Directions

To encourage you to read current events related to biology in the news, on specified weeks you are required to identify, read, and analyze an article from the popular press that relates to a current issue in biology. The article should relate as much as possible to current topics we’re studying in class.

Examples of appropriate sources for articles include the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Economist, Wired, Scientific American, Time, or Newsweek. These sources are available for free in the library. Many other credible news sites are on the Internet, just ask if you have any questions. Check out the CSM Library Articles and Databases (Links to an external site.) website to get started.

Forum Post Guidelines

• your name and the date for which you’re submitting the article
• full citation information for your article, including the hyperlink to the website URL/source, authors, date of publication, and page numbers
• a 5-7 sentence short summary of the main ideas of the article
• a 5-7 sentence reflection on your personal response to or ideas about the article
• 3-5 thoughtful questions that the article raised for you personally
• Additionally, you also must submit a complete and substantive post in response to two of your classmates’ posts in the same forum.

Forum Response Guidelines

• Make sure that your response expands on the main ideas/questions in the student’s posting
• Try to use your response to add value to the discussion; this is more effective than simply responding to meet a requirement
• Make sure your response is at least 100-150 words

Discussion Forum Learning Goals

1. Develop the learning community we are working to establish in class
2. Learn from one another by reading about their articles and elaborating on their ideas
3. Become more current in the field of biology

Grading Rubric (out of 20 points)

• Submitting complete post on time in the forum, fulfilling all of the Forum Post Guidelines above (10 points)
• Submitting at least 2 substantive and complete response posts on time in the forum, fulfilling all of the Forum Response Guidelines above (10 points)
• You may also review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric page