Welcome to the BIOL 230 (Microbiology) hybrid course! My name is Dr. Gary Kaiser and I will be your professor for both the on-line lecture portion of this course and the Catonsville campus-held labs you will attend twice a week. My lecture E-text, the on-line version of my Laboratory Manual, syllabus, and all other materials needed in this course can be found on my website at http://student.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/index.html. Note that the course is NOT on WebCT. (I had the hybrid course on-line before WebCT existed and I want anyone to have easy access to my teaching materials.) You can talk person-to-person with me before, during, or after any lab. You can also e-mail me anytime at gkaiser@ccbcmd.edu. I check e-mails daily, including weekends. My office telephone and voice mail is (443) 840-4289.
On-Campus Labs
The labs meet on both Monday and Wednesday evenings from 8:55pm - 10:15pm. Lab is worth 35% of your grade in the course. Since lab provides a critical hands-on component to the understanding of Microbiology, attendance in the majority of labs is essential. While all laboratory exercises are important in terms of content and course success, the following 12 lab exercises are considered "core labs" and you will be graded on their mastery of lab techniques during each of these labs:
1. Introduction to the Microscope and Comparison of Size and Shape of Microorganisms
2. Aseptic Technique and Transfer of Microorganisms
3. Isolation of Pure Cultures from Mixed Populations
4. Enumeration of Microorganisms
5. Direct Stain and Indirect Stain
6. Gram Stain and Capsule Stain
8. Biochemical Testing to Identify Microorganisms
12. Isolation and Identification of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas: Part 1
13. Isolation and Identification of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas: Part 2
14. Isolation and Identification of Streptococci
15. Isolation and Identification of Staphylococci
21. Control of Microorganisms by Using Antimicrobial Chemotherapeutic AgentsYour performance during each of these 12 core labs is worth 10 points for a total of 120 points. Your instructor will allow you to miss only one core labs and only for a valid and documented reason. Unless you are able to attend one of the other lab sections doing the lab you miss the week it is missed, there is no way to make up a missed core lab.
In addition to the core lab points, there will be six lab quizzes worth between 38 and 60 points each. Lab quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice, matching, short answer, and practical questions. Questions will come directly from the Learning Objectives found at the end of each lab exercise in your lab manual. Lab quizzes will be given in lab prior to beginning that day's assigned lab exercise. The lab schedule can be found on p. 28 of your syllabus. Lab quiz dates can be found under "Important Dates" on p. 7-8 of your syllabus.
You will need a hard copy of your lab manual The Grapes of Staph: A Microbiology Laboratory Manual by Kaiser and bring it to each laboratory session. You can either purchase a copy of this manual from the Catonsville campus bookstore in the K-building or print your own PDF copy from the link on my website at http://student.ccbcmd.edu/~gkaiser/pdflm/LabManual_2009.pdf. When using the hard-copy of your Lab Manual for studying, make sure you use it in conjunction with the on-line version to take advantage of the hundreds of illustrations, animations, photomicrographs, and electron micrographs included.
On-Line Lectures
The on-line lecture component of the course is available on my website. The site is not passworded and is available 24/7. Lecture is worth 65% of your grade in the course.
Your lecture grade will be based on six lecture exams. Lecture exams one through five will be approximately two-thirds multiple choice/matching questions and one-third discussion. Questions will directly test your understanding of the Learning Objectives provided at the beginning of each new Learning Object in your Lecture E-text. Discussion/short answer questions will come directly from those objectives indicated by asterisks. Questions will test your knowledge of the factual objectives as well as your ability to apply this factual knowledge. Lecture exams can either be taken in the college testing center or in class with either of my traditional lecture sections.
The remaining test is a take home exam reviewing DNA, RNA, protein synthesis, and enzymes, materials that you should have learned in the prerequisite biology course. This exam and the objectives it covers will be passed out the first day of class, or you can print a copy of the take home molecular genetics review exam from my website at http://student.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/pdflg/index.html. Since this is a review of topics covered in your general biology prerequisite course, you will do this on your own. Content to help you review the essential topics and complete the exam can be found at the end of Part-1 of your hard-copy of your lecture-E-text, or on-line in Section I, parts A-G (Microbial Genetics) in my on-line E-text at http://student.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit6/index.html.
You will also write a formal paper on a selected viral infection. The paper will be written following the instructions and format provided by your instructor in a separate handout and will be graded based on the rubric in that handout. The paper is worth 50 points. Your paper will be submitted through the Turnitin.com. You can print an extra PDF copy of the instructions for the viral paper by going to the menu at my website at http://student.ccbcmd.edu/~gkaiser/goshp.html and clicking on "PDF Lecture E-Text.
You may wish to have a hard-copy of your microbiology E-text BIOL 230 - Microbiology: Lecture E-Text and Learning Objectives by Kaiser. You can either purchase a copy of this manual from the Catonsville campus bookstore in the K-building or print your own PDF copy from the link on my website at http://student.ccbcmd.edu/~gkaiser/goshp.html and clicking on "PDF Lecture E-Text. When using the hard-copy of your E-text for studying, make sure you use it in conjunction with the on-line version to take advantage of the hundreds of illustrations, animations, photomicrographs, and electron micrographs included.
The Lecture Schedule can be found on p. 15-27 of your syllabus and the exam dates can be found under "Important Dates" on p. 7-8. The deadline date for each exam will be the same date as that scheduled for my on-campus lecture sections. The exam will be available in the testing center one week before that deadline date.
BIOL 230 Course Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Explain relationships and apply appropriate terminology relating to the structure, metabolism, genetics, and ecology of prokaryotic microorganisms, eukaryotic microorganisms, and viruses.
2. Explain interactions between opportunistic and pathogenic microorganisms and susceptible hosts in contacts that result in infection and/or disease and apply these interactions to disease symptoms.
3. Explain innate and adaptive immune responses and apply this understanding to the infectious disease process as well as the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
4. Explain principles of physical and chemical methods used in the control of microorganisms and apply this understanding to the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
5. Demonstrate appropriate laboratory skills and techniques related to the isolation, staining, identification, assessment of metabolism, and control of microorganisms.
6. Develop the ability to work both independently and with others in the laboratory and draw appropriate conclusions from laboratory results.
7. Develop an information base for making personal health decisions in regard to infectious diseases.
Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.