Course Outline Form: Winter 2014 General Information

Transcription

1 Course Outline Form: Winter 2014 General Information Course Title: MBG-3060DE Quantitative Genetics Course Description: This course examines the nature of Mendelian inheritance when extended to quantitative traits that are jointly influenced by the environment and the simultaneous segregation of many genes. Prediction of response to natural and artificial selection in populations will also be studied. Credit Weight: 0.5 Academic Department (or campus): Department of Animal and Poultry Science Campus: Guelph Semester Offering: Winter Class Schedule and Location: Online instruction Instructor Information Instructor Name: Andy Robinson Instructor Office location and office hours: ANNU 146 Tuesday 4:30 to 7:00pm GTA Information GTA Name: Kristen Alves, Madison Kozak, Narges Zare GTA Course Content Genetic variation is the engine that drives natural and artificial selection. Quantitative Genetics focuses on quantifying and measuring characteristics about animals called traits and variation in those traits. By the end of this course, you will be able to think like a quantitative geneticist and analyze and quantify genetic variation, showing how it can be influenced and manipulated, both by natural and artificial means. 1

2 Specific Learning Outcomes To help you achieve that overall outcome, specific learning outcomes for this course are to be able to: Analyze how allele frequency can fluctuate within a population over time, describe factors that affect these fluctuations and analyze how these factors affect genetic variation Estimate levels of genetic variation within a population and demonstrate how that variation may be exploited to make genetic change in populations over time Demonstrate how an individual locus can contribute to quantitative genetic variation involving many loci in the same individual or in many individuals in the population Demonstrate how genetic variation can be gained or lost through selection of mates, combining different populations and other mechanisms Demonstrate why the mating of close relatives leads to a loss of genetic variation and how to recover lost genetic variation Topic and Quiz Alignment Please note the face-to-face and distance education formats of this course keep pace with one another arranged around quizzes. The lecture topics covered by the podcasts and flowing through the modules in the handbook are based on the face-to-face delivery in 3 lectures / week: Course Assignments and Tests Component Information Weighting in Final Grade Weekly Quizzes 10 in total, 4 points each, 36% lowest grade is dropped Scheduled in CourseLink Selection Quiz Scheduled in CourseLink 4% Online Participation Posting by the End of Week 6 10% Sunday Feb. 19 at 11:59pm Paper by the End of Week 12 Sunday April 6 at 11:59pm Final Exam April 14, % Final examination date and time: Monday April 14, :30 am to 1:30 pm Final exam weighting: 50% Please note that you must pass the final exam to pass the course. Course Resources Required Texts: None Other Resources The primary source of reference material for the course is handbook. 2

3 Also posted (on CourseLink) you will find course notes consisting of a complete set of slides from a previous face-to-face course offering and lecture podcasts. Those notes represent a complete set of course reference material but in the interest of saving forest resources, you might want to wait to see if you need them before printing them out. Additional material may be posted on CourseLink throughout the semester in the News section. Sporadically links to relevant information from the media or scientific literature to provide background on topics we discuss onle will be posted on CourseLink also, either in the News or in the relevant online discussion forum. Course Policies Grading Policies and Missed or Late Assessments Quizzes for Credit The quizzes are scheduled weekly as shown above (consult CourseLink for the dates). Each weekly quiz has 15 questions; the first 10 questions follow the practice quizzes (see below) and the final 5 questions explore concepts that integrate the topics covered in the quiz with previous topics and relate the theory to practical applications. There are 9 weekly quizzes throughout the semester and a Bonus Quiz at the end of the semester for a total of 10 quizzes and the best 9 quiz grades will be used for your final grade. Please note that the selection quiz is not part of this best 9 system. Each weekly quiz is open for 8 days from Monday at 6:00 am to the following Tuesday at 11:59 pm and is due when the quiz module closes at 11:59pm on the due date. You may have quiz experience from other courses that is probably different from the quizzes in this course there is no time limit here, just a final deadline. During these 8 days you can re-open and re-enter the quiz as often as you like until you submit it. With this system, there is no opportunity for late quiz submission because the answers are released when the quiz closes. As a safety net, you have 2 attempts for each quiz. Again, this is different from other courses in that you will NOT know the grade on a first attempt if you choose to make a second attempt. The extra attempt is there should you wish to retry a quiz and CourseLink will keep the highest of the two grades. Should it happen that you are unable to complete your quiz on time due to circumstances warranting academic consideration contact me by to request academic consideration. If you have a bad week, the Makeup Quiz is available at the end of the semester as a safety net to replace one assignment. There is no quiz in week 6 (when you can work on your participation post) or over Reading Week. The Selection Quiz is a special quiz covering the very important topic of selection and is designed to review all the types of selection we cover throughout the semester. Practice Quizzes Each of the 9 weekly quizzes for credit has a matching practice quiz. You have unlimited attempts for the practice quizzes and the question feedback has been specially designed to assist you in understanding the material covered by each question. The practice quizzes remain open for the rest of the semester so you can use them to review for the final exam as well. Each 3

4 practice quiz contains 10 questions and many of the quizzes have randomized elements to provide variety and new learning experiences with each attempt. The quizzes for credit may also draw from questions you might see on a practice quiz. Please note there are no practice quizzes for the Bonus Quiz and the Selection Quiz since those quizzes review material covered throughout the semester so you have already been practicing for those quizzes. Participation Assignments There are two deadlines in the online participation component of the course. The first deadline is for you to make at least one posting discussing the questions posted for the Timeline Activity linked to the first week of the Coursework page. Make you postings for this deadline by Sunday February 19, 2014 at 11:59pm. The second deadline is to write a BRIEF 1-PAGE reflective paper on your contributions to the course in the online environment and how those contributions may have contributed to your learning and to the learning of your fellow students. Submit this paper electronically in Word s.docx format or in a generic Rich Text Format (.rtf) to the CourseLink DropBox set up for this assignment by the end of Week 12, Sunday April 6, 2014 by 11:59pm. In the reflective paper, be sure to include a copy of the mandatory post (this is outside the single page limit) you made for the Week 6 deadline to eliminate any guesswork as to which posting you want to consider the one that you made to meet that requirement. Exam This course carries the stipulation that you must pass the final exam to pass the course. This requirement is designed to ensure fairness in the online environment so there is no route for someone to have extensive help on the quizzes and pass the course without studying the material. With the final exam, University policy on academic consideration applies (see below). Course Policy on Group Work The quizzes are designed as an experiential learning tool. I encourage you to collaborate and work together on your quizzes to enhance your learning experience. Each of you must submit individual quizzes and you will find with the randomized elements built in to the quizzes that each of you will be doing a slightly different quiz covering the same concepts. Course Policy regarding use of electronic devices and recording of lectures The instructor has provided a set of recorded lectures on CourseLink. These come from the Winter 2007 offering of the course where one lecture recording technology was used throughout the semester. These podcasts are provided for the convenience of students officially registered in the course and may not be reproduced, or transmitted to others, without the express written consent of the instructor. University Policies Academic Consideration When you find yourself unable to meet an in-course requirement because of illness or compassionate reasons, please advise the course instructor in writing, with your name, ID 4

5 number, and contact. See the academic calendar for information on regulations and procedures for Academic Consideration: Academic Misconduct The University of Guelph is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and it is the responsibility of all members of the University community, faculty, staff, and students to be aware of what constitutes academic misconduct and to do as much as possible to prevent academic offences from occurring. University of Guelph students have the responsibility of abiding by the University's policy on academic misconduct regardless of their location of study; faculty, staff and students have the responsibility of supporting an environment that discourages misconduct. Students need to remain aware that instructors have access to and the right to use electronic and other means of detection. Please note: Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of guilt. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before submitting it. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part could be construed as an academic offence should consult with a faculty member or faculty advisor. The Academic Misconduct Policy is detailed in the Undergraduate Calendar: Accessibility The University of Guelph is committed to creating a barrier-free environment. Providing services for students is a shared responsibility among students, faculty and administrators. This relationship is based on respect of individual rights, the dignity of the individual and the University community's shared commitment to an open and supportive learning environment. Students requiring service or accommodation, whether due to an identified, ongoing disability or a short-term disability should contact the Centre for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible. For more information, contact CSD at ext or csd@uoguelph.ca or see the website: Course Evaluation Information The course evaluation for this course is electronic and will be linked to the CourseLink page for the course when it is accessible. Drop date The last date to drop one-semester courses, without academic penalty, is March 7, For regulations and procedures for Dropping Courses, see the Academic Calendar: 5