492 Senior Seminar (1)

A weekly seminar to be taken during the calendar year in which a student is to graduate. Oral and written projects will be required as well as an exit examination. Seminar, one hour per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 341 and senior status

Goals
1. To give students a chance to experience the human side of chemistry and biochemistry by learning about outstanding chemists and biochemists.
2. To improve oral presentation skills.
3. To assess student learning at the end of the college career.

Participation is a most important part of the course. Therefore, you are expected to attend each class period. On the first day of class you will be told the procedure to follow to record your participation. Make sure to turn in signed papers when requested to do so. Make every effort to attend every class and be on time. An excused absence may be granted for planned events such as college-related events (presentations at professional meetings) or interviews for graduate or professional schools. These must be requested at least one week prior to the absence. Excuses for emergency absences must be requested within 48 hours of the missed class and will be granted only for severe medical or family emergencies. Upon the fourth absence (excused or unexcused) you will receive the grade of "WA", which is equivalent to an "F", being awarded. Each unexcused absence will result in 5 points being taken off of your final average. You are required to complete a Senior Survey about your plans after graduation. This survey will also give you a chance to provide feedback on your perceptions of the chemistry & biochemistry program. Failure to submit the Senior Survey will result in 5 points being deducted from your overall average.

A written project is required. It must be typed, 10-20 pages in length, double-spaced. It must have at least five non-html sources. Your topic must be a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry or a chemistry-related Nobel Prize winner in physiology & medicine, or physics. Instructor approval must be secured. Only the finished paper will receive a grade. It will be graded on a 20 point scale with 15 points assigned to content and 5 to form (references, spelling, grammar, etc.) For information on citing references see the ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, available in the library or on-line. For citing electronic sources see http://www.cofc.edu/~chem/seminar/492/citing.html. Number your references in order as they appear in your paper using brackets (e.g., [1] ). Failure to submit a written paper will result in the grade of "F" for the course.   Deadlines:

Jan 18	Topic selected and approved*
Jan 25	Ten possible references submitted for approval (at least 5 non-html-only). *
Feb 1	Outline submitted for approval
March 14	Rough draft submitted
Friday May 2 noon	Final paper submitted*

*-denotes compulsory deadlines

An oral presentation on your selected Nobel laureate will be made in class.  It must be 15-20 minutes in length.  Make sure that your presentation is within this time frame. You will be penalized for having talks that are either too short or too long. At least one-third of your presentation should be on the life story of the scientist and one-third on the science behind or her his award. You should address the signifcance of the work (e.g., the effect it has had on science).  State why you picked the person that you did and mention how your preception of that person changed as a result of your study.  Instructor approval of your Nobel laureate must be secured. Please check the guidelines for oral presentations. A copy of the evaluation sheet can be viewed. Each person is to introduce one other student when that student makes their presentation.You should secure such background information as hometown, high school, what degree they are seeking, what their plans are after graduation, and any honors they have earned. A schedule for student presentations will be available after class rolls are finalized when drop/add is completed. Failure to present your oral project will result in the grade of "F" for the course.

The Major Field Test will be administered. The Major Field test is a standardized test prepared by the Educational Testing Service. The grading rubrick may be viewed. This will be taken on-line during one of several opportunities that will be announced. Failure to take the Major Field Test will result in the grade of "F" for the course.

Final Exam: Details will be announced later. You should be on campus at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the final exam and in your seat at least 5 minutes beforehand. Failure to take the final exam will result in a grade of "F" for the course.

Exit Interview: Each student must complete a senior survey and be interveiwed by the department chair.

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