Biology 315 Parasitology.
If for some reason, the Moodle system is down (It happens occasionally), you can always find the home page for this course at >>https://bioclass.cos.ncsu.edu/parasitmaterials/>>. This is an independent locker that houses the current copy of the web site. You cannot however submit assignments, etc. from this website. However you can access lecture guides, and download homework assignments.
Dr. Marianne Niedzlek-Feaver
Office: 136 David Clark lab
E-mail: mnfeaver@ncsu.edu
If you are having problems mastering any part of the course, do not hesitate to email me to discuss your concerns with me. I will do all I can to help you. Please, do not wait to try to reverse poor performance until the end of the course.
Parasites, Tales of Humanity's Most Unwelcomed Guests, Rosemary Drisdelle, 2010, University of California Press----History Online Resources QL757 .D75 2010 ebook----available as digital download in our library. I cannot distribute this resource, so you each will have to download your own copy from the library.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/---------Most everything else for parasites of humans and domestic animals.
World Health Organization http://www.who.int/topics/en/ and http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/en/--------More on parasite reservoirs, biogeography etc.
Parasite of the day http://dailyparasite.blogspot.com/-------More unusual parasites.
Evolution 101 http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01----------Basic reference on evolutionary theory.
I find the best way to teach for retention is to use a student centered approach. I really want you to remember the material long after this course. That is why I provide guides and weekly assignments that take you through the material. Instead of a textbook, I am offering you the best our government has to offer in compiling information on human parasites and those affecting domestic animals. We will take from these websites the newest information on progress toward parasite detection, treatment and elimination. These websites and primary/secondary sources will also offer examples that will demonstrate the importance of vectors, life cycles, the role parasites play in communities and the co-evolutionary race that is continuously ongoing between host and parasite. You will have guides to aid you in collecting the information necessary to answer the questions on the assignments. The guides, assignments and readings will be the material tested. I will first introduce some basic principles, using US parasites as the examples. Then we will look at parasites' impact globally. This section will be traditionally organized and we will examine the three basic groups of parasites important to man, protozoans, helminths and arthropods. Finally we will look at methods currently in use to detect parasitic infestations.
You will be graded on weekly assignments, and three exams.
Assignments: The assignments will cover readings, guides to readings and topics I place on the website, and activities involving websites that may contain relevant animations, simulations or simple more information on some topics. As part of homework, different groups may be asked to fill in study guide tables for the class. For us to compile this information from several students, you must submit your homework as doc, docx or text files. If you use google docs, make sure you convert your homework into a Word doc format. The same goes for students using Apple computers. I myself am a Macintosh devotee, but you still will need to save your work as a Word doc format so I can extract it easily from Moodle and work with it.
Assignments: 200 pts. There are seven assignments, each worth about 30-40 pts. That means that a few errors will not drop your grade and in fact you will be able to earn the 200 pts. that can be counted toward your grade even if your scores on all assignments are less than perfect or you really blow one assignment. No more however than 200 pts. can be counted toward the grade points for the course. This emphasis on homework also means you cannot do well in this course unless you do well on most homework assignments. Simply cutting and pasting relevant text, directly from the guide or readings, for answers will earn you low scores on homework assignments. Most questions will ask for some synthesis of material read and in your own words.
Most assignments will be due at the end of the week, W-H at midnight. New assignments will be posted on Friday or early Saturday, so I can at least quickly scan the most recent homework submitted to see if I need to revise the next assignment. Actual due dates are posted on the schedule.
All assignments must be submitted via the Moodle website for this course. Again, please convert all files to docx files before submitting them.
Exams and Final: 400 pts. See schedule for dates. Exams will consists of several one attempt timed quizzes. These quizzes are timed so that you can complete them only if you know most of the material before taking the exam. The quizzes are to be considered closed book exams. If you cheat and try to look up every answer you will become hassled, confused and probably not complete the exam. I also may post different versions of the exam for different dates during the period you can take the exam. Discussing any questions on any exam with other students who have not taken the exam or aiding another student during an exam is considered a breach of the University honor code. So is trying to look up answers or using any digital, paper or internet resource as a source of answers. The material at this time is suppose to be in your head not on some paper slip next to your computer.
Grading: Consideration will be given for improvement, or one bad grade, etc. Homework can put students in a grade category above that dictated by their averages on exam scores, so please take these assignments seriously and deserving of your best effort.
A+ greater than 580 points
A greater than 560 points.
A- 540-559 points
B+ 520-539 points
B 500-519 points
B- 480-499 points
C+ 460-479 points
C 440-459 points
C- 420-439 points
D+ 400-419 points
D 380-399 points
D- 360-379 points
F less than 359 points
Email Etiquette
Make sure to include your full name in the body of all emails you send to me. In the subject heading, please write Bio 315 and your last name. If you are attaching a document, include your name in the document and use your name and course number for the file name. Also Include your full name in the attached document. If you’re replying to an email, please include any previous exchanges in the email reply.
Please never simply hit reply to an email I send to the class. Our client will tile these among the original emails I sent to all students. That means all I know is that someone replied to my email and I must search though all the previous emails to find yours. EDIT THE SUBJECT.
Please allow 24 hours (48 hours on the weekend) for me to answer emails. I try to check my email twice a day, but there may be meetings, etc. that sometimes prevent me from checking my email till late at night. I have also had my home service fail for a few days in the past.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DISABILITIES: Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. To take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services Office at Suite 2221, Student Health Center, Box 7509, 919-515-7653. For more info. on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, see Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.01)
POLICIES, RULES, AND REGULATIONS: Students are responsible for reviewing the PRRs that pertain to their course rights and responsibilities. These include: http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-04-25-05 (Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy Statement), http://oied.ncsu.edu/oied/policies.php (Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity), http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-11-35-01 (Code of Student Conduct), and http://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-02-50-03 (Grades and Grade Point Average).
SUPPORTING FELLOW STUDENTS IN DISTRESS: As members of the NC State Wolfpack community, we each share a personal responsibility to express concern for one another and to ensure that this classroom and the campus as a whole remains a safe environment for learning. Occasionally, students may come across a fellow classmate whose personal behavior concerns or worries them. When this is the case, we encourage students to report this behavior to the NC State Students of Concern website: http://studentsofconcern.ncsu.edu/. Although reports can be anonymous, it is preferred that students share contact information to facilitate follow-ups pertinent to the reports.