Course held at: SC 203
Professor: Dr. John Mischler (Faculty Profile)
Office: Science Bldg Rm 209 (GC campus office); 1st Floor Oshtemo Bldg (Merry Lea Office)
Phone: (309) 264-6946
Email: jamischler@goshen.edu
Office Hours: Mondays directly before class OR by appointment
The Junior Research Seminar (together with your Senior Seminar next year) will provide you with an opportunity to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired in your major through the development, justification, and implementation of a thesis project. In this course you will produce a project proposal that is the starting point for the work you will carry out into your senior year. This course is also intended to provide an opportunity to reflect on your experiences in the Biological Sciences and to be prepared for professional experiences following graduation.
By the end of this course students will be able to:
Synthesize and critique information from the primary literature
Assessments: journal club, thesis proposal
Plan, design, and propose experiments to answer a research question
Assessment: thesis proposal
Collaborate as part of a research team
Assessment: disposition evaluation, Journal club, peer editing
Analyze collected data using simple stats in R
Assessment: thesis proposal results
Communicate professionally in a scientific format
Assessment: thesis proposal, proposal presentation
Professionally promote themself in the scientific community
Assessment: CV/resume, research/personal statement/cover letter, practice interview
Reflect on their personal values and beliefs that inform the scientific endeavor
Assessment: reading assignments and discussions
All materials will be provided by the instructor
Project Proposal = 80% - *the grade for this portion bust be greater than 60% to pass the class
Professional Skills = 10%
Participation = 10%
| A = 94 to 100 | A- = 90 to 93 | B+ = 87 to 89 | B = 84 to 86 | B- = 80 to 83 | C+ = 77 to 79 | C = 74 to 76 | C- = 69 to 73 | D = 60 to 68 | F < 60 |
Course Policies:
The attendance policy for BIOL 331 is different from other classes you may be taking at Goshen College because this course has a major independent work component. There are three different considerations with respect to attendance:
Scheduled Meetings: Your attendance is expected and required at every class where the schedule indicates that we are meeting as a group (either just our section or combined with Neil and John’s classes) in the Science building. If you miss those days, you are responsible for any notes, announcements, or assignments that are missed. However, on many scheduled meeting days (as weather allows), we will meet outside on the campus lawn due to COVID, but please still wear your face mask! Pay attention for emails about meeting times, Zoom meetings, or other changes to scheduling.
Advisor Meetings: On these days it is your responsibility to set up a meeting with me as your advisor sometime during the week (by Zoom or outside on campus). These meetings will be 20-30 minutes, and you will need to bring evidence of your progress for discussion and feedback.
Independent Work Days: Time is set aside throughout the course to work on your project independently. Use the class time we give you to work on your own, but also expect to do much more. Often you will be given a specific task to consider or complete during these independent work days.
Late assignments are accepted, but -5% later the same day due, and an additional -10% every day after the assignment is late until no credit is achieved.
Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. This includes copying other students’ work, turning in assignments that are not written in your own words and organization, and intentionally harming others’ projects. Papers you submit in this course will be checked for plagiarized material copied from the web, other student papers, and selected on-line databases. Cases of plagiarism are reported to the Associate Dean. Penalties for plagiarism are listed in the college catalog and range from redoing the assignment to dismissal from the college
Goshen College is committed to providing all students equal access to programs and facilities. Students who need accommodations based on disability should contact Judy Weaver, coordinator of access services. You can contact Judy by visiting the Academic Success Center (ASC) in the library, emailing jweaver@goshen.edu or calling 574-535-7560. Students must register with ASC before faculty are required to provide reasonable accommodations.
Goshen College wants to help all students be as academically successful as possible. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact Judy Weaver, the Director of the Academic Success Center early in the semester. In order to receive accommodations, documentation concerning your disability must be on file with the Academic Success Center. All information will be held in the strictest confidence.
The Academic Success Center offers tutoring and writing assistance for all students. For further information please see http://www.goshen.edu/campuslife/asc/.
Any student who has difficulty accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact the Dean of Students, Gilberto Pérez Jr. (gperez@goshen.edu) for support. Furthermore, please notify the instructor if you are comfortable in doing so. He may be able to provide additional assistance or flexibility in meeting the requirements of the course.
Goshen College Career Networks:
GC Career Networks provides many services to students to assist them in being successful after college. The Goshen College and Careers website contains many valuable tools (job banks, help applying to graduate and professional schools, etc.) to prepare for life after college. See (https://www.goshen.edu/careers/contact/) or contact David Kendall (careers@goshen.edu) at the Career Network.