UGS 303--Originality in the Arts and Sciences (64810 through 64835) • UGS 303—Signature course Requirement • Dean’s Scholars Honors Research Degree Requirement • Freshman Research Initiative Course Requirement Overview: Students are introduced to the traditions established in the arts and sciences for generating new knowledge from original ideas. Modeling after the way that faculty conduct research, students are required to create original research reports or papers that utilize skills introduced in lecture and developed using the resources of the university including libraries, museums and research collections, research laboratories and computer facilities. Faculty, graduate students and undergraduate mentors will form intellectual communities in which students develop confidence in creating original ideas that will be subject to inquiry. Instruction Team: Faculty David Laude (Lead Instructor) Chemistry and Biochemistry [email protected] Office: W.C. Hogg 3.104 Office hours by appointment. Please call 471-6176 or e-mail Elizabeth Scala (Lead Instructor) Department of English [email protected] Office: Calhoun 213 Office hours M W 11 to 12:30 and by appointment Please call 471-8375 or email. Teaching Assistants Meghan Andrews (keeper of libraries and grades) English [email protected] Alisha Bohnsack (keeper of labs) Chemistry [email protected] Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UGTAs) and Cohort Leaders Majors (including double majors) Name Major Email Allen, Genevieve Honors Biology [email protected] Berdanier, Will Honors Physics [email protected] Bisewski, Hannah Plan II Honors [email protected] Cacciatore, Chris Honors Biochem, Plan II Honors [email protected] Cameron, James Honors Math, Plan II Honors [email protected] Chang, Leslie Honors BioChem, Honors BME [email protected] Fraden, Clara Honors Plan II, Asian Studies [email protected] Gaddam, Neha Biology [email protected] Kauffman, Courtney Honors Biology, Plan II [email protected] Kuperman, Anna Plan II, Neurobiology [email protected] Law, Jade Plan II Honors [email protected] Manthuruthil, Christine Plan II Honors, Biology [email protected] Maples, Thomas Honors Biochem, Anthropology [email protected] Mehta, Nirja Honors Biology, Psychology [email protected] Popat, Shreeya Plan II Honors, Biology [email protected] Ritter, Zachary Turing Scholar (CS) [email protected] Tien, Matthew Honors Biochem [email protected] Upadhyay, Parth Turing Scholar, Honors EE [email protected] Where is everything I don’t know? Course Website: http://laude.cm.utexas.edu/courses/Course Components Meeting Times • Lectures: Monday and Wednesday from 10 to 11 in GRG 102 • Administrative Meetings: This course is complicated so sometimes the class will meet on Fridays from 10 to 11 in GRG 102 to find its bearings. • Lab Times: Fridays in BME 2.506 Lectures: Professors Laude and Scala will usually lecture once each, per week. Lecture topics are included in the course outline. In addition to the discipline-specific lectures, regularly scheduled informal conversations between the faculty and students will address more general ideas of interest to academicians. Signature Course Requirements. Signature courses have certain core requirements. Fortunately, the course itself maps onto these requirements effortlessly—you will interact with faculty a great deal, write a great deal, speak a great deal, frequent the libraries and jewels of the university a great deal, and participate in the intellectual life of the university including attending the University Lecture Series. Details of these activities are found in the inquiries and skill modules required for satisfactory completion of the course. Laboratory: This OAS class has the use of BME 2.506 on Fridays and other times as needed. The laboratory is a good place for incubating science inquiry ideas and post-inquiry reflections. You will also perform at least one inquiry using the equipment in the lab. One of your TAs, Alisha, will supervise the UGTAs who will help her manage the lab, teach you basic skills, and make sure you are safety-trained and know how to check out and use the equipment. Museums and Libraries: This OAS class will make substantial use of the University’s rich collection of libraries and museums. These locations are a great place for incubating humanities inquiry ideas and post-inquiry reflections. You will perform at least one inquiry using these facilities. To help you prepare, one of your TAs, Meghan, will supervise the UGTAs who will help in teaching you how to navigate the libraries and museums. Cohorts and UGTAs: Each student will be assigned to a cohort of about 6 or so students with a lead UGTA. The cohorts will attempt to gather students with similar majors, career interests or intellectual thrusts. You are required to meet once a week for an hour with your cohort. It is within the cohort that much of the guidance will be provided in developing inquiry ideas and executing skill modules. Your cohort UGTA will be responsible for managing your work product and seeing that it gets where it needs to go for grading. Assignments: There are no exams. Instead you will be asked to turn in 16 assignments. • Three inquiries each of which is worth 15% of your course grade • Twelve skill modules each of which is worth 2.5% of your course grade • One group project that is worth 25% of your course grade Inquiries: The primary mode of assessment will be the work product of self-directed inquiries spawned from original ideas. Each student must complete three original inquiries to fulfill about one points assigned for the course grade. In reality, your three inquiries will define what kind of grade you get for the course since the skill modules and group work are less likely to allow you to individually demonstrate what you are capable of achieving as an independent, creative thinker. In other words, this is where you should put 90% of your effort for the course. Skills Modules: Over the course of the semester you will be asked to develop