Course Descriptions

01:447:430 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN GENETICS

This course is for Genetics majors only.

Offered

Fall, Spring

Credits

3

Prerequisites

Declared Major in Genetics; must have completed one semester of Research in Genetics, Advanced Independent Study, or Genetic Counseling Rotation. Special permission from the Genetics Office is required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Course Description

Communication is an essential part of science. Whether it is communicating research findings to other scientists or conveying complex concepts to a lay audience, a scientist must be able to effectively communicate their research to succeed. Communication in science is typically through publications, posters, or oral presentations. The goal of this course is to provide students practice in effectively communicating scientific findings. This includes preparing and revising an introduction for scientific papers, writing a research description for general audience, and preparing and giving presentations (both oral and poster).

Course Syllabus 

Fall 2021 Syllabus

Course Satisfies Genetics Departmental Learning Goals

Students will be able to communicate their discoveries through a written article appropriate for publication in a peer-reviewed Genetics journal, and through talks or posters appropriate for scientific meetings.

Course Satisfies SAS Core Learning Goals:

Writing and Communication, Revision (WCr)
Writing and Communication in a Discipline (WCd)

Exams, Assignments, and Grading Policy

25%- MISC section
          1) Attendance & Class participation- 13%
          2) Homework- 6%
          3) Quizzes- 6%

25%- Writing section:
            1) Project narrative, research question and hypothesis (PRH) (Total= 8%)
                   a) Drafts of PRH- 4%
                   b) Final PRH- 4%
           2) Editing & revising introduction- (Total= 17%)
                   a) Submit intro from last semester- 2%
                   b) Editing group members’ introductions- 10%
                   c) Final revised introduction- 5%

25%- Oral presentation
           1) Outside seminars and testing critiques- 3%
           2) Student critiques- 8%
           3) Professor critique- 10%
           4) Self-evaluation- 4%

25%- Poster section: final poster and poster session

Required textbook:

Scientific Writing and Communication: Papers, Proposals, and Presentations (Fourth edition), Angelika H. Hofmann, Oxford University Press, 2019; ISBN: 9780190063283.

• Order from Oxford(Links to an external site.)
• Order from Amazon (including used & rentals)

Course Closed?

Please use Departmental SPN system to request or Genetics Undergraduate Director (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Faculty

Dr. Gary Heiman (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

** All information is subject to change at the discretion of the course coordinator.