DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY 
College of Science
Department of Biology

SCIMATB -New Materials in Biology "Inside the World of Biotechnology (Lecture)
Prerequisite :  NONE					Prerequisite to :  

INSTRUCTOR : __________________________            Contact details : ________________________
Consultation Hours : _____________________              Class Schedule & Room : ________________

Course Description	
SCIMATB (New Materials in Biology) is a course designed to help students appreciate and understand this exciting field by guiding them through the scientific underpinnings of modern biotechnology, giving them a grasp of the basic concepts and principles, and enabling them to be at pace with this rapidly evolving technology. This is brought about by the recent progress and cutting-edge breakthroughs in the field of biotechnology which have revolutionized our understanding of life processes and have led to innovations, practical applications and improvement in the ways by which we utilize living organisms to meet human needs. 

Learning Outcomes	
On completion of this course, the student is expected to present the following learning outcomes in line with the Expected Lasallian Graduate Attributes (ELGA)

ELGA	Learning Outcomes	
Critical and Creative Thinker
Effective Communicator
Lifelong Learner
Service-Driven Citizen	On completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to propose and present various uses and applications of biotechnology in daily life and in response to existing needs and problems affecting the society. 	
 
Final Course Output	
As evidence of attaining the above learning outcomes, the student is required to submit the following during the indicated dates of the term.
Learning Outcome	Required Output	Due Date	
Propose and present various uses and applications of biotechnology in daily life and in response to existing needs and problems affecting the society.	Submission of a reflection paper from the Biotech Seminar Talk (organized by the SCIMATB course committee)	Week 9	
	Proposal presentation of a Biotech product to address society’s needs and problems 	Week 10	
	Exhibit on Biotechnology (creatively and ingeniously presented by the class divided into respective groupings)	Week 11	

Rubric for assessment	
The following are the Rubrics that will serve as the basis for assessing the performance of the students on their preparations and presentation of the required final output for the course.

A,  Reflection Papers

CRITERIA	Experts ! 
(3.5-4.0)	Team Players
(2.5-3.4)	Laid Back
(1.5-2.4)	Spacemen
(1.0-1.4)	

Organization
(40%)	Information is very organized with well constructed paragraphs, use of subheadings, and information is factual and correct	Information is organized with well constructed paragraphs and information is factual and correct	Information is organized but paragraphs are not well constructed and information is factual information	information appears  not only disorganized  but inaccurate information has nothing to do with the main topic	
Quality of Information
(40%)	Information clearly relates to the main topic.  It includes several supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic.  It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.	Information has little to do with the main topic.  No details and/or examples are given.	Information has nothing to do with the main topic.

	

CRITERIA	Experts ! 
(3.5-4.0)	Team Players
(2.5-3.4)	Laid Back
(1.5-2.4)	Spacemen
(1.0-1.4)	

Mechanics
(20%)	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors	Almost no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors	A few grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors

Additional Requirements	
•	Active participation in class discussions
•	Performance of lecture discussions
•	Attendance and participation in scheduled Biotech seminar
•	Timely submission of activity worksheet, reflection papers and projects which are non-plagiarized
•	Passing midterm and final exams

Grading Systems	
							     Scale:
Class Activities/report/reflections/Assessment	25%	92-100%	4.0	
Seminar Talk	5%	86-91%	3.5	
Exams (midterm[25%]/Finals [35%])	60%	80-85%	3.0	
Attendance/Class Participation	10%	75-79%	2.5	
TOTAL	100%	70-74%	2.0	
PASSING GRADE	60%	65-69%	1.5	
    		60-64%	1.0	
		<60%	0.0	

Learning Plan	

Learning Outcome	Lecture Topic	Week	Learning Activities	
Propose and present various uses and applications of biotechnology in daily life and in response to existing needs and problems affecting the society.	Introduction to Transformative Learning. Discussion on the relevance of the course and Course requirements
History of Biotechnology - Assessment	1	Group dynamics	
	Biomolecules	2	Group dynamics	
	Inside World of the Cell	3	Group dynamics	
	Introduction to DNA/Aberrations	4	Group dynamics	
	Cell Division/Chromosomal Mutations	5	Group dynamics	
	Central Dogma (Film Viewing)	6-7	Group dynamics
Film viewing	
	Midterm Assessment	8		
	GMO 	9-10	Group dynamics	
	Genetic Disorders with Project	11-12	Group dynamics	
	Gene Therapy and Stem Cell	13	Group dynamics	
	Departmental Final Assessment	14		

References	

Required Text:    

Herren, R.V. 2013. Introduction to Biotechnology: An Agricultural Revolution. 2nd edition. Delmar Cengage Learning, New York, USA. 409pp.

Recommended Text:  Mendoza, E.T.  2006. Understanding Biotechnology. National Academy of Science   	and  Technology, Philippine Science Heritage Foundation, Inc. Manila, Philippines 54 pp.

Suggested Readings for the course:

Pocket Ks (Pockets of Knowledge).  2006-2007.  Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology.  	International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications   (ISAAA).  
            Available at:  http://www.isaaa.org/Kc

Malacinski, G.M. 2006.  Essentials of Molecular Biology.  Jones and Barlett Publishers, Canada.
Barnum, S.R. 2005.  Biotechnology An Introduction .  Thomson Brooks Cole, USA.
F. Fukuyama (Ed) 2002.  Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology   Revolution. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. New Jersey, USA.
G. Walsh (Ed.) 2002.   Proteins: Biochemistry and Biotechnology. John Willey and Sons, Ltd. West Sussex, England. 
J.M. Walker and R. Rapley (Eds.) 2000.  Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. 4th edition. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House. Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 OWF, UK.
B.R. Glick and J.J. Pasternak (Eds.) 1998.  Molecular Biotechnology, Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA. 2nd edition. ASM Press, Washington D.C. 

Online Resources	

http://ivle.dlsu.edu.ph 
http://www.accessexcellence.org/AB/BC/
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. (2007). Available at http://www.biotech.wisc.edu/Education/Poster/backmaster.html “Biotechnology: tools for genetic ingenuity
Course Educator, Inc. (2010).  Available at http://www.amgen.com/rnd/history.html
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.(2007). Available at  
      http://www.biotech.wisc.edu/Education/Poster/backmaster.html

Class Policies	

•	Honesty and integrity are integral components of the academic process.
•	Absence and tardiness are strongly discouraged.
•	Attentiveness and active participation are critical to successful learning.
•	The use of mobile phones and other electronic devices is not allowed during class hours, unless necessary or upon the teacher’s approval. 
•	The policies on academic dishonesty, attendance, and behavior stipulated in your Student Handbook are honored in this course. 

Approved by 

Dr. Mary Jane C. Flores
Chair, Department of Biology