Welcome to Intro to Microbiology BIOL-15!

How And When To Attend Our First Week

Spring semester begins on Monday, January 26th. Please log into Canvas (scroll down to see 'Sign In Now' button below) through our My BC Portal webpage and begin working on an Orientation Module.  It is important that you begin working on Monday as there is information to absorb and assignments to complete during our first week!

Our first day of in-person instruction will be on Tuesday, January 27th, at 1:00 PM at Glenn Center Campus Room #124.

I am so excited to meet you in person on this day!!! 💃🎉

How This Course Works

This course is in a hybrid format and consists of 3 Parts: Lecture, Lab, and Lecture Activity Hour:

1.  Lecture: the Lecture portion of the course is held online (Canvas) asynchronously (meaning no required weekly meetings)

2. Lecture Activity Hour: the Lecture-associated learning objectives will be supported by an in-person Lecture Activity Hour on Thursdays in Glenn Center Room #124, in the same room as lab and right after our lab activities. 

3. Lab: the Lab portion of the course is held in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Glenn Center Room #124 from 1:00 - 2:50 PM; this lab consists of an initial lab activity followed by lab manual-driven investigations and procedures, all held in our lab classroom. Our lab is 2 hours long, and you will be using the entire time, so please prepare for that.

This is a weekly-paced, 17-week-long course that has a general rhythm: 

• Each Monday morning, a new module of lecture and laboratory content will be released, and these modules will contain learning content, resources, and associated assignments. 

• In general, due dates for online assignments and assessments will be on Sunday evenings 11:59 PM.

  • For online group discussion assignments, initial posts will be due by Friday night 11:59 PM.  

• Lab manual-associated assignments will have different due dates that are in line with our lab schedule; to help you with these due dates you will be given a hard copy of the lab and lecture schedules during Week 1, and you will have access to these schedules on our Canvas.

• In-person lecture-specific activity assignments will have due dates discussed in person (dependent on assignment nature and flow of course) during our Lecture Activity Hour, but will generally also follow a Sunday night 11:59 PM due date unless specified otherwise by me. 

How To Reach Me

1. Message me using the Canvas Inbox tool

2. Email me at terraji@butte.edu

3. Talk with me during in-person and/or Zoom Office Hours (see below for details).

4. Talk with me before or after class.

My General Availability

We can meet at the following times and locations:

• Tuesdays from 9:00 - 9:30 AM in Room #125 Glenn Center

• Tuesdays 3:00 - 3:50 PM in Room #124 Glenn Center

• Wednesdays 12:00 - 3:00 PM  by Zoom, phone, Canvas message, email etc.

• Thursdays 9:00 - 9:30 AM in Room #125 Glenn Center

• by appointment at another day/time, and via whatever format works (in person, Zoom, phone call, etc.). 

• I'm here to help you, and I am happy to talk at other times and via whatever format you need!

Expected Response Time

I will return your message/email within 24 hours of receiving communication from you. If you message/email me during the weekday evenings you may not get a response from me until the next day. If you message/email me during the weekend you will likely not receive a response from me until Monday.  

General Questions?

If you ever have any general questions about the course, that does not include personal information, feel free to use the Q&A Discussion Forum. Here both I and your peers can answer your questions. Feel free to go in and answer some as well! 😊

I believe access to education and social mobility are human rights afforded to the people in a fair and just democracy. Toward this, my mission is to springboard you from wherever you may be on your educational path so you can reach your career goals. I am passionate about helping you learn Microbiology and also helping you learn study strategies that are backed by scientific research! I welcome each of you and encourage you to bring your unique life experiences, abilities, cultures, and perspectives to the class. I believe that our wide range of lived experiences provides the richest fertilizer to form those long-term memories and rewire our brains! It is my top priority to create a safe, relaxed, fun learning environment where we can grow together in our classroom community. To achieve this, I encourage you to be curious, open, respectful, and mindful of your communication within our community. This course is designed to embrace making mistakes as that is an integral part of the learning process. 

What You Can Expect From Me:

1. As your instructor, I will be actively present in your learning experience.

2. I will create a positive and supportive environment where you feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.

3. I will respond to your questions within 24 hours and provide individualized support in response to your needs.

4. I will treat you with dignity and respect in all of our interactions and will uphold classmates to treat you with dignity and respect.

5. I will gently push you to go out of your comfort zone. 

6. I will provide feedback on assignments within one week to further fuel your learning.

7. I will recognize my white privilege and white supremacy conditioning, mistakes, and blind spots I bring to this course and strive to grow through my own imperfections.

8. I will be open to respectful feedback as to how I can better support you.

9. I will strive to see the real you, as a human in life and not just a student in a seat.

10. I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.

What I Expect of You:

1. You will dare greatly and challenge yourself to lean into discomfort. This is the space where growth occurs.

2. You will cultivate your mindset to keep an open mind, try new things, and view mistakes as vital to the learning process. To be human is to make mistakes. The deepest learning happens when we err. Let's think of mistakes as lessons. 

3. You will log into our course each week no later than Monday evening to evaluate the work and due dates in the newly released weekly module of lecture and laboratory materials.

4. You will commit a minimum of 12 hours per week to this course outside of class and lecture video-watching time to effectively engage in each week's learning materials and study material.

5. You will strive to meet due dates and keep pace with the weekly pacing of the course. 

6. You will be brave to communicate to me when you have a concern about meeting due dates and so we can work together toward a solution.

7. You will be thoughtful in your interactions with peers while taking extra care to respect diverse perspectives and support growth of fellow classmates with varying life experiences.

8. You will strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to build a bedrock of trust, connection, and reflection, all key ingredients to learning. 

9. You will trust the value of your own abilities, demonstrate your own achievement, and showcase your abilities by submitting original work for the class.

10. You will provide respectful, honest feedback to me so I can learn from you. 

This course has the following learning objectives:

1. Describe the structures of viruses, bacteria, fungi and protists and the function of these structures.

2. Employ basic microbiological equipment and methods for the study, identification and quantification of microbes.

3. Describe the basic metabolic pathways of microbes (energetics) and how metabolism relates to both the establishment of microbial infection and to the biochemical tests used in microbial identification.

4. Explain the role of microbes in infectious disease, including the features of the microbes that contribute to the establishment of infection.

5. Identify key microbial pathogens, how they are transmitted and the major symptoms of the diseases they cause.

6. Explain how the human immune system functions to prevent and control infectious disease.

7. Explain the central dogma of molecular biology and how mutations can lead to changes in protein function.

8. Describe the methods used to identify and or quantify microbes and microbial infections (biochemical tests, DNA based test and serological tests); explain the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.

9. Perform calculations to determine unit conversions, dilution factors, microbial population size and generation time.

10. Describe how microbes are controlled by use of chemical and physical means and through the use of antimicrobial compounds; explain the limitations of these methods.

11. Apply the scientific method to evaluate experiments accurately and communicate conclusions effectively.

The following services are available to assist you in performing your best:

1. Coronavirus Information and resources

2. Child Care Services: 530-895-2865; Main Campus: M-Th 7:05 am - 5:00 pm.

3. Counseling and Advising: 530-895-2378; SAS-134: M-Th 7:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

4. Career Planning: 530-895-2334; SAS-258: drop-in or make an appointment: F 7:30 am to 12:30 pm

5. Health Services: 530-895-2441: Located across ARTS building: M-Th 7:30 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm: F 8:00 am to Noon.

6. Financial Aid: 530-895-2311; SAS-160: M-Th 7:30 am to 4:00 pm

7. Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS): 530-895-2555; SAS-281: M-Th 7:30 am to 5:00 pm: F 8:00 am to Noon

8. Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS): 530-895-2455; SAS-238: M-Th 8:00 am to 4:00 pm: F 8:00 am to Noon

9. Butte College Student Technical Support Including Canvas Help: 530-895-2455 M - Th 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM: F 8:00 am to 3:00 pm

10. Food and Housing Assistance: 530-895-2978 M - Th 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM: F 8:00 am to Noon

11. Chosen Name: You can change your first name without making a legal name change. Go to Admissions and Records on the first floor of SAS or the Chico Center with a valid, government-issued picture ID. Tell Admissions & Records you want to select a chosen name. (Chosen name does not have to appear on ID.) Ask for a Change of Information form and complete it. The first name you select on the form will appear as your Butte College email display name, in Canvas, on faculty rosters, unofficial transcripts, at the Student Health Center, and Counseling and Advising office. (Note: first name changes will not appear in MyBC portal, CAS, on payroll forms, official transcripts, Financial Aid documents, mailing addresses, or Butte College correspondence.) If an online student is not able to make a come to A&R (live outside Butte or Glenn County, physical impairment limitation, work, or childcare scheduling conflicts), they can contact A&R at (530) 895-2361 and ask to speak to or leave a message for Monica Boyes or Julie Scarpelli.

12. The Center for Academic Success (CAS): 530-895-2386; LRC 2ndfloor; Times See below: CAS provides academic support services to Butte College students. It is located inside the Learning Resource Center on the main campus, in CHC 230 and 231 at the Chico Center, and in GCC 104 at the Glenn County Center. Hours for CAS at the Chico Center are Monday and Tuesday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Wednesday 11:00 am to 8:30 pm, and Thursday 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm CAS at the Glenn County Center is open Thursday mornings. Free services include tutoring, computer labs, workshops, group study rooms on the main campus, and TIP Sheets. Students may take a Critical Skills for College Success ½-unit course through CAS.

13. Library Service: The library provides live chat with the librarian, along with many other resources. You may seek help from librarians to find resources to answer discussion questions that require outside research. Visit their website to learn more. They are open on M-Th from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. They are closed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Their phone number is 530-879-4017.