AP Seminar:
A Biotechnolgy Approach
Instructor: Mr. Les McSparrin
Meeting Times: MWF 9:00 P.M. - 9:50 P.M. (BU210)
R 2:00 P.M. – 3:50 P.M. (BU210)
Office:Elliott B009G
Office Hours:MWF 2:00 P.M. – 2:50 P.M.
MWF 5:00 P.M. – 5:50 P.M.
Please arrange all others by appointment.
Phone: 765-285-7456
E-mail:
Course Texts and Materials:
Daugherty, E. (2014). Biotechnology. St. Paul, MN: Paradigm Publishing, Inc.
Daugherty, E. (2014). Biotechnology Laboratory Manual. St. Paul, MN: Paradigm Publishing, Inc.
Kirszner, L. and Mandell, S. (2014). Practical Argument. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Palmquist, M. (2015). The Bedford Researcher, 5th. ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Rottenberg, A.T. (1997). Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader, 5th ed. Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s.
All other materials will be provided in class.
Course Materials and Fees:
1.You will be required to maintain a notebook for this course. You will need a large (2 inches thick or larger) 3-ring binder. It should be divided into 4 sections:
a.) Notes and Handouts
b.) Weekly Reflections
c.) Individual Research and Reflection
d.) Team Report
2.You will need to have a multi-color pack of highlighters
3.You will need to have a multi-color pack of sticky notes and/or page flags.
4.The cost of the AP Seminar examination is $142. Note: The minute you submit any component of the course to the College Board, you make the commitment to pay this fee (regardless if you finish the course or not).
Course Description:
AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular
conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and
issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Using an inquiry framework, students
practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies, and foundational,
literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts,
and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances.
Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their
own perspectives in written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual
presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to
equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy
and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments
Components of the Course
Guidelines for Success
1.Attendance is vital to your understanding of the components of the course and how to properly do and report the results of your assessment tasks.
2.Be certain to read the articles and any other resources provided before you come to class. Although we will be discussing many of the highlights found in the resources in some detail, reading the material in advance will aid you in learning.
Read with purpose. Be an active reader. Note carefully all bold-faced or italicized words.
Sometimes it helps to read a portion of a resource once for general understanding, come to class and hear our discussion of the material, and then read it a second time for details and writing notes. It may help to read out loud. Hearing something reinforces the information in a very positive way and helps you remember.
3.Be prompt in completing assignments. There is a penalty of 20% off per day on all late assignments. No assignments will be accepted after graded material has been returned to the class. NO EXCEPTIONS! Never slide assignments under my office door; deliver all late assignments to me personally or place them into the “papers turned in” box outside my door with a date/time stamp. Missing any designated College Board deadlines will result in a 0 for that portion of your overall AP score for the year.
4.We expect each and every one of you to participate in the classroom and be an active contributing team member. One of the major instructional foundations of this course is TEAM, TRANSFORM, and TRANSMIT. You must be able to work in a team in a collaborative manner and be able to communicate your ideas as a result of your own research.
5.In class, take careful notes with purpose. Do not attempt to write down everything that is said or to write information in complete sentences. Your notes should be short, concise, with only key words and phrases recorded. More detailed definitions and explanations are in your textbook and research sources.
6.Learning should not be a competitive exercise. You can best help yourself by helping others. You will be part of collaborative team. While attempting to explain concepts to others, you will become aware of your own depth of understanding and those areas you need to study further.
7.Remember these words of wisdom from Chinese proverbs …
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
“Teachers open the door You enter by yourself.”
“I hear, and I forgot. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.”
" To merely know is nothing compared to being interested to
know, being interested to know is nothing compared to deriving joy
from learning it." - Confucius
and the famous Vince Lombardi quote:
[The] “Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work.
Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can
accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.”
Grading Policy
Your semester grade will be calculated using the following weighted average. I have designed this method of grade calculation to give you credit for all the work you do for class and not just base your grade on examinations and quizzes.
Individual Research Report, Team Multimedia Presentation, and Peer Feedback…………………………………………………………………………... 60 %
Laboratory Performance, Reports, and Notebook …….…………………………... 30 %
Miscellaneous Classroom Assignments………... ..……………………………….. 10 %
a.)Participation – Participation points will be assigned to those students who write out their answers to problems on the board.
b.)Safety – I will be looking for safe laboratory procedures. Students who have been safe and careful in the laboratory will be rewarded. Unsafe behavior will result in loss of privileges.
Grading Scale
PercentageGrade
93.0 – 100A
90.0 – 92.9A-
87.0 – 89.9B+
83.0 – 86.9B
80.0 – 82.9B-
77.0 – 79.9C+
73.0 – 76.9C
70.0 – 72.9C-
≤69.99D*
Note: We reserve the right to make positive adjustments to borderline grades at the end of each semester for those students who show motivation and interest in the subject. This is at our discretion and is non-negotiable. Don’t assume you are entitled to this privilege.
NOTE: Although your charted progress in this course may serve as an indicator of your success or failure with the overall AP score for AP Seminar, do not make any assumptions that your grade in this course for either semester will be an indicator or reflection of the final score which you will receive for the overall course from the College Board. Mr. McSparrin takes limited responsibility in your overall AP score. In addition to the documents you will be submitting to the College Board that we will be scoring, a designated College Board employee will be scoring these same documents. Mr. McSparrin will not be permitted to provide any feedback on these documents. Plus, you will have an end-of-course examination that will also be independently scored by a College Board employee. Therefore, because there are too many outside factors affecting your AP score, you will not be able to use your course grade as a predictor of your AP score, and no correlation can be drawn.
General Behavior Guidelines
- Be in your seat and have the necessary items for class before class begins. Necessary items would include: pencils/pens, notebook, textbook, paper, and calculator. We do not lend writing utensils, calculators, or paper.
- This is a discussion course. Talking while others have the floor is rude and disrespectful. We will afford you 100 % of our respect, unless you provide us with an instance to feel otherwise.Persistent disruptions may result in point deductions from homework or course participation grade.
- No food, gum, and/or drinks are to be brought into a science classroom.
- No cell phones are to be “on” or used during class time. Cell phones will be confiscated from anyone texting during class after being warned. If we confiscate a cell phone, you will be required to have a meeting with us and your SLC in order to have it returned. Subsequent confiscations will result in a meeting with us and Dr. Kavars.Note: Your privacy will be respected. You will be asked to power down your cell phone before turning it in.
- Purses and backpacks are to be left under your desk.
- Tardy to class is unacceptable, especially on an habitual basis. After 5 minutes, you will be considered tardyand will be marked as such. You will receive a warning for the first tardy to class. Subsequent instances of being tardycan be marked as class absences.
- Laying your head down and/or sleeping in class will result in a class absence being recorded, regardless of your reason or excuse.
Makeup Work
- Here at Indiana Academy, much higher expectations are placed upon you than you may be accustomed. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to consult Blackboard and other classmates to find out what information you have missed. We will make every attempt to keep Blackboard current with handouts given in class.
- You may have the length of time equal to the length of your absence to make up any missed work. For example, if you miss class one day, you may have one day to make up any missed work.
- Being absent from class does not excuse you from assignments which were due. If you are ill and cannot attend class, it is your responsibility to either send your assignment with a classmate or to send it via an e-mail attachment before the beginning of class. E-mail attachments sent after the beginning of class will be considered to be late and will receive late credit.
- In the event you miss laboratory for an excused reason, you must arrange a meeting with me as soon as possible to make up the laboratory within one week of the missed laboratory session. If the lab cannot be made up, then students with an academy approved excuse may be allowed to miss one lab without penalty at the discretion of the instructor.
- Unexcused absences: Students with unexcused absences may not be allowed to make up any missed work, and the grade will be recorded as “0”. If it is a first offense, a student might be able to make up the work with a late penalty assessed, but this is at the discretion of the instructor. Subsequent missed labs will result in a course grade reduction of 10% per each missing Lab report/assignment. Therefore,three or more missed labs (whether it be unexcused absences or not turning in lab assignments) may result in failing the course – if this happens early in the semester, then the student will be asked to drop the course. If you miss an exam due to an unexcused absence, then the make-up exam will be assessed a 20% penalty before it is graded. Those with an academy approved excuse will have no penalty unless the exam is not made up within a reasonable time period (please see #2 under Make-up Work).
Academic Integrity
As stated in the student handbook, “All members of the Academy community have a responsibility to promote the highest possible academic integrity. Students should always remember that the Academy Code of Conduct includes a commitment to ‘integrity in all things.’”
Collaboration on homework and teamwork is acceptable. However, every effort should be made to make sure you write homework answers in your own words. Clearly, collaboration on any individual written product for this class (whether for the College Board or not) is not acceptable.
Please consult the handout on the official policy of the College Board on plagiarism, falsification, and/or fabrication.
Statement Regarding Possible Disability:
If you need adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.
Statement Regarding Diversity:
Ball State University and the Indiana Academy aspires to be a university that attracts and retains a diverse faculty, staff, and student body. We are committed to ensuring that all members of the community are welcome, through valuing the various experiences and worldviews represented at Ball State and the Indiana Academy and among those we serve. We promote a culture of respect and civil discourse as expressed in our Beneficence Pledge and through university resources found at .
Tentative Laboratory Schedule
Lab Topic / WeekSafety/Pipetting in the Biomedical Lab / Aug. 17
Making Cheese / Aug. 24
Growing Model Organisms / Aug. 31
% Mass/Volume Solution: Gelatin Analysis / Sep. 7
Molarity and Serial Dilution / Sep. 14
DNA Necklace / Sep. 21
DNA Extraction from Yeast / Sep. 28
The E. coli Biotechnology Model / Oct. 5
DNA Quantification / Oct. 19
Electrophoresis of Dyes / Oct. 26
Restriction Analysis of DNA / Nov. 2
Transformation of E. coli with pGal / Nov. 9
PCR Amplification of DNA / Nov. 16
Quick Plant Genetics Using PCR / Nov. 30
Crime Scene DNA Investigation / Dec. 7
Lab Practical / Dec. 14
McSparrin – 08/14/ 17Page 1