This syllabus describes the scheduling of and procedural details for Bio 301D. This information is subject to change, as described below.
PAI 3.02 MWF 10-11 (#49760)
PAI 3.02 MWF 11-12 (#49765)
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Date |
Event |
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August 26 (Wednesday) |
First Lecture (first day of class) |
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September 7 (Monday) |
Labor Day (no class) |
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September 18 (Friday night) |
Rosh Hashanah starts |
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September 21 (Monday) |
First Homework Due (in class) |
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September 23 (Wednesday) |
First Exam (during class) |
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October 12 (Monday) |
Second Homework Due (in class) |
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October 14 (Wednesday) |
Second Exam (during class) |
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October 17 (Saturday) |
Texas OU Weekend |
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October 21 (Wednesday) |
Last day to drop class (with Q or F) |
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November 9 (Monday) |
Third Homework Due (in class) |
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November 11 (Wednesday) |
Third Exam (during class) |
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November 26-29 |
Thanksgiving Break |
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November 30 (Monday) |
Fourth Homework Due (in class) |
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December 2 (Wednesday) |
Fourth Exam (during class) |
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December 4 (Friday) |
Last class day, last Bio301d day |
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No final exam |
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Exam number
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Chapters (appoximate)
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Date (all Wed)
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1
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1-9
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23 September
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2
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10-15
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14 October
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3
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16-21
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11 November
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4
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22-26
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2 December
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Optional Help Sections: times and locations (not in catalog; you do not register for these)
These will meet only in weeks announced in class.
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Monday |
Tuesday |
Wed |
Thursday |
Fri |
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3:00-4:00 |
4:00-5:00 |
5:00-6:00 |
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2:00-3:00 |
3:00-4:00 |
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RLM 6.104 |
UTC 3.122 |
BUR 208 |
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CBA 4.328 |
RLM 6.104 |
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Who |
office |
phone† |
office hours* |
email ** |
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Jim Bull |
PAT 131 |
471-8266 |
W 12:30-3:00 (or by appt) |
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Marisa Miller |
NMS 3.276 |
475-9335 |
F 12:00-3:00 |
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Thomas Keller |
PAT 129 |
232-6283 |
T 3:00-5:00 H 3:00-4:30 |
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Eben Gering |
PAT 503 |
471-5163 |
T 2:00-3:30 H 12:30-2:00 |
*- if office hours overlap with Help Session times, then for those weeks when Help Sessions meet, it will usually be the case that the person’s office hours will be held during the Help Session in the Help Session room. Also, if you are unable to make scheduled office hour times or Help Session times, you should make arrangements to meet with us at a time of your convenience.
† except for Bull, phones are lab phones and may have any of several people answering who are not affiliated with class. Use email if possible.
** in case of emergencies, but not for routine class questions, you may contact bull@bull.biosci.utexas.edu
Course content
This class teaches an evidence-based method of making decisions: how to evaluate evidence, what alternatives to consider, and what to trust. The main ideas are taken from the scientific method, but the emphasis is on applying that style of decision-making to all sorts of normal problems in daily life. You should learn how to evaluate a newspaper article about some new claim or discovery, what kinds of limitations underlie any study (and thus how to look for weaknesses), and how to improve almost any goal-oriented procedure. The course content consists of lectures and demonstrations (plus a few short videos) in class. Your course grade is determined by your performance on the exams and written homework assignments; this year and an on-line survey (worth a nominal number of points).
As noted above, lectures most follow the order and content in the class book (Scientific Decision-Making) written by Pease and Bull, although lectures also augment the material in the Notes. In addition, a few lectures to be given late in the semester are not in the book, and lectures will often describe and discuss current events that are not in this book. So whether you come to lecture or not, you should know what was covered in class for the exams.
The syllabus describes the procedures, materials and events/schedules for Bio301D. It is not only useful at the beginning of the semester, but it is also relevant throughout the course, as it tells you how to challenge exam questions, whether late homework is accepted, and many other things.
Updates. If it is necessary to make changes during the semester in exam dates, homework due dates or other aspects of the course syllabus and conduct, we will announce these changes in lecture and post a new syllabus or post a notice on the web site. You are responsible for all announced changes, whether or not you attend lecture. These changes will also be posted on the class web site listed above.
We do not use a standard text for this course. We lecture from our own material and from various publications in the scientific literature, news, and other sources. We have written a book (Scientific Decision-Making) that contains most of the class material. It is available for free on the class web site http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d, and a hard copy is available for around $20 at Paradigm Notes, near 24th & Speedway. Students enrolled in Bio301D may make a personal photocopy or electronic copy of the book for use in this course for free. One way or another, you are likely to want access to it, but don’t feel that you need to spend any money to get it. Indeed, although the book contains most of the material for this class, the lectures include current events and a few new topics each semester that are not in the book.
This book does not cover everything that is covered in class, but it covers most of the material. If new topics are added, the notes or Powerpoint file will be made available at the time. Any new topics will, of course, be absent from the Paradiigm book.
The web site also contains interactive sample problems that go hand in hand with the book, although these interactive problems are not up-to-date. The hard copy lacks these interactive sample problems. The best source of material for problems are past exams, provided on line and in the Paradigm copy.
UT’s Blackboard will have the on-line class material for downloading; you can also download it directly from the class web site. These files may not be available the first day of class, but they will be available shortly thereafter. Note that you may access everything for viewing without going through Blackboard. You may choose to purchase hard copy of the book at Paradigm, but you at least have the option of free downloads.
We have Help Sessions to with this course. They are optional, in that you do not need to attend them, and they were not part of your registration. And they will not meet every week – they meet only during the times announced in class. They are intended as help and practice sessions. They will be used (i) for help with homework, and (ii) to go over practice exams. Students are not assigned to particular sessions; instead, you go to any one you want (or can). If you cannot make at least one time (and in a class of 400, there will be several such cases), you can make other arrangements with the TAs or Bull.
Practice exams. In the week preceding a scheduled exam, the previous two or three year's exams will be posted on the class website. You will be able to "take" the exams and then go over the answers in Help Sessions. Keys will also be posted so that you are not forced to attend a Help Session to obtain the answers.
You will be given timely access to exam scores and homework scores throughout the semester. There is a standard 1-week period after you are given access to scores in which you may report mistakes so that we may correct them. This 1-week window applies to any opportunities for points that you are provided in class – exams, homework, surveys or other means of awarding points. If you have an extended absence, then you should document your excuse within a week of returning to class. The goal here is to get these matters addressed during the semester rather than at the end.
There are 4 exams and 4 homework assignments, due on the dates given in the calendar above. There is also a 1 point on-line survey. The homework assignments are described on the class web site and in the hard copy of the book, and will also be discussed in lecture. Only your 3 highest exam scores will count towards your final grade (If you take all four exams, you may drop your lowest exam. Or you may choose to not take one exam). Similarly, only your 3 highest homework scores will count towards your final grade. Each exam will be worth 100 points, and each homework will be worth 33 points. There will be an on-line survey worth 1 point. Your final grade will be determined from the sum of your
+3 highest exam scores (100 each)
+3 highest homework scores (33 each)
+1 point for completing an on-line survey
compared to a threshold. There are 3*(100)+3*(33) + 1 = 400 points possible in the semester. We will use the following grade thresholds (plus/minus grading will not be used):
A (360 and above) (90% of 400 points)
B (320-359) (80%)
C (280-319) (70%)
D (240-279) (60%)
F 239 and below.
We may change these thresholds to make them more lenient -- that is, to benefit you. However, we will not make them more stringent. UT is instituting a new +/- grading system. The thresholds for these will be established later in the semester.
We advise against using the "best 3 of 4" policy as an excuse to miss any of the first three exams. The first exam is typically the easiest, and you may later regret not taking it. Likewise, if you miss one of the first three exams for an unexcused reason and then miss another with a valid reason, you will get a zero for one of your three top scores. Importantly, you are not allowed to make up an exam unless you present documented, timely excuses for missing two exams (see the details below for what constitutes "timely"). So missing one exam without a legitimate excuse means that you will get a zero as one of your top 3 exams if you miss a second exam, regardless of whether you have a legitimate excuse for the second missed exam.
There are two lecture sections, one at 10:00 and another at 11:00; they are in the same room, and the material for each is the same. Subject to seating limitations, you may attend either lecture. But you must attend the exam at the time for which you are registered (subject to a possible penalty unless you have prior permission). If you are registered for the 10:00 class, you must take the 10:00 exam, and if you are registered for the 11:00 class, you must take the 11:00 exam.
Bring a photo I.D. to all exams. You should also bring a #2 pencil and eraser for exams.
Exams use scantron forms. Unlike most of the exams with which you are familiar, however, the correct answer for a question may be none, one, many, or all of the options. Exams and keys from previous years will be made available on the web in advance of each exam so that you may familiarize yourself with the types of questions likely to be asked. However, the “multiple-true/false” answers challenge the machine that grades them, and the machine sometimes makes mistakes (a bit like the Florida vote-counting machines).
Correcting Scantron errors: a one-week window
Scantron errors must be reported within one week following the posting of exam scores, but make sure your scantron form has errors and that correcting all of them will favor you before turning it in for correction.
After we grade and return your exam, verify that the scantron graded your responses correctly. The machine that reads scantrons often picks up erasures, and in rare cases, it seems to align the form erroneously. It is not uncommon that scantron errors cause an exam score to be 6 points lower than it should be; scantron errors once accounted for 19 points on an exam. If you inform us of a scantron reading error and ask to have your scantron errors fixed, we will recheck the entire form and fix all errors (which could possibly decrease your score). Thus, make sure that your form has at least one scantron error (or you lose 2 points) and that the net effect of correcting all errors is to improve your score. We do not attempt to correct scantron errors after grades have been posted unless you request it, although we may spot-check scantrons for errors (and correct them) before posting.
To have scantron errors fixed, you must turn in the unmodified Xerox copy of your scantron form, with a note at the top requesting us to correct errors (do not modify options on the Xerox from the way they were on the original). You need to identify at least one problem that was graded incorrectly, but we will check the entire form. If you turn in a form that has no errors to be fixed, 2 points will be deducted from your score, so requiring that you have found at least one misread answer should ensure that you don’t lose points for this reason.
Correcting and challenging the exam key: a 1-week window
Copies of the exams and keys are posted within hours of the exam so that you can see how the exam was graded. The complicated nature of many questions leads some students to ask about or even object to the way that questions were graded. You may ask how questions were graded in person or over email, but there is also a formal procedure for challenging the grading of answers; if successful, these challenges could result in a more favorable grading of your answer. These formal challenges to the grading of exams must be presented by email or in writing (perhaps on the back of your exam) to Jim Bull within 1 week of the date the exam results are posted. Challenges relating to the amount of partial credit given for incorrect answers are never successful - don't bother explaining that you think you should get some credit for getting two of 10 options correct. Likewise, you may not challenge an exam on the grounds that you were misled by one of us when you asked a question during the exam; if a question was genuinely misleading, then that should be the basis of the challenge, not the fact that we did not tell you the answer. Some questions don't give any partial credit. The assignment of points and partial credit depends on many factors, such as how difficult the question is, whether you had access to that question in the sample problems, and how serious a misunderstanding is implied by a wrong answer. We reserve the right to regrade your entire exam if you challenge the grading, including checking for Scantron reading errors, even if your complaints concern only a single problem.
Challenges may cost you points. If your challenge to the way a question was graded indicates that you do not understand the issues, you can lose 1 point on that question. This penalty may never be used and is not intended to dissuade you from challenging a question. Rather, it is intended to ensure that you understand the question and answers before offering a challenge. You will not lose points by indicating that you interpreted the question differently than it was intended, but you could lose points if your challenge indicates that, after getting your exam back, you still don’t understand the issues needed to answer it.
You may challenge a maximum of two questions per exam. If you think that more than two questions had problems, use the best two cases for your challenges and get someone else to challenge the others. If a question has fundamental problems, then it will be regraded for the entire class, so you can benefit by someone else’s challenge. Probably at least half the challenges that are accepted lead to regrading of the entire class (done in such a way that no one’s score goes down).
The format for challenges to the key, whether on paper or email must include the following information:
1) Your exam keycode and the number of the exam in the semester (first, second, etc.)
2) The problem number challenged with a brief description of what the problem was about.
3) The letters of the answers required by the key
4) The letters of the answers you put down
5) A (partial) wording of the options that differ between the key answers and your answers. For example, if the key required (A) (B), but you only put (A), you should indicate enough of what option (B) said, so that your challenge can be evaluated without going back to the exam (e.g., "option (B) was violation of protocol.") This information will enable a rapid processing of your challenge.
6) A statement of why you think your answer should be credited (this is the important part).
If your challenge deviates from this format so much that we cannot understand it or cannot evaluate it without going back to your version of the exam or your answer sheet, there is a good chance that your challenge will be dismissed regardless of its content. Class size is large and we need your cooperation in expediting challenges. Furthermore, we do not engage in a dialogue about challenges or send email responses back. We will evaluate those that are submitted and regrade where appropriate, but you will not be notified of the outcome except via changes to your exam score.
The fourth and last exam is currently scheduled for the last week of class in the lecture hall. University rules dictate that we obtain permission from the Chair to be exempted from giving a final exam, and if we obtain that permission (you will be notified during the semester either way), that fourth exam will merely cover the material since the third exam. If we cannot get permission to give the fourth exam on this date, the fourth exam will instead be given at the time and place scheduled for the final, and it will then cover material from the entire semester. Regardless of when the fourth exam is administered, there is no opportunity for us to return the fourth exam to you in class. You may pick up your fourth exam from Jim Bull after final grades are posted on the web. If you wish to submit a written challenge to our grading of the fourth exam, this must also be done within 1 week of when we post scores.
We do not give make-up exams to students who miss only one of the four scheduled exams. If you miss two or more exams, we will give you a makeup exam only if you present us with a documented, compelling excuse for all exams you missed. Furthermore, when you miss an exam for a documented, compelling reason, you must give us your documentation within one week of the exam date (or your return-to-school date, if your documented excuse indicates that you were unable to attend classes for some time after the exam). For example, we would not give a make-up exam to a student who missed the first and second exams, but who did not provide us with the documentation for missing the first exam until after the second exam. We would give this student a make-up for the second exam only if they gave us a documented excuse for missing the first exam within one week of the first exam, and a documented excuse for missing the second exam within one week of the second exam. So if you miss an exam (unless it is the last) let Bull know why pronto, so that you don’t get a bad grade by missing a second exam. If you oversleep but can still get to the exam during the exam period, do so to see if we can accommodate you.
Homework assignments and late homework policy
Homework assignments require you to find an article (newspaper, magazine, web, or other) and fill out a template that relates the information in the article to material presented in class. The 301 home page provides a link to the details about these assignments.
Turning in Homework. Your homework must be turned in as a hard copy and must include a copy of the article you used. The written part of the assignment must represent your words, i.e., your writing. If we find two or more homeworks whose text is virtually the same in our eyes, each will be given a zero. Homework is due in class on the date indicated in the calendar above. Please do not turn in your homework by putting it into an instructor or T.A. mailbox, by handing it to an instructor or T.A. outside of lecture, or by e-mailing it to us (if we decide to allow electronic submissions, you will be notified in class). Keeping track of some four hundred homeworks is a chore, and experience has taught us that it is easy to misplace stray assignments. If you fail to turn in your homework on its due date, you may turn it in the next class period, and 3 points will be deducted from the score you would have received (and a loss of another 3 points if it is turned in outside class). This penalty amounts to approximately a one-grade reduction in the score. No other late homework will be accepted. Again, you get to drop the lowest of the four.
Homework grading may be challenged, just as exam grading may be challenged. The deadline for a homework challenge is one week from the time it is first handed back in class. Like exam challenges, a homework challenge must be presented in the form of an explanation for which part of the grading you are challenging and why you think an error has been made. In addition, homework challenges may entail a blind regrading of the entire assignment, and your score could go down. So be confident that your challenge has merit before turning it back to us (you can ask about it before you challenge). Also, we will do any regrading as blindly as possible. So please don't indicate that you need "x more points" to get an A at the end of the semester.
No End-of-Semester Special Options
Students slightly below a grade threshold often look for ways to get the few extra points at the end of the semester. The options at the end of semester are the same as they are during the semester:
i) fix scantron errors on the fourth exam (the deadlines for other exams have passed)
ii) challenge the exam 4 key
iii) challenge HW4 grading (your score could go down)
There is simply no other work that is allowed to get such points – no reports, no redoing homeworks or retaking exams. The only way to get points for the class is with the four exams and four homeworks, regardless of the grade a student receives, whether passing or failing.
In handling electronic files for large classes, it is easy for the staff to make mistakes -- both big and little ones. For example, a student may forget to fill in a pad number on an exam, and the instructor may accidentally insert the number of another student in attempting to fix the problem. Or, the professor's manipulation of the class Excel file may inadvertently shuffle some columns but not others so that the posted scores do not correspond to the actual recorded scores for any of the students. Mistakes such as these and others will be corrected whenever detected, and the instructors are under no obligation to honor such errors whenever the student has, in due time, access to information that would reveal the error. Hard copies of all assignments, exams, and scantrons (Xerox copies) are returned in class, and exam keys are posted, so that any incorrect grading may be identified by the student, and any erroneous recording may likewise be recognized. If we post an incorrect score and then discover our error, don’t expect that the previous score should apply if access to the hard copy records would have revealed the error. Additionally, any challenges to class records must be supported with any originals that were returned in class (e.g., we need to see the graded homework assignment if there is a disagreement between the score recorded and the score on the returned assignment). However, if a zero is recorded and neither you nor we can find the assignment even though it was turned in (i.e., if it is lost), it is your (the student's) responsibility to bring this to our attention within a week of posting; the zero will otherwise stand.
Attendance is not directly a factor in calculation of your grade. Nonetheless, you are responsible for material presented in class, regardless of whether you attend. And you must attend to take the exams and to turn in homework (unless someone turns in your homework). In the past, one student suggested that we should grade their exam more leniently because they missed lecture because of a dentist appointment. That request was denied -- it is your responsibility for making up the missed material, regardless of how legitimate your excuse for missing class. In the event you have missed class, you may wish to consult someone who did attend to determine what was covered.
Other Matters
Any student with a documented disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259 as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations.
If you have a problem with the conduct of the course (e.g., you take issue with teaching methods, feel that the classroom environment is not conducive to proper education, or another matter), please first discuss the matter with Jim Bull or one of the TAs. If you are not satisfied, you may take the matter higher up. The next step would be to request an audience with the appropriate official of Biology, and an even further step is to speak with the Dean's office (either the Dean of Students or the Dean of the College of Natural Sciences). There are various sources of information about how to proceed with complaints and who can help you, listed below:
Grievances: contact the Ombudsman at 471-3825
Penalties for (and definition of) academic dishonesty: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/dos
Prohibition of sexual harassment: http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gen-info/appD.html
The coordination of a large class with considerable electronic software faces various logistical problems. In the past, we have had such difficulties as rooms accidentally scheduled for two classes at the same time, classrooms reassigned after they had been published in the Course Catalogue, and a bomb threat for the building in which we were lecturing (which we avoided interpreting as a reflection of student attitudes toward our course). It is difficult for us to anticipate and apprehend all that might go wrong with the administration of peripheral aspects of a large class such as this one, and we solicit your help in identifying problems when they arise. If something is wrong with the class, please contact Jim Bull (471-8266, or 471-5661), or one of the TAs immediately. If they are not available, please leave a message with the Biology office (471-4882) and explain the problem to the staff there.