The subject of Cell Biology includes Theory classes and Problem-based classes. Below, the organization and teaching methodology for these two types of training activities are described.

Theory classes

The content of the Theory program will be taught mainly in the form of formal lectures with audio-visual support. This will include PowerPoint presentations containing an index for each unit with the most important points that will be described, illustrative schematics of the contents, and also images of cells or their components, to familiarize students with real cell structure and organization. The teacher will make supplementary audio-visual material available to the students through the Moodle classroom of the subject, to help them follow the lectures. They are recommended to bring this material to class as a support when taking notes. Some animations and videos related to cellular processes described in specific units will also be displayed.

Students will be advised to consult the recommended books listed in the Bibliography section of this Study Guide on a regular basis, in order to consolidate and, if necessary, clarify the contents described. In addition, it will also be recommended that they consult the links made available through the Moodle classroom: to additional videos and animations that, due to time constraints or content prioritization, cannot be shown in class.

In addition to attending the lectures, some contents of the Theory syllabus must be addressed by students through complementary methodologies that require active participation and the development of transversal competences related to autonomous learning.

Specifically, students will be required to prepare selected topics from the Theory syllabus based on guidelines provided by the teaching staff. These guidelines will consist of a detailed outline for each topic, identifying the key concepts to be acquired and serving as a basis for structuring the material.

Furthermore, the teaching staff will propose an indicative schedule for the preparation of these topics and the resolution of related questions, in order to integrate these activities with the progression of the Theory syllabus and the Problem-based classes.

Problem-based classes

During these sessions, students will give presentations to the rest of the class, offering solutions to experimental problems related to the contents of the Theory program. In general, no additional content will be included in these sessions, as their main aim is to consolidate and facilitate comprehension of the contents presented in the Theory classes, and to familiarize students with interpreting scientific data and problem-solving through real experimental situations.

In these sessions, students will be organized into work teams and will present the solutions to the exercises they have previously worked on outside of class, as scheduled. At the beginning of the semester, the teacher will provide students with a dossier containing all the exercises to be worked on throughout the course, along with a calendar of presentations, via the Moodle classroom. Students must have previously submitted the detailed written solutions to these exercises in presentation format through the Virtual Campus (one submission per group, with the exercises corresponding to each session). During each session, the teacher will ask a member of a team to present the solution to a problem to the rest of the class, using the submitted presentation. The students selected to present will be chosen by the teacher, who will ensure that each student presents at least one exercise throughout the course. The teacher will evaluate the presentations, and the grade obtained will be the same for all membersof the group, regardless of who made the presentation.

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.

Students' progress in acquiring competences on the course can be monitored through continuous assessment or by a single term-end examination as detailed below.

Assessment of contents taught in Theory classes

The contents taught in Theory classes will have a weight of 80% of the final grade for the subject.

In case of following a continuous assessment, students will have to perform two Interim Tests that the students will have to take individually. These tests will consist of a series of objective questions to show whether the students have assimilated the concepts required to pass the subject, and whether they know how to integrate and interrelate them. These tests will also include questions on the units that students will have prepared on their own in order to evaluate the corresponding learning outcomes.

The First Interim Test will have a weight of 40% of the final mark and will focus on the contents taught up to that moment including two units that students have had to prepare independently.

The Second Interim Test will include the rest of the contents (although some questions can also indirectly refer to aspects of the units evaluated in the First Interim Test). This test will also include two units that students must prepare independently. The weight of this Second Interim Test in the final mark will be 40%.

In case of not passing these tests, or wanting to improve the mark obtained, students will be able to perform a Recovery Exam of the contents corresponding to any of these parts (or both). Each one of these tests will include the contents relatedto the twoprevious Interim Tests and therefore its weight will again be 40%+40% of the final grade.

Students who request a single term-end examination will be able to take a Single term-end Exam that will integrate the whole theoretical content of the subject and will represent 80% of the grade. This test will take place on the same day as the Second Interim Test. These students will also be able to perform a Recovery Exam of this content which will again have a weight of 80% on the final mark and take place concurrently to the Recovery Exam of the students that follow continuous evaluation.

Assessment of contents taught in Problem-based classes

The contents related to the Problem-based classes will account for 20% of the final grade. This portion of the evaluation will assess students' ability to solve experimental problems that are directly related to the theoretical content of the subject.

In each session, several students will be asked to orally present the solutions to the exercises programmed for that session using the presentations they have previously submitted through the Virtual Campus (any modifications or corrections made to the submitted document will not be taken into account for evaluation). If a group fails to submit any of the required exercises, they will receive a 0 for the corresponding session. The teacher will select students to present each exercise to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to present at least one exercise during the course. The teacher will evaluate these presentations not only based on whether the students have understood the problem, correctly interpreted the data, and arrived at the correct answer, but also on their communication skills, clarity, and organization of the presentation. If necessary, the teacher will ask questions to verify that the presenters have genuinely worked on and understood the problem. The grade awarded for each presentation will apply to all group members, regardless of who has given the presentation, and this grade will account for 15% of the final mark for the subject. During these presentations, the participation of other teams will be encouraged, either by discussing the presented results or exploring the possibility of other valid solutions.

Related to this activity, at mid-semester and at the end of the course, all students will be required to submit their responses to a questionnaire regarding the functioning of their team. This questionnaire will be prepared by the teacher and made available to students through the Virtual Campus. In this questionnaire, each team member will evaluate their own participation as well as the participation of their team-mates. The goal is to monitor the development of teamwork and identify students who do not contribute or interfere with the group tasks. Although the results of these questionnaires will not directly contribute to the final grade for the subject, if a student is negatively evaluated by the rest of the team for lack of participation, the final mark for the team will not be applied to that student, or their mark may be lowered accordingly.

On the other hand, the contents of the Problem-based classes will also be evaluated through the individual resolution of a problem similar to the ones worked on during the course. This exercise will be carried out together with the Second Interim Test, and the mark obtained will represent 5% of the final grade for the subject. In the case of following continuous assessment, students will solve this problem together with the Second Interim Test. In case of requesting a single term-end examination, students will solve this problem together with the Single Term-End Exam.

Globally, the maximum mark that can be obtained after completing all these activities will be 10 points (out of 10). To be able to pass the subject, the following conditions must be fulfilled.

- Obtaining a mark equal to or greater than 3,5 points (out of 10) in each Interim Test or in the corresponding interim parts of the Recovery Exam (in case of following continuous assessment).

- Obtaining a mark equal to or greater than 3,5 points (out of 10) in the Single term-end Exam or in the Recovery Exam (in case of following single term-end examination).

- Obtaining an overall mark of ≥5 (out of 10) for all assessments received.

ADDITIONAL ASPECTS

If a student decides to take the Recovery Exam to improve the mark obtained, they will forfeit all previously obtained Theory marks.

To be eligible for the resit exam, students must have been assessed in activities that account for at least 67% of the final grade. Otherwise, they will receive the grade Not Assessable.

For students who do not pass the subject in a given academic year, the marks obtained in the Problem-based classes will be retained for the following year, provided that the competencies associated with these classes have been successfully achieved (i.e., obtaining >5 points out of 10 considering all assessed activities). If the competencies have not been met, students will be required to repeat the evaluation activities to obtain the corresponding grade. This exemption will remain valid for a period of three additional enrollments.

Students who are unable to attend an exam due to extenuating circumstances (such as a health problem, the death of a first- or second-degree relative, an accident, or unavoidable competitions in the case of elite student-athletes) and who provide the official documentation to the degree coordinator (such as an official medical certificate confirming the inability to take the exam, a police statement, or a justification from the relevant sports organization) will be entitled to take the exam on another day. Both the Bachelor’s Degree coordinator and the teacher will make every effort to accommodate these situations.

In this course, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively as a support tool, such as for literature search or language revision. The use of AI for content generation in any assessable activity is not allowed. Any work that includes AI-generated content beyond the permitted uses will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the assessment of the activity.

Any irregularity in an assessment activity (academic fraud, plagiarism, or misuse of AI) that may lead to a significant change in the grade will result in a mark of 0 for that activity. In cases of repeated offences, those involved will fail the course. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who engages in such irregularities.

Recording images, audio, or any other type of content from teaching sessions is not permitted without the express authorization of the teaching staff. This measure aims to protect image rights, the intellectual property of the content delivered, and the privacy of all participants. Any unauthorized recording may lead to the application of disciplinary measures established in the current university regulations, including those set out in Article 14.4 of the LCU, which may involve the loss of the right to the ordinary assessment sitting of the course and temporary expulsion from the university for up to one month, among other sanctions depending on the severity of the events.