2010-2011 Academic Year
Integrated Biomedicine I (20334)
Qualification/course: Bachelor's Degree in Human Biology
Year: 1
Term: 2
Number of ECTS credits: 4
Number of study hours: 100
Course Language(s): Catalan / Spanish
Teaching staff: Mar Carrió (coordinator), Elisabeth Moyano, Lluís Cardona, Manuel Pastor, Núria Centeno, Fernando Berrendero, David Comas.
1. Presentation of the course
The syllabus for the Bachelor's Degree course in Human Biology sets as one of its main objectives the provision of integrated training in the field of biomedicine, so that the different subjects that are studied during the degree course are not considered as hermetic domains with no interconnection between one another. For this reason, a group of subjects was included in the syllabus under the title Integrated Biomedicine I, II, III and IV and will be taught during the first three years of the degree course.
Integrated biomedicine is therefore the title given to the subjects designed to analyse prototypical situations related to human biology in a transversal manner, whether from a horizontal or vertical approach. This means that not only do students need to achieve educational objectives for the subjects corresponding to their own year of study, but also for subjects from previous or subsequent years. This obviously means that the degree course is considered to be an inseparable whole, and not just a juxtaposition of four years of study. In other words, students need to understand some concepts which in theory correspond to subjects from subsequent years, and, at a later point, will return to concepts from the previous years which they should already have assimilated.
These subjects are intended then to provide a context for the development of basic generic skills, which in some cases will be dealt with implicitly in other subjects but which require specific activities such as those which will be undertaken during the Integrated Biomedicine course.
2. Competences to be achieved
Integrated Biomedicine I should be considered as the starting-point for acquiring the skills detailed below, working on the basis that all these skills will also be developed in other disciplines within the Human Biology degree course. Nevertheless, the intention is that students should be in contact from a very early stage with typical situations in the field of biomedicine, and that they should be able to understand the approach being applied. The principal skills that need to be acquired from Integrated Biomedicine I are the following:
- To reflect on the relationship between the scientific knowledge studied during the Human Biology degree course and the features of everyday life.
- To analyse the relationship between certain diseases and human evolution.
- To identify the adaptive character of certain biological structures.
- To identify the adaptive character of certain relationships between species.
- To relate the morphological and structural characteristics of a living being to its physiology.
- To learn about the morphology, structure and functioning of the cellular membrane.
- To determine the differences in the composition of the animal and the plant cell membrane.
- To understand that genetic manipulation is not a new process, but has always existed.
- To understand the molecular bases of breathing and its evolutionary development.
- To identify the respiratory adaptations of different species.
- To learn about the acid-base properties of water and its influence on the behaviour of other compounds.
- To learn how to argue in terms of scientific knowledge on the basis of the available evidence.
- To analyse and interpret data.
- To understand and interpret critically scientific texts.
- To learn to manage the dynamics of teamwork.
- To learn to organize personal working time.
3. Contents
During the duration of the course the students will be required to solve four case studies:
- Case 1. Nature is wise... or is it?
- Case 2. The war of the tomato
- Case 3. Deadly waters
- Case 4. Fumigators
4. Assessment
The assessment process will take into account the following activities:
- Final examination (70% of the final mark): consisting of 30 multiple-choice questions which will form part of the regular end-of-term examination (50%) and a written problem-solving test (20%).
- Projects to be undertaken (30%):
o Group project (written presentation)
o Group project (oral presentation)
o Individual project (written presentation)
5. Bibliography and teaching resources
6. Methodology
Definition of the assessment activities:
1. Individual project
o Each student must deliver it by e-mail on the date indicated.
o It must be six pages long, numbered in the top right-hand margin, except for the cover page.
o The written texts must be presented with one and a half inter-line spacing in Times New Roman, Arial or equivalent type style in font 12.
o It must include:
- A first page with the name of the case study, the student's group, the student's name and the presentation date.
- Second page: an index of all the questions that will be answered on the following pages.
- Third, fourth and fifth pages: development of each of the questions answered with the final bibliography list of texts consulted in each case study presented in alphabetic order and in accordance with the Vancouver standard.
-Sixth: full bibliography consulted in accordance with the standard referred to in the previous section. In this section the sub-section "Critical search for information" must be included, in which the following aspects relating to the critical search for information should be explained briefly and concisely:
- Explain the search strategy used.
- Describe the criteria which have been applied in order to evaluate the chosen bibliography. (use the evaluation standard for sources of information).
- Indicate the discarded bibliography and justify its exclusion (use the evaluation standard for sources of information).
- Indicate which source of information had been most useful for the project (article, chapter of a book, website, etc.).
2. Written group project
o Must be undertaken by a group of five students who represent half of the group. The structure of the project must be the same as the individual report, but no longer than ten pages.
3. Group project with oral presentation
o Must be undertaken by a group of five students representing the other half of the group who did not participate in the written group project. The duration of the oral presentation must be a maximum of 15 minutes, plus the same length of time for discussion with the tutor. The spokesperson for the group will be chosen at random.
7. Activities schedule
Presentation of the course to the class group: explanation of the course and its characteristics, division into groups and answering queries.
First ABP1 tutorial session: ABP1 presentation and discussion.
Second ABP1 tutorial session: discussion of ABP1 projects produced by students.
ABP1 closure session and presentation of ABP2: ABP1 final discussion and conclusions. ABP2 presentation and discussion.
Delivery of ABP1 project.
Second ABP2 tutorial session: discussion of ABP2 projects produced by students.
Closure of ABP2 session and self-evaluation of the group: ABP1 final discussion and conclusions. Group self-assessment .
First ABP3 tutorial session: ABP3 presentation and discussion.
ABP2 oral exposition (joint session with all the groups).
Second ABP3 tutorial session: discussion of ABP3 projects produced by students.
Closure of ABP3 session and presentation of the ABP4 group. ABP3 final discussion and conclusions. ABP2 presentation and discussion.
Delivery of ABP1 project.
Second ABP2 tutorial session: discussion of ABP4 project produced by the students.
Third ABP4 tutorial session and self-assessment by the group. ABP4 final discussion and conclusions. Group self-assessment.