FRS 001C — Sec. 001 — (1 unit) — CRN 82946 — W 9:00 – 9:50 am — 5 Wellman
Understanding the Literature of Biology

Instructor: Martin Wilson, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences

Description: Scientific papers, even those in broad coverage, high circulation journals, are written in a kind of code that is impenetrable to those outside the field. Part of the difficulty stems from the use of specialized language. Very often though the significance and context of a piece of work is unclear to outsiders but so obvious to insiders that it is never mentioned in the article. The aim of this course is to show students that it is possible to tackle and make sense of a paper that at first seems mostly unintelligible. The keys to understanding lie in identifying the cardinal concepts and the context for the work. Students will be shown how to use internet searches to explore cardinal concepts. Beyond these immediate goals is the more general aim of teaching students not to be afraid of material they don't understand and haven't heard about in class.

Format: The seminar will meet for one hour each week. Each week one student will be pre-assigned the role of discussion initiator. At this weekly meeting we will dissect the assigned paper identifying the key concepts and their meanings as recovered from internet searches. We will try to identify the context for the work. Students will be encouraged to collaborate and share their findings. Grading: The course grade will be based (50%) on the quality of participation in class discussion. Students will be required to keep a notebook in which they keep track of their analysis of papers. This notebook will contain key concepts and their meanings. The quality of the notes will count for (50%) of the grade.

About the Instructor: Professor Wilson is a member of the faculty in the Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. His research interests are in Neuroscience and particularly synaptic function. He has for many years taught seminar classes examining the neuroscience literature as well as large enrolment classes for both upper and lower division students. Two years ago in collaboration with another faculty member he developed and taught a writing and discussion class for freshmen biology majors.