Instructors:

Dr. Sharyn Marks (primarily teaching lecture)

Dr. Karen Reiss (primarily teaching lab)

Office: Sci B 322

Office: Sci A 454A

Phone: 826-5560

Phone: 826-4156

Email: sbm1@axe.humboldt.edu

Email: kzr1@axe.humboldt.edu

Office Hours: M, W 1000-1050; Th 1100-1150

Office Hours: F 1030-1200

(Both instructors are available by appointment for additional office hours.)

Goals of the course:

The development of a fertilized egg into a complex multicellular organism is one of the great mysteries of the universe, and has confounded observers at least since the time of Aristotle.  Animal development can be studied both as a descriptive pattern and a mechanistic process.  Descriptive Embryology focuses on the patterns of cell division, cell movement, and spatial relationships of organ primordia.  Experimental Embryology seeks to analyze the mechanisms of development by experimental manipulation of developing embryos.  In recent years both of these fields have been revolutionized by an explosion of information about the molecular aspects of development.  We now have the ability not only to examine normal patterns of gene expression, but also to manipulate these patterns in order to understand the developmental function of the genes.  This course aims to give a balanced appreciation for and understanding of animal development in all its aspects: both descriptive and experimental, morphological and molecular.

Readings:

Required Supplies (available at the HSU bookstore):

Lab Notebook:

A major part of the laboratory work for the course will consist of your keeping a lab notebook, which will be collected periodically to give you feedback.  The lab notebook will provide you with a place to record your observations, including sketches of developing embryos, and experimental procedures.  You should buy a 3-ring binder, as well as both lined and unlined (for sketches) paper.

Open Lab Hours:

Animals develop according to their own schedule, not ours.  For many of the labs involving live animals it will be necessary to come into lab outside of assigned hours to observe the development of your embryos. 

In addition, understanding embryonic anatomy using microscope slides is a conceptually challenging task.  It requires integration of 2-dimensional information from sectioned material into a complex, 4-dimensional picture of a developing embryo.  If you prepare for lab, you should be able to see everything during the assigned lab time.  Nevertheless, you will certainly need to spend additional time out of scheduled lab hours reviewing this material.

During the week, the lab will be open for your use as long as the building is open (8 AM to 10 PM) and no other class is using the room.  A room schedule will soon be posted on the door.  A dissecting microscope and compound microscope, as well as one set of review slides, will be available at all times. On weekends the lab is open 11 AM - 5 PM (usually starting the third weekend of the semester).  The good compound microscopes and additional slides will be available on the weekends, and can be checked out from the building monitor.

Grading:

Your final grade will be based on your performance in lecture and lab.  Your mastery of the lecture material will be assessed with 3 lecture exams, the last of which (i.e., the final) will be comprehensive.  Lab evaluations will include quizzes, lab reports, and a take-home final.  In addition, your overall participation and professionalism will be taken into account.  Point breakdown is as follows:

Lecture Midterms (2 x 100 pts) 200 pts
Lecture Final 150 pts
Homework Assignments 50 pts
Lab Quizzes 150 pts
Lab Reports (4 x 25 pts) 100 pts
Take-home lab final

 100 pts
---------
Total 750 pts

Grading is on a straight scale -- i.e., there is not a curve.  Final letter grades will be assigned based on the percentage of total points you earn as follows: A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, F = 0-59%.  Plus- and minus-grades will be assigned within these ranges.

Clerical errors in tallying points on exams must be brought to our attention within a week after return of the exam.

Course policies and expectations:

  1. Attendance. Attendance is mandatory during the first week of classes.  Throughout the course, you are expected to attend all lectures and labs, be prepared, and be on time.  If you must miss class, you are responsible for getting lecture and/or lab notes from another student in the class.  There is no way to make up the labs that involve live animals, and lab reports will not be accepted from any student who was not present in lab.
  2. Missed exams. Make-up lecture exams and lab quizzes may be arranged only upon demonstration of serious extenuating circumstances (e.g., serious illness, family emergency, etc.).  In the case of illness, you will need formal documentation (e.g., a note from your doctor or the Student Health Center).  Other reasons for requesting a make-up will be examined on a case by case basis.  No makeup exams will be given without our approval prior to the scheduled time of the exam. 
  3. Due dates. Late assignments (e.g., lab reports) are strongly discouraged - for each day late you will lose 10% of the total possible grade.
  4. Drop policy. After the University deadline (Feb. 18), the course may be dropped only for serious and compelling reasons. In accord with University policy, I interpret "serious and compelling" to mean "unforeseeable."  Illness, sudden impoverishment, and similar catastrophes qualify; poor academic performance does not.  April 19 is the last day to drop for any reason.  Incomplete (I) is given only when extenuating circumstances prevent you from completing work in the course; earlier exam scores stand unchanged.  Per University policy, an "I" grade remaining incomplete after one year will automatically be changed to "F".
  5. Students with disabilities.  Please discuss your needs with me during the first week of classes.  If you will be taking exams at the Testing Center, I ask that you remind me of this at least two business days prior to the scheduled exam.