|
Articulately presented; not
read verbatim |
10 |
|
|
Appropriate use of AV media; visual aids used appropriately to clarify
concepts; visuals are clearly readable |
5 |
|
|
Well-organized |
5 |
|
|
Presented on day assigned (or
appropriately re-negotiated) |
5 |
|
|
Total |
50 |
|
Electronic submission (50%):
|
Criterion |
Value |
Score |
|
Accuracy of information |
5 |
|
|
Appropriate background clearly
presented |
5 |
|
|
Clear, logical summary |
5 |
|
|
Appropriate terms defined accurately
and precisely |
5 |
|
|
Terms used correctly; correct grammar & usage;
spelling, capitalization, and
punctuation correct |
10 |
|
|
Bibliographic information for source complete and
accurate; references clear, accurate, and precise |
5 |
|
|
Correct format |
10 |
|
|
Submitted within 24 hours of oral presentation with
attachments in correct format (as appropriate) |
5 |
|
|
Total |
50 |
|
The following are common mistakes that students make that are easy to avoid. Check you visuals and your written summary to make sure these mistakes do not appear:
ERROR: Incorrect use of singular vs. plural forms
|
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
|
bacterium |
bacteria |
|
coccus |
cocci |
|
genus |
genera |
ERROR: A living organism is equated with a disease
HIV is a virus, not a
disease; AIDS is a disease, not a virus.
Vibrio cholerae is the bacterium that
causes the disease called cholera.
(i.e. Cholera is a disease, not a
bacterium.)
ERROR: The genus and species is not underlined or
italicized or they are incorrectly capitilazed.
(Correct form: genus should be
capitalized; species is not capitalized)
Correct: Escherichia
coli OR Escherichia coli
Incorrect: Escherichia Coli OR
Escherichia coli
ERROR: The name of a disease is inappropriately
capitalized.
Correct
|
Incorrect |
|
salmonellosis |
Salmonellosis |
|
acquired immunodeficiency disease AIDS |
Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease |
|
varicella-zoster |
Varicella-Zoster |
ERROR: The citation for a website is too vague
(non-specific).
http://www.cdc.gov/ This site is so large that it does not help
the reader find the information.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/waterbornediseases_t.htm
This reference leads the reader to a more specific and helpful part of the CDC
site.
ERROR: The website cited is no longer available. Some news services post articles only for a few hours or days.