1. Obtain one 1 1/2 thick 3-ringed notebook for keeping your case notes and other written work. Get a set of page dividers. This will be your Division I portfolio that is due to turn in on October 8 and December 13.

The purpose of this first assignment is for us to get to know you better and to help you start off the course with a good understanding of our goals and how the course will run.

2. E-mail. This assignment is intended to help you become familiar with local (Hampshire) computer network resources. If you don't already know your Hampshire computer user id and password, please check with people at the computer center on the third floor of the library to find out.

Even if you have a non-Hampshire e mail address (like cooldude1023@gmail.com), please activate and use your Hampshire e mail address. You will receive e mails to that account regularly from the college and from us. We will always use your Hampshire e mail address and expect that you are checking it.

The good news is that once you have the Hampshire user id and password, you can get into all the resources of Hampshire's Intranet (like TheHub, the Intranet, student discussion boards, the Directory, and lots of other good stuff, much of which you'll need).

To send Fatemeh or Merle an e mail message, send it to fgiahi@hampshire.edu or mbruno@hampshire.edu Or if your web browser allows it, just click on the addresses you see here to send messages to us.

E MAIL (as attachments) THE FOLLOWING WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS TO BOTH FATEMEH AND MERLE. This will ensure that you know how to get in touch with us and that we can oen attachments that you send. And it will allow us to save your initial interests and questions so we can refer to them from time to time.

3. Read

• Welcome to the Human Biology Web Site
• Requirements for Evaluation
• The NS 121 college course web site

Write

a.What is the most exciting/intriguing aspect of the course for you?

b. What is the most unnerving or worrisome part of the course for you?

4. Read

• Learning Human Biology by the Case Method
• Team Participation Feedback Sheet (will be passed out in class)
• Case Logs

Write

a. List three questions you have about this process.

5. Write

a. Is there anything special you would like us to know about your interests, experiences, and preparation as they relate to human biology?

b. Is there any special topic in human health you'd like to know more about?

c. Are you interested in learning more about opportunities for working with secondary school students?

d. Would you be willing to meet once a week with a group to discuss and plan such work?

• 1. Continue to look up information about Ms. Billings' possible diagnoses. You will receive answers to many questions that were turned in on Friday (and perhaps some information you didn't ask for).
  
  
• 2. Read Chapter 1.Daniel Chiras (Human Biology text)
  This text is available in the bookstore and a copy is also on reserve in the library.
  
  This is your first biology assignment. It will give us an idea about your familiarity with some basic concepts. ALWAYS, if you aren't certain how to answer a question, tell us that in your answer. These questions are designed to help you learn, not to test you. We'll try to respond promptly to questions you ask on your assignments.
  • Write answers to Study Questions # 1. Avoid the temptation to just copy or paraphrase what Chiras says. We'd like you to put some thought into what could just be a make-work assignment so we can learn what you understand, whether or not you have any misconceptions, and what questions you have about the material. Asking questions about what you don't understand is one way to show what you do understand, so we're always looking for questions.

1. Look through several of these web sites. Send an e mail message to both Fatemeh and Merle about one site you found to be particularly interesting and what is was you liked about it or what concerns you had about it. If you know of a good medical site you think we should add to the list, let us know.

2. Case A assignment (Turn this in as hard copy.)

• List ALL the hypotheses you have been considering that might explain the patient's symptoms.
• Carry out the assignment you took on for your team to answer some of the questions raised in class.
• Turn in the notes you took on the information you looked up for your team (you can turn this in at the end of class because you'll need it in class, but please remember to turn it in). We'll return them to you in the next class.

Begin to work on your case report that is due on Monday. Check these guidelines that explain how to write a report.

Assignment #4

• Case Report A is due Monday.
  Click here for guidelines for writing this first case report.

• Case Report A is due today. Click here for guidelines for writing this first case report. We expect that you will demonstrate in detail the analytical process of carrying out the differential diagnosis as well as show us what you learned about the biological systems involved in at least two of the diagnoses you considered.
  
  
• Article #1 Assignment
  Read
  • Tips on Reading and Writing about Primary Articles (Chris Jarvis)
  • Peer editing guidelines to help edit someone else's summary

Assignment # 6

Read research article (Article #1):

Download a copy of this article from the NS-121 College Course web site (under Reading List) and print it out. You will use this article for many of the next assignments and in class, so it is important for you to have your own copy and bring it with you to class.

READ THE ARTICLE TWO TIMES.
--The first time, just read it quickly to get a sense of what it's about. Skip over details or words you don't understand. You'll have a general idea about what they're studying and maybe why.
--The second time, underline or highlight the words you don't understand.

We DO NOT expect anyone to understand it all, so your assignment for today is to turn in a list of all the words that you DON'T understand. If you don't have many words on your list, we'll think you know it all or that you didn't do the assignment. Even if you know a lot, there should be some things you don't feel you understand in depth (i.e., that you woudn't feel totally prepared to give a talk on in class).

In class, we'll collect the lists and explain the words you listed.

BRING A COPY OF THE ARTICLE TO CLASS WITH YOU TODAY.

Article #1. Re-read Article #1 now that you know something about the language used. Answer these questions about that article.

We don't expect you to feel confident about all those answers, but it's important to write something. That will tell us what sorts of things to emphasize in future classes.

BRING A COPY OF THE ARTICLE TO CLASS WITH YOU TODAY.

Assignment # 8

• FINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT #1: Write three questions about any topic in human biology or health that you might want to pursue for a final paper. This in no way commits you to writing about any of those ideas. It's a way to get started thinking about the process and to give us a chance to give you some feedback about which ideas might be most productive for you to pursue.

• 1. Review two of the help links:
  How to read a primary research article
  
  Experimental design and data analysis

Here are two other slightly more technical links:

Yale Statistic Couse handout on Experimental Design
Univ. of Cal. at Davis handout on Experimental Design

Assignment # 10

• Choose two figures from Article # 1: We'll suggest which to choose from.
  Write a paragraph about each describing everything you understand from looking carefully at it. List also any questions you have about anything you see that you don't understand as well as you would like.
  
  
• Turn in these assignments about Article #1 today (even if you feel the writing and analysis are less than perfect--think of these as working drafts on which you'd like some guidance).
  
  We'll get them back to you by Monday so you can use our comments in the final draft of your analysis that is due next week.
  
  
  • Typed version of the analysis of the Introduction that you and your group worked on on Monday (on the assigned section of Article #1).
    
    
  • Draft of your answers to the questionsfor one of the othersections that you and your group were assigned (either Methods, Results, or Conclusions)
    
    
• For Monday, write what you understand about the experimental design used by the authors of Article #1.
  
  Indicate what you think their reasons were for setting up the study as they did. Did they use controls? What were they and what did they control for? What difference might it have made to their conclusions if they hadn't used those controls?
  
  
• LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT (from Helaine's class). Turn in a list of 5 primary research articles in science journals and include the complete citation for each:
  
  Author(s), year of publication, title of article, name of journal, volume # of journal: first page-last page of article.
  
  Choose these articles in any topic of interest to you about the human body or aspects of health or disease. This is a chance to explore some ideas for your final paper. Turn them in at the beginning of class and we'll go through them quickly and tell you which would be good ones to pursue for the next assignment.
  
  See Helaine Selin for help if you're not sure you have the right kind of article or if you're having trouble finding the one you want. Her contact info is on the first page of this web site. Click on Info under her name.