SEMINAR
BIO 401-01
Fall 1996
Convener: Dr. Larry A. Giesmann
Office: NS-512
Phone: 572-5304 (office)
635-5322 (home)
e-mail: giesmann@NKU.edu (please indicate BIO 401" on subject line)
Office Hours: TBA
Text: none
Presentation Criteria:
1. Each enrolled student will make two presentations to the class at predetermined dates
during the semester. The topics of the talks should be of general interest to biologists
and must be approved by the course convener. Topics should deal with research in the
biological sciences done within the past ten years.
2. Each topic must have written approval of an appropriate faculty consultant from the
Department of Biological Sciences. This written approval must be submitted along with
your two topics (in the form of a faculty signature appended to each topic) at the second
class meeting . The faculty consultant would logically be one who is familiar with the
subject area covered by the talk and one who can give assistance in finding references
as well as critiquing your talk and written materials prior to presentation.
3. During the week preceding your presentation (i.e., by Friday), a concise, 100- to 150-
word written abstract of your talk must be prepared and copied for distribution to all
those who attend seminar. Copies should also be posted in the Department office and
the Beta Beta Beta/biology student study area. The course convener must receive a
copy of your abstract, initialed by your faculty advisor prior to this distribution. The name
of the faculty consultant should be listed on the abstract along with your name and the
title of your talk. On a separate sheet that is attached to your abstract, list the primary
and secondary references used to prepare your presentation. Over-reliance on
secondary references, or references not listed in this bibliography, will result in
deduction of points from the abstract score. At the time of your talk, you must present
the course convener with a photocopy of the first page of each paper or book cited as a
source in your bibliography. The format of the reference list should conform to that
presented in the CBE style manual and the one you learned in Library Resources.
4. A brief outline of your talk, with your name, presentation title, and faculty consultant
should be prepared, copied, and distributed at the beginning of class the day of your
presentation.
5. Each presenter and his/her topic will be introduced by a designated member of the
class. Introductions should be informative, but very brief.
6. Each presentation should include visual aids. Although any form may be used (e.g.,
posters, overhead transparencies, specimens, chalkboard, etc.), 35mm (2x2) slides are
most commonly used at professional meetings and are recommended for Seminar. A
35mm slide projector will be on reserve in the Department office for the exclusive use of
the Seminar classes during normal business hours (8:30 am through 4:30 pm)
throughout the week. You must sign out the projector and return it as soon as your are
finished. On Friday, from 8 am until 1 pm, two projectors will be available in the office.
If you need other equipment, you must make arrangements for it to be available.
7. At the end of each talk, the speaker will entertain questions from the audience as part of
the presentation. As you prepare for your talk, anticipate questions and be prepared to
address them. Remember that you don't necessarily have to know factual answers to
respond appropriately to questions--many times the correct response is to indicate that
you don't know the answer or didn't encounter any information relative to that question
during your preparation. Pre-arranged "questions" from the audience are generally quite
obvious and will detract from your evaluation.
8. Each presentation will be evaluated by all seminar students and Departmental faculty in
attendance using a standard evaluation form--student forms are white and faculty are
blue. The convener will collect the forms and provide you with numerical summaries
and copies of written comments at the next class meeting. The purpose of BIO 401 is to
help you develop an effective methodology and style of presenting scientific information.
Constructive criticism is an essential part of this development and the evaluations must
therefore reflect both positive and negative aspects of the presentations.
9. At the end of each class session, as time permits, an oral critique of each seminar will
be given by class members after other people attending the seminar have left the room.
Presentation Length:
Your first presentation should last seven-to-eight minutes and the second should last ten-to-
eleven minutes. Length of the presentation is a grading criterion; if the presentation is too
short or too long, deductions will be made from your score (two points per minute). One minute
before the minimum time is reached, the convener will stand to indicate that you have between
one and two minutes to conclude your presentation. Practice before the seminar will help you
determine pacing necessary to finish within the indicated time parameters.
Attendance:
Attendance is required in this course. Absences that are not excused by the convener will
result in a two-point deduction from your final course average for each occurrence. The class
meets during what is normally lunch time for most of those in attendance. However, please
show respect for the people making presentations by not eating, talking, or otherwise being
disruptive during Seminar.
Grading:
Your course letter grade is based on your presentations and attendance throughout the course.
A report will be provided to you by the convener for each presentation made. The second,
longer presentation will be weighted more heavily (60%) than the first (40%) in determining
your letter grade. The grade will be assigned based on your final percentage score according
to the following scale:
A = 90-100% D = 60-69%
B = 80-89% F = below 60%
C = 70-79%
Last Modified 25 August 1996