Scientific approach in biology

lbio1116  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Scientific approach in biology
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
6 credits
30.0 h + 30.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Quinet Muriel; Rees Jean-François (coordinator); Schtickzelle Nicolas; Van Dyck Hans; Wesselingh Renate;
Language
French
Content
A series of theoretical lessons will present the deductive and inductive methods, experimental and observational implemented in the work of the biologist. They will describe how to formulate a hypothesis, design an experiment, use an experimental model and / or make observations, encode and visualize the data, process the results using basic statistical tools, as well as infer a hypothesis or develop a theory on the basis of observations. Students will be trained in the basic functionality of Excel and R-Commander software.
Emphasis will be put on the development of critical thinking: assessing the quality of the sources of information, understanding the status of knowledge, especially its provisional nature, recognizing that every assertion must be tested and that any "evidence" must be confronted with critical evaluation, recognizing the limits of hypotheses and the character of knowledge, rigorously interpreting experimental facts, becoming aware of his representations and prejudices in his analysis, and being able to distance himself from his prejudices in his analysis.
Students will be asked to implement a strategy to investigate a biological issue in the lab and / or field. Distributed in teams, they will receive an affirmation for which they will have to carry out a bibliographical analysis, design and realize experiments from which they will collect the results in order to produce conclusions.
Teaching methods
Theoretical course, group work, fieldwork and laboratory experiments.
Evaluation methods
The evaluation will focus on the mastery of the theoretical concepts and the presentation of the results obtained during the experimental project in the lab or in the field.
Online resources
MOOC Penser critique on EdX
https://www.edx.org/course/penser-critique
Teaching materials
  • Transparents et infos disponibles sur Moodle
Faculty or entity
BIOL


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Bachelor in Biology

Minor in Scientific Culture