Participation (25% of Grade)
Missing class means that you miss out on the experiences, conversation, and learning of that day. This cannot be “made up”. Each class you miss (fail to participate in) you will lose points. I expect you to come prepared and to engage in our discussions.
Reaction Papers (30% of Grade)
Each week you will have the opportunity to write ONE brief essay (reaction paper) about the readings. No more than 400 words per essay. These can be on any topic from the reading assignments covered throughout the semester, related science topics that you have searched out, or any other source-- (you choose). You will need to create a total of eight (8). Reaction papers are not to be a summary of the reading, but an exploration by the student on a topic they found significant. We will use these papers as the foundation for our weekly discussions.
Historical Figure (20% of Grade)
Each student will select a historical figure of prominence within their desired field of science. They must accurately portray the context and historical setting of the person. In addition, they must cover the childhood, education, journey of how the person came to their field of study, what they did that got them famous, and why it was so significant. This presentation will be done in class. It must be no longer than 10 minutes with room for questions afterward. I am looking for clear, concise, and relevant information portrayed in a creative and engaging way. Have some fun with this. As these will be given throughout the semester, we will draw for times in class.
Book Review (10% of Grade)
Find and read a book of your choosing. The topic is variable, as long as it can be related back to science, in some way. You will create a book review, suitable for publication in the New York Times (typically 500-750 words in length). We will share and discuss these as a group beginning on Week 14 (April 12th).
The Top Five (15% of Grade)
Create a Powerpoint presentation discussing what you consider to be the top five most significant breakthroughs in a field of science of your choice. The presentation should contain justifications and all relevant information necessary for a layperson to understand. Past projects have included Top Five advancements in toothbrushes, dental drills, anesthesia, science education, glasses, heart surgery. Note how this assignment can be tailored to suit your career goals.
This is our Final Project and we’ll use the last two or three days of class to present these (begins April 19th). Each presentation should be less than 10 minutes long.
Grades will be calculated by summing all points earned and dividing them by the total points possible. The points possible will be adjusted based on class performance and historical student scores. In summary, I will account for fluctuation in scores by the class, but I will not drop the points possible benchmark below 5%.
A=93%, A- =90%, B+ =87%, B=84%, B- =80%, C+ =77%, C = 74%, C- =70%, D+ =67%, D =64%, D- =60%