Spring 2013 ABT 395/399 CLASS INFORMATION
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPORTS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS
COURSE COORDINATOR
Dr. Bruce Webb
S-225K Agricultural Science Center North
campus mail 0091
257-7415
bawebb@uky.edu
OFFICE HOURS: Arranged as needed.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
ABT 395: Independent study in biotechnology under the
supervision of a faculty member. 1 to 4 credits hours/semester. Course may be repeated such that a
maximum of 6 credits is earned.
Prerequisite: Agricultural Biotechnology major and consent of advisor before registration.
ABT 399: An internship in biotechnology under the
supervision of a faculty member.
Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor and chairperson for the Agricultural Biotechnology degree program, and completion of a
learning contract before
registration. A learning contract for ABT 399 must be prepared and approved.
ESSENTIAL COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Please note that there are
4 essential elements required to successfully complete your independent course of study:
- Verification of an Agricultural Biotechnology program-approved Research Project Proposal (or learning contract if ABT 399)
- Completion of the approved research activities under the supervision of a faculty mentor
- Submission of a Written Report--that has been signed by your research mentor (see below)
- Presentation of an Oral Report (see below)
VERIFICATION OF APPROVED RESEARCH PROJECTS AND MENTORS
ALL currently enrolled ABT 395/399 (Spring 2013), or previously* enrolled students who have earned an "Incomplete" as a course grade, must indicate on the Student Information Sheet when your ABT 395/399 proposal was approved and by whom. If your proposal is the proposal that you completed in ABT 301, please provide the semester you took ABT 301 and the instructor's name.
*If you have already filed a Student Information Sheet (from a previous semester), and the contact and project information has not changed, then just state this fact on the Spring 2013 student information sheet and return it to Dr. Webb.
Please Note: - Student Information sheets are due by January 22.
- Informational meeting will be held January 22 , Room S-201, Ag Science Center North at 5:00pm.
ASSIGNMENT OF COURSE GRADE
Grades will be composed of the following components:
60%
aFaculty mentor’s evaluation of the student’s research performance
15%
bWritten Report
20%
bOral Presentation
5%
bStudent’s compliance with course instructions (e.g., turn in the Student Information Sheet and class materials on time, etc.)
aThis portion of the course will be determined after consultation of the research mentor/faculty member by the course instructor.
bThis portion of the course grade will be determined by the course instructor.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS--Spring 2013
- All students must supply to Esther Fleming (efleming@uky.edu) before 8 AM, April 18, the title of their presentation and the full name, departmental affiliation and e-mail address of their mentor. The final presentation schedule will be posted on the ABT homepage on Friday, April 19 and disseminated to research mentors and the university community at large.
- Oral ABT 395/399 research presentations are scheduled to begin at 1:00pm, on Thursday, April 25 and possibly at 1:00pm on Tuesday, April 23 in the ground floor auditorium (Cameron Williams Lecture Hall) of the Plant Science Building. However, this schedule may change depending on the number of students who actually are ready to present their reports this semester.
- Dr. Webb will try to schedule a student's seminar time to accommodate their class schedule, etc. However, those students who turn in the requested information about their seminar (see #1 above) on time, will be given preference in terms of which time they will be scheduled to present.
- Presentations (a PowerPoint slideshow) should be about 12 minutes in length. A 2-3 minute question session with the audience will follow each presentation. Although priority of questions will be given to ABT students in the audience, presenters should expect additional questions from faculty members.
- Individual student practice sessions (PowerPoint slideshow) can be arranged to be held with Dr. Webb up through April 18.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPORTS--Spring 2013
- One copy of your written report - signed by your mentor* is due to Dr. Webb's office by April 23, 2013. Alternatively, you may send Dr. Webb your report by e-mail if it is accompanied by an e-mail from your mentor saying that they have approved the report.
- The ABT 395/399 written reports must be in the format of a scientific journal of your mentor's choosing.
- However, the written reports MUST CONTAIN the following components:
a. Cover Page--Title and list of Authors and their affiliations, and signature* of the sponsoring research mentor.
b. Abstract - An abbreviated summary of the report's elements (below).
c. Introduction--A brief presentation/introduction of topical concepts
required by the uninformed reader to understand what your paper is all about.
1) This section should state the experimental hypothesis being tested (e.g.,"The goal of this experiment was to test the effect of X treatment on Y parameter.") or the purpose of the research (e.g., "The purpose of the experimentation was to develop an X assay to measure Y parameter.")
2) This section should be less than 900 words (verbiage more than this likely belongs in the Discussion section).
d. Materials and Methods--a description of critical reagents, procedures, and assays used to generate experimental data.
1) Note: This section must contain a statement indicating that conductance of the experimentation complied with the specific applicable Chemical Hygiene, Radiation Safety, Institutional Biological Safety, and Institutional Animal Care and Use protocols required for you to conduct your project.
2) The experimental design and methods used to statistically analyze your data needs to be presented, including a description of all relevant "control" observations for your assays and the number of observations ("n") for each data group.
e. Results--The formal presentation and description of your experimental data.
f. Discussion--A written discussion of your data in terms of what your data revealed, how your data compares to what others may have seen in analogous experiments in identical or comparable experimental models, and the physiological/practical relevance of your observations to a given experimental/biological model and/or field of research.
Note: sometimes it is useful to combine the Results and Discussion sections into a single manuscript component (i.e., a Results and Discussion section).
g. Conclusions--A formal statement about the conclusion(s) drawn from your data as it applies to the goal/hypothesis tested in the experiment. That is, did you accept or reject the experimental hypothesis? Was an assay successfully developed? Or, was the data inconclusive for whatever reasons?
h. References--A listing of the sources for the citations used in your report.
*Alternatively, Dr. Webb will accept an e-mailed copy of your report
if he receives from your research mentor an e-mail stating that they have read and approve your report.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES/DEADLINES FOR ABT 395/399, Spring 2013
- January 22--Your completed Student Information Sheets are due to Dr. Webb by e-mail*.
- January 22--Informational meeting at 5:00pm, S-201 Ag Science Ctr North.
- April 18-- All students must supply (e-mail) to Dr. Webb with the title of their talk; the full name, departmental affiliation, email address of their mentor; and any preferences as to the time of presentation.
- April 22--The announcement/speaker schedules for the oral presentations will be posted around campus and on the ABT website.
- April 23--before 12 PM--The written report, signed by the research mentor is due in Dr. Webb's office. Alternatively, you may send Dr. Webb your report by e-mail if it is accompanied by an e-mail from your mentor saying that they have read and approve the report.
- April 25--Oral presentations will begin at 1:00 PM, on Thursday, April 25 in the Cameron Williams Lecture Hall of the Plant Science Building. Depending on the number of students presenting an additional section may be required and will be scheduled on April 23.
*If you have already filed a Student Information Sheet (from a previous semester),
and the contact and project information has not changed, then just state this fact on the Spring 2013 sheet and return it to Dr. Webb.
