Masterclasses in Ecology and Evolution

3 EC

Semester 1 & 2, period 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

52248MIE3Y

Owner Master Biological Sciences
Coordinator dr. J.K. Kulmuni
Part of Master Biological Sciences, track Ecology and Evolution, Master Biological Sciences, track General Biology,

Course manual 2023/2024

Course content

Being able to participate in discussion is an important skill for scientists. It requires the ability to combine theoretical and empirical knowledge as well as a critical view on the arguments put forward by others. The best way to improve these skills is to practice them together with your peers and colleagues. In this course students will discuss the current topics in Ecology and Evolution with top scientists in the world, in the form of a masterclass (described below). In doing so, students will attend seminars from these internationally renowned scientists in the Nature of Life meetings organized by the Institute of Ecological Sciences (VU) and in the series of IBED lectures organized by the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (UvA). Both series are organized on a monthly basis throughout the year (except the summer period). The topics for the seminars cover the whole spectrum of ecology and evolution. An overview of upcoming and previous seminars can be found at www.falw.vu.nl/nl/onderzoek/ecological- sciences/nature-of-life-meetings/index.asp and www.science.uva.nl/ibed- agenda/see.cfm. Students must attend six masterclasses during the 2-year programme.

Study materials

Other

  • Articles to read for each masterclass will be made available via the Canvas site.

Objectives

  •  Critically evaluate scientific research articles
  •  Exercise skills of scientific argumentation and discussion
  •  Describe a broad overview of the latest research in ecology and evolution 
  •  Discuss these topics with leading scientists in the field

Teaching methods

  • Seminar
  • Self-study
  • discussion meeting

Journal club (discussion meeting) where students discuss the articles connected to the seminar in small groups and prepare for the discussion with the seminar speaker.

Masterclass (discussion meeting) where students discuss the research topic with the seminar speaker based on the articles and after attending the journal club as well as the seminar.

Learning activities

Activity

Hours

Hoorcollege

 

Presentatie

6

Werkcollege

18

Self study

60

Total

84

(3 EC x 28 uur)

Attendance

Requirements of the programme concerning attendance (OER-B):

  1. Attendance during practical components exercises is mandatory.

Additional requirements for this course:

To successfully attend one masterclass the student must complete and attend all three parts of it (journal club, seminar and masterclass) and pass on 2-3 questions to the teacher before the discussion with the seminar speaker.

Assessment

Item and weight Details

Final grade

Student evaluation has 3 components of equal weight:

Active participation: does the student ask questions, does he/she give feedback to comments/questions from others?  

Theoretical insight: Has the student put the papers into the proper scientific context and identified parts that were clear/unclear? Can he/ she summarize the main points?              

Argumentation: Can the student properly argue about questions relating to the paper's topic? Can he/she deduce conclusions using scientific argumentation?        

Grades for all Masterclasses are pass/fail, and the course is completed (AVV) when 6 Masterclasses are passed. Hence, no numerical grades are given.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

WeeknummerOnderwerpenStudiestof
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

Location: VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085 Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904 Amsterdam

Contact information

Coordinator

  • dr. J.K. Kulmuni

Responsible person at the VU, Vasilis Kokkoris ()