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BCHM 1014: Biochem First Year Experience Wednesdays, 4:00-4:50 PM, LITR 1670 Instructor: Zachary Mackey, Ph.D. Asst. Professor, Biochemistry Office: 124 Engel Hall [email protected] Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA): Mike Casasanta 2 nd^ Year Graduate Student Email: [email protected] Peer Mentors: You will have the opportunity to meet in smaller groups with your peer mentors if needed. Your Peer Mentors are assigned according to the first letters of your last name. Your last name Peer Mentors Email Meeting Room A-Dixey Robert Fuchs Coleen Ward [email protected] [email protected] Sietz Hall 207 Dixon- Johnson Moiz Nasir Caroline Myer [email protected] [email protected] Litton-Reaves 1 760 Jollie- McNeal Hyun Kang Elizabeth Brown [email protected] [email protected] Litton-Reaves 1800 Melendez-Q Michelle Ton Kathy Barron [email protected] [email protected] Hutchenson Hall 209 R- Stevens Nicholas Giokas Anita Yang [email protected] [email protected] Hutcheson Hall 310 Stone-Z Michael Tod Chitti Raju [email protected] [email protected] Smyth Hall 331 Biochemistry Undergraduate Coordinators: David Bevan, Ph.D., [email protected]; Tim Larson, Ph.D., [email protected], Jinsong Zhu, Ph.D. [email protected] First Year Advisors: Jianyoung Li, Ph.D., [email protected], Biswarup Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D., [email protected], Daniel Slade, Ph.D., [email protected] OFFICE HOURS : Before and after class or by appointment. The GTA can be contacted if you have questions about a grade or need assistance with the course, but the instructor (Mackey) is the final authority for all grading matters. Peer Mentors are available by email and will meet in smaller classes if/when necessary. Please note the room that is assigned to your group. The rooms are reserved from 5:00- 6 :50 on Wednesday for the duration of the semester. The discussion leaders can be contacted about questions you have pertaining to course content. Your undergraduate advisor can be contacted about general advising issues, and Drs. Bevan and Larson can be contacted about the Biochemistry major, in general. When contacting us for an appointment, please send an email and suggest at least two specific days and times you are available to meet. We will respond and then you should verify your appointment by return email. Please allow 48 hours for a return email, especially on weekends. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course has three goals. The first goal is to foster a community of first year Biochemistry majors and as such, you will receive general information and advice during the
class to help you plan and carry out your studies at Virginia Tech. You should feel free to ask general, major-related questions at any time in the course. The second goal is to introduce incoming students to the field of biochemistry and highlight different career options. Thus, this course should build your awareness of the kinds of questions and problems that can be solved using biochemical approaches. The third goal is to enhance your critical thinking skills and explore the nature of science. Your familiarity with biochemistry as a discipline and as an educational and career path will be built by reading articles, interacting with websites, attending lectures, engaging in discussions, and asking questions. COURSE PREREQUISITES: None. PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS This course is a First Year Experience course. FYE is a program designed for first-year students- freshman and transfer students- with the intent of equipping students with the appropriate tools necessary to engage in substantive exploration and discovery of themselves and the world around them. We will accomplish this through numerous curricular and co-curricular opportunities, in order to develop students into reflective and responsible learners and citizens. As such, the program is focused on the development of lifelong learning skills, such as problem-solving, inquiry, and the integration of knowledge. This course continually assesses its effectiveness through its student outcomes. An example of your work, a homework assignment, survey results, or other work may be selected, at random, for assessment. This process will not reflect your grade, will not require you do additional work, and your work will be confidentially handled. Through your cooperation, we are working to improve teaching and learning at Virginia Tech. LEARNING OUTCOMES: LO1: Inquiry. Students will be able to retrieve scientific information on topics related to biochemistry using effective, ethically and legally responsible collection and analysis of information that results in informed conclusions. LO2: Problem Solving. Students will be able to evaluate scientific data and determine whether the conclusions follow from the data presented. Students will also lay the foundation for designing their own experimental approaches to solve problems. LO3: Integration. Students will be able to make connections between scientific facts, theories, hypotheses and experimental approaches, and apply them to new situations within and beyond campus. REQUIRED READINGS : There is no textbook for this course. Materials including scientific papers will be posted on our Scholar web site at: https://scholar.vt.edu/portal. You MUST use this website. I will update this page throughout the semester. We will also be using the VT Common Book: The Heart and the Fist. You should have already received this book. GRADING INFORMATION
- In-class and homework assignments: For most class sessions there will be an in-class activity. All homework assignment must be turned in by the beginning of class on their due
are approved through the Services for Students with Disabilities Office, 150 Henderson Hall, 231-3788, http://www.ssd.vt.edu. Mobile Technologies: Personal use of cell phones, handheld or laptop computers, or PDAs is not allowed in BCHM 1014. You should be able to discern between personal use of devises and using them as part of a class exercise. Please respect your classmates by silencing cell phones before entering the class. Honor Code: The tenets of the Virginia Tech Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course, and all assignments shall be subject to the stipulations of the Honor Code. For more information on the Honor Code, please refer to the Undergraduate Honor System Constitution, located online at: http://www.honorsystem.vt.edu/constitution.html. Principles of Community: Virginia Tech is a public land-grant university, committed to teaching and learning, research, and outreach to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world community. Learning from the experiences that shape Virginia Tech as an institution, we acknowledge those aspects of our legacy that reflected bias and exclusion. Therefore, we adopt and practice the following principles as fundamental to our on-going efforts to increase access and inclusion and to create a community that nurtures learning and growth for all of its members:
- We affirm the inherent dignity and value of every person and strive to maintain a climate for work and learning based on mutual respect and understanding.
- We affirm the right of each person to express thoughts and opinions freely. We encourage open expression within a climate of civility, sensitivity, and mutual respect.
- We affirm the value of human diversity because it enriches our lives and the University. We acknowledge and respect our differences while affirming our common humanity.
- We reject all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including those based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, and veteran status. We take individual and collective responsibility for helping to eliminate bias and discrimination and for increasing our own understanding of these issues through education, training, and interaction with others.
- We pledge our collective commitment to these principles in the spirit of the Virginia Tech motto of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).
