Last revised: Thursday, May 15, 2003
Website: http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~terry/229su03/index.html
- A. General Information
- B. Course Logistics
- C. Materials needed. Available at the UConn Co-op
- D. Reading Assignments
- E. Laboratory
- F. Exams and Grades
- G. Class Groups
- H. Academic Integrity
- I. Students with Language Difficulty or other special needs
- J. Make-Up Policy
- K. How to succeed in this course
A. General Information
Welcome to "Fundamentals of Microbiology", MCB 229. This course is a comprehensive, one-semester introduction to the world of bacteria and viruses, with a little material on fungi. Our text is very readable, very current, and very much focused on practical applications, especially the medical side of microbiology.Microbiology is a laboratory science, and the laboratory is an integral and important part of this course. We will be training you in the basic skills needed to work with bacteria: proper use of the microscope, how to prepare stained slides, aseptic technique for transfer and inoculation of bacteria, use of various media to select, isolate, and characterize bacteria. We will challenge you with a number of learning tasks: isolating and identifying unknowns, measuring the effectiveness of techniques such as hand washing and disinfectants to control microbial growth, surveying the distribution of microbes on your body, measuring antibiotic effectiveness, finding out the number and variety of microbes in water, meat, and soil samples. We will provide opportunities for you test your own water and foods, and even to isolate your own microbe that produces antibiotics!
What preparation do you need to take this course? I recommend that you have had at least one prior course in biology, preferably Biology 107 or a comparable course that introduces the structure and function of cells and the genetic code. If you don't have this, don't worry -- you may find certain things a bit more challenging, but you can pick it all up. In addition, you should have some background in chemistry, preferably a semester of organic chemistry which can be taken concurrently. The machinery of microbes is chemical, and the only way to understand how many microbial processes work is to examine some of the details of this machinery. I will often use diagrams that show organic molecules, and expect you to understand what I am talking about without my having to go back and explain what these diagrams mean.
B. Course Logistics
Lectures: meet Monday-Thursday from 8:30 - 10:15 a.m. in TLS 154. Note: to account for a slight disparity in time between the regular semester and summer calendar, there will be short breaks around the middle of all lecture classes.Labs are scheduled from 10:30 to 1 p.m. on Mon., Wed, and Thurs. in TLS 207. On rare occasions, you may need to visit the lab briefly on Tuesday after lecture to record data or transfer cultures. Note: to account for a slight disparity in time between the regular semester and summer calendar, lab exercises have been spread out so that some labs will end earlier.
Course instructor: Thomas Terry
Office hours: Immediately after class, Mon-Thurs. My office is 402B Biology/Physics Building.
Phone: 486-4255. If you leave a message, pronounce your name and phone number slowly and clearly! About 10% of student calls are unintelligible and I
cannot respond because I don't get your name or you fail to leave a number.
e-mail: thomas.terry@uconn.edu
C. Materials needed. Available at the UConn Co-op
1. Required Text: Microbial Life by Perry, Staley, and Lory. Available at UConn Coop. This is a new text, with more current information than many texts. You should consider keeping it as a reference.2. Required Text: Fundamentals of Microbiology Laboratory Manual, May 2001 version. This manual was written specifically for our course and is much less expensive than commercial lab manuals.
3. Optional Text: A Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Laboratory 2nd Ed. by Michael Leboffe and Burton Pierce. Available at UConn Co-op. This manual contains color plates and is a useful guide to many of the laboratory tests we will use. Website: http://www.morton-pub.com/html/phoatmicrolab.html
4. Required for Laboratory: wax marking pencil (dark color) or felt-tipped indelible marking pen (not water soluble). Available in supply dept.
5. Required for Laboratory: disposable (non regular) lab coat. Available in supply dept.
State and federal regulations make lab coats a requirement when working with certain bacteria. Bring your coat to the first lab, with your name marked on the coat. Store coats in drawers under your lab bench. Lab coats are assumed to be contaminated and are not to leave the lab after initial use. At the end of the semester, all lab coats will be autoclaved and disposed of.
6. Strongly Recommended: Access to the World Wide Web and an e-mail account. I will be posting many class materials on the Web, and expect every student to check the Web site for announcements at least once a week. I can be reached more easily by e-mail than by any other method, and will reply to any concern or question you raise if you have an e-mail account. Go to the computer center help desk to find out how to obtain and use e-mail (available free to all students).
7. Password access to protected images. Certain images must be kept behind a password barrier in order to comply with licensing and copyright provisions. Record the userID and password in the space below so you can find it when you need it.
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D. Reading Assignments
Reading assignments in the text are listed on a separate index page. Readings and lectures will complement each other -- I cannot cover every detail in lecture, and will expect you to obtain certain information from reading the text rather than from lecture. You should plan on reading approximately 20-40 pages in the text per class. Don't fall behind! Try to read the assignment before each class, but at the very latest read it on the same day as the class. Reading a text is not like reading a novel. Keep a pad of paper next to your text while reading and use it to sketch diagrams, make outlines or concept maps, jot down unfamiliar terms, and make other notes to yourself. Stop frequently to ask yourself "What did I just read"? Work with practice questions to see what you don't understand.E. Laboratory
The separate lab schedule lists exercises to be done. You should come to lab having read the lab exercise beforehand! The lab will generally take 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There is no opportunity to make up labs missed -- different cultures and materials are prepared for each lab, and these are not available otherwise. You should make every effort to attend all labs. If for some reason you miss a lab, you are responsible for the material you missed, and should make every effort to get your lab partner to show you what was done.The lab will count for about 30% of your course grade. Lab grades will be based on satisfactory completion of exercises, on keeping clear and accurate records, on demonstrated mastery of critical lab skills such as the use of a microscope, pure colony isolations, identification of microorganisms, and ability to correctly interpret diagnostic test results, on quizzes, and on quality of work and reports.
F. Exams and Grades
There will be three hour exams, dividing the course into three equal segments. Each exam covers material since the last exam only. The final exam is not cumulative. Grades will be determined as follows:| Exam #1 | Thursday, May 29 | 100 points |
| Exam #2 | Thursday, June 12 | 100 points |
| Final Exam | Thursday, June 26 | 100 points |
| Class activities | (details to be announced) | 50 points |
| Laboratory | (details to be announced) | 150 points |
| Total | 500 points |
Note: on exam days, you are welcome to arrive early if you want to have extra time and not feel stressed. I will be here at 8:15 a.m. on exam days, so you can have up to 15 minutes extra. If you experience exam anxiety, I strongly recommend taking advantage of this!
G. Class Groups
In the "real world", much work is done in groups. I encourage you to form groups and to work together wherever possible.- In the laboratory, you will do most of your work in groups of 2. Note, however, that you must each write your lab reports independently, not jointly. Copying another student's lab report is considered plagiarism and will not be allowed (see next section on academic integrity).
- During lecture, we will frequently do activities in which you pair with another student, and sometimes with groups of 4.
- During exams, there will be both an individual and a group component. For the first part (~ 35 minutes) of the exam, students will
work individually, and turn in individual answer sheets. After that
time, students will assemble by groups and go over the exam together, turning
in one group answer sheet. No student will lose points if the group
score is lower than his/her individual score. If the group score is higher than
the best individual score from the group, then each student in the group will
earn bonus points (maximum limit 5 points out of 100 added to exam score).
This format does not apply to any cumulative portion of the final exam.
- Groups are also encouraged to spend time studying together. You should exchange phone numbers with members of your class group early on, and schedule occasional meetings outside of class to review course material and quiz each other. After the first exam, you will have a chance to join a different group if you are unhappy with your existing group.
H. Academic Integrity
A fundamental tenet of all educational institutions is academic honesty; academic work depends upon respect for and acknowledgement of the research and ideas of others. Misrepresenting someone else's work as ones own is a serious offense in any academic setting and it will not be condoned.Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation (e.g. papers, projects, and examinations); any attempt to influence improperly (e.g. bribery, threats) any member of the faculty, staff, or administration of the University in any matter pertaining to academics or research; presenting, as one's own, the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation; doing unauthorized academic work for which another person will receive credit or be evaluated; and presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the instructors involved.
A student who knowingly assists another student in committing an act of academic misconduct shall be equally accountable for the violation, and shall be subject to the sanctions and other remedies described in The Student Code.
I. Students with Language Difficulty or other special needs
If you have special needs because of learning disabilities or other kinds of challenges, please feel free to come and discuss this with me. Also, if English is not your native language and you need extra time for exams, please see me before the first exam.J. Make-Up Policy
Make-up exams are not given during the summer course. Normally, any missed exam will count as a zero towards your score. In rare cases where an exam is missed for reasons that are well-documented and excused, the average of your scores on the other two exams will be used instead of the average of three exams.K. How to succeed in this course
In order to succeed in this course, you should plan to attend all lectures and labs, take careful notes, and allow ample time to read and study the assigned material. You will get more out of lectures if you can read the assigned chapter before the lecture, then read relevant material carefully as soon after the lecture as convenient. You should plan on spending at least two hours of study time for each hour of lecture. If you begin to fall behind, make every effort to catch up quickly; otherwise you may find yourself swamped with too much material to assimilate before an exam.Some of you may find that attending lectures and reading the text is all the support you need. Others will have problems with some of the material. I offer several forms of support to help you with difficulties you may experience. Different students have different optimum learning stratagems; experiment with the options listed, and find what best helps you.
- Handouts will be given from time to time in lecture; these may
include suggestions for specific material and/or study problems. Spend some
time with these materials as soon as you can review them -- don't just put them
aside and wait till the night before an exam to look at them.
- I will be posting certain materials for your use on the World Wide Web. If you do not have access from home or dorm, there are computer workstations available to you in
the basement of the Math-Science building), the library, other computer labs on campus, certain dorm rooms, and
via modem or high-bandwidth access from remote locations. Materials will include:
- lecture outlines, including access to most graphic
materials shown in class
- an announcement page which lists any information relevant to the
course.
- study guides which list terms and ideas you are responsible for,
and
questions to help focus your study.
- interactive practice quizzes to help you prepare for exams
- links to interesting microbiology sites on the Web. These will be interspersed in lecture outlines.
- lecture outlines, including access to most graphic
materials shown in class
- I am available for individual consultation regarding any aspect of the course. If you have unanswered questions or concerns, or are in serious academic trouble, see me! Immediately after lecture is a good time to make contact, or use e-mail or phone to contact me.