The five Learning Sections that structure the contents of Microbiology are developed through different types of teaching activities, programmed in an integrated way so that students must connect the contents and scheduled activities throughout the course in order to achieve the competences indicated in section 5 of this guide:

1. Participatory classroom lectures: Students are expected to acquire the scientific and technical knowledge specific to this course by attending these classes and complementing them with personal study of the topics covered. Each learning axis will be taught through lectures in which active student participation will be encouraged. Some topics may include self-learning activities, with selected contents prepared by students, either in a guided or autonomous way, and later discussed/presented in classroom sessions through questions, flipped-classroom activities, active learning and/or short formative assessments.
2. Seminars and problem-solving classes: These sessions are intended to work on methodological aspects, train students to design basic Microbiology experiments and propose experimental protocols, design strategies to solve and interpret problems, acquire the skills needed to carry out bibliographic searches, read scientific texts and publicly present work, facilitate the understanding of the knowledge presented in theory lectures, and bridge the gap between participatory theory lectures and practical laboratory work, with the aim of integrating theoretical and practical knowledge. Students will receive problem proposals and/or scientific cases associated with each learning axis, which they will develop individually or in groups throughout the course. Attendance at seminar sessions is mandatory. Instructions for each seminar will be published on the Virtual Campus at the beginning of each learning axis or thematic block.
3. Active learning activities: These activities are intended to facilitate the understanding of the knowledge presented in theory lectures, acquire the skills needed to carry out bibliographic searches, read texts and publicly present work, and promote cooperative group work. Students will be required to prepare an oral, written and/or visual presentation of a topic, activity, scientific case or gamified version of the proposed activity/activities. The bibliography to be consulted and the relationship between each session and the topics addressed in the participatory lectures will also be indicated.

The MicroBiTech Challenge is one of the group active-learning activities that integrates knowledge of prokaryotic structure and function, bacterial genetics, horizontal gene transfer, growth and control, metabolism, microbial diversity and biotechnological applications. The activity will include a gender perspective, recognition of the role of women scientists, sustainability, biosafety and critical use of recent scientific sources. The challenges proposed by the teaching staff will be considered an initial pool, but groups may propose current and motivating challenges, provided that they meet the established scientific and teaching criteria.

Additional information

• As supervised activities, individual and group tutorials may be carried out to support the training activities described above.
• The autonomous activities of this course are: personal study, information search, reading of texts, preparation of assignments/activities and problem solving.
• Note: within the schedule established by the centre/degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to complete the surveys evaluating the teaching staff’s performance and the course.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

The assessment of the course will be individual and continuous or single through the following assessment activities:

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

I. Assessment module for theory classes

• Two written midterm exams will be scheduled throughout the course to assess the theory classes. Each theory midterm exam will account for 30% of the overall grade. The final mark for this module will be the average of the two exams. In order to pass each midterm exam, eliminate the corresponding part of the theoretical content and calculate the average, each of these written exams must be passed with a mark equal to or higher than 5. To pass this part of the course, both written exams must be passed with a mark equal to or higher than 5.
• Students who do not obtain a minimum mark of 5 in one or both written midterm exams will have to take the global theory exam, which includes all theoretical content, on the date scheduled for the final assessment of the course.

II. Assessment module for problem-solving classes

• This activity will be assessed separately, taking into account attendance at seminars, the resolution of problems and practical cases or activities, and the completion of a written test at the end of the course. Altogether, this will account for 20% of the final grade. Students who do not pass the problem-solving assessment test may recover it on the date scheduled for the final assessment of the course. Attendance at seminars is mandatory. To pass the seminar component, a mark equal to or higher than 5 must be obtained.

III. Classroom assessment module for group active learning activities

• This activity will be assessed separately, taking into account the oral classroom presentations of the work carried out for each of the proposed activities, and will account for 20% of the final grade. Oral presentations will be assessed in terms of both content and organisation and communication. Students who do not pass the group active learning activities assessment may recover it on the date scheduled for the final assessment of the course.

To pass the course, students must obtain a mark of 5 or higher in each module.

Students who do not pass any of the written and/or oral tests may recover them on the date scheduled at the end of the semester. Likewise, on this same date, students who have passed the course and wish to improve their grade may take a global exam for the course, which will include questions from the three modules. Taking the grade-improvement exam implies renouncing the grade previously obtained.

General issues

• To participate in the recovery assessment, students must have previously been assessed in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to at least two thirds of the total grade of the course or module.
• Therefore, students will receive a “Not assessable” grade when the assessment activities completed have a weighting of less than 67% of the final grade.
• From the second enrolment in the course onwards, students will not be required to complete modules 2 and 3 if they achieved the competences corresponding to this part of the course in the previous academic year. This exemption will be maintained for a period of three additional enrolments.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT

The single assessment consists of a single synthesis test in which the contents of the entire course programme will be assessed. It will consist of three parts:

1. Assessment of the theory module: this will consist of a synthesis test covering all the contents of the theory module. The mark obtained in this test will account for 60% of the final grade for the course.
2. Assessment of the problem-solving module: the same assessment system as for continuous assessment will be applied. Attendance at seminars is mandatory. To pass the seminar component, a mark equal to or higher than 5 must be obtained. The mark obtained in this part will account for 20% of the final grade.
3. Assessment of the active learning activities module: this will consist of the submission of an activity equivalent to those proposed in class. The mark obtained in this part will account for 20% of the final grade.

The mark obtained in this synthesis test constitutes 100% of the final grade for the course.

All written tests will take place on the same day, coinciding in date and time with the second written midterm exam established for continuous assessment. To pass the course, each part of the test must be passed separately with a mark equal to or higher than 5 out of 10. If the course is not passed, the student may opt for a recovery assessment with the same characteristics, and the same recovery system described for continuous assessment will be applied. To pass the course, it will be necessary to obtain a mark equal to or higher than 5 in the parts that were not passed on the first attempt. The review of the final grade will follow the same procedure as for continuous assessment.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translation, or other uses at the discretion of the teaching staff. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in assessment activities and seminars will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in a partial or total penalty in the activity grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

Grade in the event of irregularities in an assessment activity

Any irregularity in an assessment activity —academic fraud, plagiarism or misuse of AI, unless such use is expressly authorised in the teaching guide— that may lead to a significant variation in the grade will result in that assessment activity being graded as 0. If the teaching guide establishes that obtaining a minimum mark in that assessment activity is an essential requirement to pass the course, or if several irregularities occur in assessment activities within the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against the student who commits any of these irregularities.