68019 - Elements of General Biology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will: (a) have basic knowledges allowing the use of specific terminology and the understanding of a scientific text of medium complexity; basic knowledges in general biology (structure and functions of the pro- and eukaryotic cell, cellular respiration and photosyntesis, principles of genetics, etc) and of the anatomy/physiology of human systems and apparatuses); be able to analyse and critically discuss the fundamental aspects of human health and well-being (specific parasites of scholastic interest, correct nutrition, good life practices for prevention, etc); is able to suggest how to build didactic units on the different topics for the specific educational level.

Course contents

Macromolecules : carbohydrates , lipids , proteins and nucleic acids. The prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism. The 6 kingdoms.

The eukaryotic cell. Biological membranes: structure and functions; exo and endocytosis.

Structure and functions of the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. The lysosomes. The mitochondria. Cellular respiration and photosyntesis. The peroxisomes.

The cytoskeleton: microfilaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments. Cellular communication.

The nucleus. Duplication and transcription. Translation: genetic code and protein synthesis .

Cell division : mitosis and meiosis . The asexual and sexual reproduction .

Heredity: genes, alleles, characters, genotype and phenotype. Mendel’s 1st and 2nd law. Incomplete dominance and co-dominance .

Mendel’s 3rd law and genetic association. Gene interactions and epistasis. Quantitative inheritance. Pleiotropy. Lethal genes.

Sex-linked inheritance. Genotypic and environmental sex determination .

Heredity and environment.

Genic, chromosomal and genomic mutations.

The origin of life: the prebiotic synthesis, the RNA world, compartmentalization, prokaryotic cells, the symbiotic theory for the origin of eukaryotic cells. The origin and diversification of multicellular organisms. The theory of Evolution.

Diversity: major animal phyla (sponges, cnidarians, echinoderms, chordates, flatworms, nematodes, arthropods, annelids, molluscs). Major plant divisions (mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, flowering plants). Biodiversity of Fungi.

Basic concepts of human anatomy.

Other topics of specific interest will be defined with students.

 

Science labs: an interdisciplinary lab and disciplinary labs

(only for students who started their graduate course in/after A. Y. 2016/2017)

ONLY FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2021/2022 AND ONLY FOR SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES

(on behalf of the Teaching Board of the Single Cycle Degree of Primary Teacher Education on 06/16/2021)

The unprecedented situation associated to the sanitary emergence prompted some modifications to the well-established plan of laboratories, only for the academic year 2021/2022 and only for scientific laboratories (disciplinary and interdisciplinary). Recall the complicated logistics, some turns of scientific laboratories will take place at the Opificio Golinelli (with no remote attending), while other will be delivered online through Microsoft Teams only.

Specifically, during April/May 2022 there will be 5 disciplinary laboratories (two Chemistry laboratories, two Physics laboratories and one Biology laboratory) and 7 interdisciplinary laboratories entirely held at the Opificio Golinelli (with no remote attending). Moreover, there will be 1 entirely online disciplinary laboratory for each discipline and 1 entirely online interdisciplinary laboratory. During July, there will be 1 entirely online Biology disciplinary laboratory and 1 entirely online interdisciplinary laboratory.

The choice will be up to the single student, who will be allowed to select the desired participation option. This is strictly associated to the laboratory date: it will not be allowed to take part in a laboratory held at the Opificio Golinelli through Microsft Teams, nor will it be allowed to take part in an online laboratory from the Opificio Golinelli. All scientific laboratories are equivalent in both flavors, and the same presence, participation, hand in, and assessment rules will hold.

SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES: OVERVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Starting from A. Y. 2018/2019, science labs have been revisited and improved, resulting not only in the reorganization of the disciplinary laboratories but also in the realization of interdisciplinary laboratories spanning over Physics, Chemistry, Ecology and Biology.

Given the 360° education required for future primary school teachers, these laboratories were planned to be both interdisciplinary, thus involving the four scientific disciplines, and multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary as well: maximum effort will be put into highlighting links with non-scientific knowledge, in order to clarify that there is no dichotomy between sciences and humanities.

The main goals of this rearrangement of the scientific education of teachers are to:

• stimulate curiosity towards scientific themes;

• highlight the ethic and social impact of science and technology;

• communicate the importance of delivering a scientific education starting from the lowest school levels;

• provide conceptual and practical tools mandatory to plan and carry out science-based activities with pupils.

Science labs focused on single disciplines are activated as well, after being improved following aforementioned goals and rationales.

The interdisciplinary laboratory deals with a topic underpinning all the scientific disciplines involved in the master degree with the aim of showing that the same issue can be investigated under different frameworks, each related to a different discipline, and how we can obtain “a big picture” of a given issue by integrating all the different aspects. Disciplinary laboratories, dealing with Physics, Chemistry, Ecology, and Biology, are strictly interconnected with lectures: these classes have the specific purpose of “putting into practice, showing, and touching” some of the course’s topics.

Students will be divided into small work teams and will carry out simple experiments. The lab teacher will conduct also the discussion of results. Suitable experiments have been laid down so that they can be easily reproduced at pre-primary and primary schools.

The following disciplinary laboratories have been planned:

“Light and colour”

“Touching DNA”

“Light and sight”

On the other hand, the planned interdisciplinary laboratory is:

“Not just HtwoO: The unexpected features of water”

Students must follow two laboratories: the interdisciplinary laboratory and one of the disciplinary laboratories of their choice. The scheduling will be communicated before the beginning of the course.

Each laboratory provides 1 CFU, meaning 8 presence hours and 17 homework hours. In fact, laboratories involve not only the active participation of students but also a “final product”. After the completion of the laboratory experiences, where some disciplinary aspects are investigated and some strategies for stimulating scientific knowledge are proposed, the planning of a didactic activity is requested (which might be useful during school trainings as well).

Students will be graded by lab teachers with -1, 0, or +1 (on a 30 scale). The grade obtained in one of the disciplinary laboratories will add to the final score of the Physics course, while the grade obtained in the interdisciplinary laboratory will add to the final score of the integrated Chemistry and Ecology course. These grades will be available up to the completion of the grading procedure. You cannot register for any disciplinary exam (Elements of General Biology, Elements of Chemistry and Ecology, Elements of Physics) unless you have attended both a disciplinary laboratory and an interdisciplinary laboratory.

Readings/Bibliography

- Morris, J. R., Hartl, D. L., Knoll, A. H., Lue, R. A., Michael, M. (2021), Biologia. Come funziona la vita. Bologna: Zanichelli.

- Santovito, G. (2015), Insegnare la biologia ai bambini. Dalla scuola dell'infanzia al primo ciclo d'istruzione. Roma: Carocci.

- Padoa-Schioppa, E. (2018), Metodi e strumenti per l'insegnamento e l'apprendimento della biologia. Napoli: EdiSES.

Teaching methods

The course will be developed through frontal lessons and the discussion / design of didactic units dealing with the main topics addressed in the course.

Assessment methods

The assessment will take place through the presentation of a written didactic unit chosen by the student. The didactic unit has to be uploaded at https://www.compilatio.net/cartella/246p6 or sent by e-mail at depositare@compilatio.app, using "246p6" as object and attaching the didactic unit file (formats: txt, doc, docx, odt, pdf, ppt, pptx, rtf), 10 days before the assessment day. The oral exam will involve specific questions on the topics dealt with in the didactic unit (even if not directly addressed during the course) as well as during classes.

Final score based on ../30.

The students can attend the exam at each exam session.

 

ERASMUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: written product replacing laboratories

The final exam, as well as the course contests, are the same for Erasmus students and non-Erasmus students. Due to several reasons, however, Erasmus International Students are not requested to take part to the transversal laboratory and to a disciplinary laboratory in order to take the Elements of Biology exam. Conversely, those Erasmus International Students who inserted Elements of Chemistry and Ecology and/or Elements of Physics and Teaching Physics in their study plan will hand in a written series of experimental classes focusing on water, which will replace the laboratories.

The series of experimental classes will target pre-primary or primary school and will have the properties and peculiarities of water as an aim, under different point of view. The proposed activities will be thoroughly described in terms of materials, methods, timing, and so on; we also ask to state learning goals clearly. A written text must be handed in at least 10 days before the examination day and will be assessed by Elements of Chemistry and Ecology and Elements of Physics and Teaching Physics colleagues.

The assessment will affect examination’s assessment, by adding or subtracting a point (or by leaving it unaffected): this will be carried out both for Elements of Chemistry and Ecology and Elements of Physics and Teaching Physics, if the Erasmus International Students participates to both courses; this will be carried out for a single course, if the Erasmus International Student participates to a single course. In case the written text is not handed in, a point will be substracted by the relevant exam grade.

Teaching tools

.ppt presentations

Office hours

See the website of Federico Plazzi