TEACHING METHODOLOGY AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES

The subject of Microbiology consists of three modules of supervised activities, which have been programmed in an integrated way so that the student must relate throughout the course the content and activities programmed to reach the skills indicated in this guide.

The three modules are as follows:

Participatory theoretical lectures: The student must acquire the scientific-technical knowledge of this subject by attending these classes and complementing them with the personal study of the topics explained. At the beginning of the course, the student will be given a detailed schedule of the topics to be discussed throughout the course, as well as the bibliography that should be consulted to prepare each theoretical class and for the personal study of the theoretical contents of the subject. The teaching of each subject will be based on a theoretical exposition.

Classroom practices: These classes are sessions with a reduced number of students with the aim of: a) working methodological aspects, b) facilitating the understanding of the knowledge presented in the theoretical lectures and c) bridging the theoretical lectures and practical laboratory work, with the objective of integrating theoretical and practical knowledge.At the beginning of the course the student will receive a detailed schedule of the contents of each session, which will indicate the bibliography to be consulted and the relationship of each session with the topics covered in the theoretical lectures and in the laboratory practices. A dossier will also be given with a proposal of problems that must be developed during the course. The sessions will be held in the classroom, where different methodological issues and basic microbiology problems will be discussed, as well as the analysis of a current news story about microbiology. Each student will present their analysis of this news story.

Practical laboratory classes: Previous to the practical lab classes the student will receive a Handbook with the practical work to be developed during the course. The objectives of these activities are: a) to facilitate the understanding of the knowledge presented in the theoretical lectures, b) to practice the experimental designs developed in the problem sessions, c) to acquire manual skills, d) to interpret the results, and e) to integrate theoretical and practical knowledge. The attendance to the practical classes is mandatory in order to acquire the competences of the subject. For attending the laboratory classes it is necessary the student to pass the biosafety and safety tests that will be find in the Moodle space and to know and accept the working rules of the laboratories of the Faculty of Biosciences. In addition, he must comply with the regulations of work in a laboratory of Microbiology that he will find indicated in the Handbook. In order to achieve a good performance and to acquire the competences corresponding to thisactivity it is essential that the student makes a comprehensive reading of the practices proposed before their completion.

As supervised activities of the subject, the students will be able to carry out tutorials in the teachers' office and / or through TICs. At the beginning of the course the procedure for conducting tutorials will be communicated.

The autonomous activities of this subject are: study, reading of texts and resolution of problems.

Additional information: For a good follow-up of the subject, the student will have in the Moodle space all the documentation indicated in the previous points.

For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translations. When applicable, the student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency of the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.

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.

Continuous evaluation

The assessment of the subject will be individual and continuous through the following tests:

Module of evaluation of theoretical classes (60% of the overall mark). During the course two written tests of this module will be programmed, which are cumulative; i.e. the second test will include all the theoretical contents of the subject.

- The first test will have a weight of 24% and the second one of 36% of the overall mark.

- If the student obtains in the second test a higher mark than in the first one, the final mark of this module will be that of the second test.

- Each test will include a maximum of 60 multiple choice and / or true / false test questions.

Module of evaluation of the classroom practices (20% of the overall mark). The evaluation of this activity will consist of the following parts:

a) In-class completion of exercises and other classroom activities.

b) A written test at the end of the course that will consist of the resolution of a maximum of six problems and some test questions.

These items will have a weight of 3 and 7 points, out of 10, respectively. To pass this module you must obtain at least a 5 in the written test.

Module of assessment of the practical laboratory classes (20% of the overall mark). The evaluation of this activity will consist of two tests:

a) Practical skill, which will consist of the delivery of different practical results to the teacher during each laboratory session

b) Written test at the end of the practical laboratory classes consisting of a maximum of 20 test questions about the work done in the laboratory.

These tests will have a weight of 4 and 6 points, out of 10, respectively. To pass this module the student must obtain at least 5 points in the written test.

To pass the subject the student must obtain a grade of 5 or higher in each module. Students who do not pass any of the written tests of the practical and methodology and problems modules will be able to retake them in the scheduled date for the assessment of the subject at the end of the semester. The re-assessment of the theory module will be done in a single written global test.

To be eligible for the retake process, the student should have been previously evaluated in a set of activities equaling at least two thirds of the final score of the course or module. Thus, the student will be graded as "No Avaluable" if the weighth in of all conducted evaluation activities is less than 67% of the final score.

Students wishing to improve their mark may present to an overall examination of the subject, which will include questions from all three modules. In this case, the presentation of the student in the re-assessment examination involves the renunciation of the qualification previously obtained. The date of the exam will be the same for the retake process.

From the second registration of the subject on, it will not be necessary for the student to carry out the laboratory practices module if he / she has achieved the competences of this part of the subject in the previous course. This exemption will be maintained for a period of three additional registrations.

Any irregularity in an assessment act (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless this use is expressly authorized in the teaching guide), which may lead to a significant variation in the grade, means that this act will be graded with a 0. In the event that the teaching guide provides that in order to pass the subject it is an essential requirement to have obtained a minimum grade in this assessment act or that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0. Apart from this, a disciplinary process may be initiated against the student who incurs any of these irregularities.

Single assessment

The single assessment consists of a single summary test in which the contents of the entire theory program of the subject will be assessed. The test will consist of short-answer questions aimed at assessing whether the key conceptual objectives of the subject have been achieved and multiple-choice and/or true/false test-type questions, which will allow a large part of the content to be assessed. The grade obtained in this synthesis test will account for 60% of the final grade of the subject and must be equal to or greater than 5. The single assessment will be done on the same day as the 2nd part of the subject.

The assessment of the laboratory practices and techniques and problems modules will follow the same process as the continuous assessment. The grade obtained will account for 20% of the final grade of the subject for each of the modules. The laboratory practices attendance is compulsory at all sessions. It is a requirement to have passed the laboratory practices and techniques and problems modules (grade 5 or higher) to take the single assessment test.