Animal Science/Dairy Science 434 – Fall 2019
Reproductive Physiology
Lec-001 and Lab-301

3 Credits

Course URL

Canvas Site (course content, assignment submission, grades): https://canvas.wisc.edu/courses/129679
On-line course content - lectures and labs: http://www.ansci.wisc.edu/jjp1/ansci_repro/index.html (access via canvas site as well)

Course Designations and Attributes

Honors, general education, graduate credits available.

Graduate Credit for the Course

According to University Policy, an additional project is required by graduate students if they wish to receive graduate credit for this course. Please see Dr. Parrish for further information.

Meeting Time and Location

Lecture: Podcast only, available via course website, exams and some activities occur during lecture periods, Monday and Tuesday 1:20 - 2:10 PM, room 128 Animal Sciences building Labs: 301 - Tuesday 2:25 PM – 4:20PM, room 128 Animal Science building   Optional Lab meeting places for specific labs may include, Old Dairy Barn, Livestock lab, room 134 Animal Sciences.  Information provided in class the week prior. Lecture Exams: Room 128 Animal Science Building, 1:20 PM – 2:10 PM, Tues. Feb. 26 and April 9. Oral Exam: by appointment only (April 17 - 19 or April 22 - 26), taken in room 128 Animal Sciences Final Exam Room 128 Animal Science Building, 2:45 PM - 4:45 PM

Instructional Mode

Combination of online and face-to-face (ie. Blended)

Specify how Credit Hours are met by the Course

The credit standard for this course is met by an expectation of a total of 135 hours of student engagement with the course learning activities during the fall semester, which includes 25 - 50 min. podcast lectures (21 hours), textbook reading and study of lecture material (3 hours/week, 45 hours), lab (2 hours/week, 30 hours), lab associated work with animals, lab write-ups, lab associated projects (2 hours/week, 30), additional review study for exams (9 hours).

INSTRUCTORS AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Instructor

John Parrish
Professor
Department of Animal Sciences

Instructor Availability

Dr. Parrish is available most labs and all work with animals.  In addition to these class activities, the instructor can be contacted for office appointments via email from 9 – 5 PM, M-F.  You may use Canvas to send email.

Instructor Email/Preferred Contact

jjparris@wisc.edu

Teaching Assistants for 2018

Jodi Berndtson <jberndtson@wisc.edu>

TA Office Hours

Contact for appointment via email

TA Email/Preferred Contact

Email provided above

OFFICIAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course Description

An intermediate course in reproductive physiology of livestock (60%), humans (30%) and companion animals/wildlife (10%).  A blended learning course with podcast lectures, hands-on active learning labs, improvement of critical thinking skills, oral and written communication, case studies involve international agriculture, human medicine, wildlife biology related to reproduction, hands-on projects with cattle (semester long) and swine (2 lab sessions).

Requisites

Jr standing, An. Sci/Dy Sci 101, or Zool 101 & 102; Zool 151 & 152 recommended

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course Learning Outcomes

• Students will identify structures and function of reproductive anatomy in the male and female of all livestock species, humans and pets.  Further they will be able to extrapolate to unknown species related to specific species studied in class.
• Students will be able to identify hormones, their production site, physiology impacts and how to manipulate specific hormones to control reproduction either positively or negatively.
• Students will be able to summarize critical components of reproductive technologies involved in breeding, semen collection, gamete biology and embryonic development.  Demonstration of ability to monitor and manipulate cyclicity, artificial insemination, and pregnancy detection in both cattle and pigs will be accomplished.
• Students will be able to summarize events in reproduction from the cellular to whole animal level in livestock species, humans, pet species and wildlife.
• Students will demonstrate ability to communicate via oral, written, podcast, and website modalities.
• Global learning outcomes: Students will solve problems related to a foreign country or novel regions of the US, 2) display communication skills and in particular, strategies to communicate in a language other than English, and 3) display appreciation of ethical issues in global agriculture, wildlife management, federal grazing lands as they relate to reproduction manipulation. The overall impacts we expect to have on students include: 1) illustrate how theory applies to application in the novel environment of a new culture, location, and ethical system, 2) recognize how differences based on cultural and ethnicity impact individuals, and 3) create human capacity for competitiveness in global agriculture.

GRADING

Grade Structure

Final Grade

This will be assigned based on a percentage of the total possible points available. Grades are recorded simply as a score on a project, exam or lab exercise and then totaled at the end and expressed as a percentage of total available points. The final grade assignments will be made according to the following distribution:

A (100-93%), AB (88-92.99%), B (83-87.99%), BC (75-82.99%), C (65-74.99%), D (55-64.99%), F (<55%).

Grades are not curved or modified from the above scale. For example, the bottom A is 93%, that is (0.93 * 874) or 812.82 points, 812 points is 92.91% and thus an AB. It is important to note that there is no rounding used in assigning the final grade.  There is 1 extra credit item made available at the end of the semester for 10 points.

Attendance is not part of the grade unless it is a presentation.  However, many items from lab are group assignments and you must participate in the group to get credit.  Group peer evaluations do occur in this course and are recorded as deductions from the possible points listed above if a group member does not participate equally on a project.

Graduate Students

Graduate students are graded the same as undergraduates but require submission of a project agreed upon with the instructor in advance.

DISCUSSION SESSIONS

None

LABORATORY SESSIONS

General Procedures

Students work in groups of up to 4 students to complete the lab exercise and turn in a written write-up of the lab exercise.  The groups change each week.  The document is submitted within canvas assignments as a word or google doc, 1 per group.  The Equine and Mexico projects are also done as groups although these groups are semester long.  All groups are assigned by the instructor via Canvas.

In case you miss lab - Much of the material in this class can be completed on-line if you are prevented from attending class. You will however miss out on any hands-on lab exercises or discussion that go on in the lab sections. In spring 2019 there are no other lab sections. If you miss your assigned lab for any reason, you will be required to complete a lab writeup on your own and submit via canvas along with a note at the top on why you missed lab and that your are submitting this by yourself.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK, SOFTWARE & OTHER COURSE MATERIALS

Textbook

Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition, P.L. Senger, 3rd revised edition. While you may use older versions, you will be held to the new version for exams.

Software

ImageJ is used in one lab and is provided with imbedded images on lab computers.

Course Materials

Provide at: http://www.ansci.wisc.edu/jjp1/ansci_repro/index.html Can be accessed via canvas or the direct link provided.

EXAMS, QUIZZES, PAPERS AND OTHER MAJOR GRADED WORK

Summary Exams

The exam in the summary period is simply on the last 1/3 of the lectures.  The oral exam which students’ signup to take is comprehensive up until the time of the exam.  Slots to take the oral exam are provided each day starting 1 week prior to the first exam date. In spring 2019 that first exam date is April 17.  Potential questions for the oral exam are posted in advance and each student is randomly assigned to answer 1 of the questions via an audio podcast recording.

Relevant exam details

Lecture exams are based on lecture material and are in Animal Sciences 128 from 1:20 – 2:10 PM. Lecture exam 1 – Feb. 26, 2018. Lecture exam 2 – April 9, 2019, Lecture exam 3 – May. 5, 2:45-4:45PM (Room 128).  These exams are in class only.  Only Dr. Parrish can grant a make-up for a missed exam.  No electronic or paper resources can be used during exams.  You are allowed to take more than the 50 minutes but must come early to take the exam, ie. at 12:20 PM.  Exam questions can include multiple-multiple choice, true/false, matching, short answer, explain the image and essay.

Lab quizzes now replace lab exams and will occur on-line 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM and will be clearly indicated in Canvas as the semester progresses.  On-line quizzes must be completed during the assigned time, no extention or make-up.  Quizzes will be limited to 5 minutes on-line but are designed for 3 minutes so this accomodates anyone with McBurney waivers.

HOMEWORK & OTHER ASSIGNMENTS

Rules

Homework is to be submitted in Canvas assignments and will have clear deadlines.  It is expected that if the work is a group project, each member of the group participated equally in the work or it is indicated differently at the time of submission. 

Plagiary is not allowed in any homework assignment and will result in a 0 if determined to be present.

SCHEDULE OF COURSE EVENTS – all lectures are on-line, labs are in person.  See canvas for specific lectures and labs.

RULES, RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

• See the Guide’s Rules, Rights and Responsibilities

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UW-Madison’s community of scholars in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest academic integrity standards. Academic misconduct compromises the integrity of the university. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and helping others commit these acts are examples of academic misconduct, which can result in disciplinary action. This includes but is not limited to failure on the assignment/course, disciplinary probation, or suspension. Substantial or repeated cases of misconduct will be forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards for additional review. For more information, refer to studentconduct.wiscweb.wisc.edu/academic-integrity/.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

McBurney Disability Resource Center syllabus statement: “The University of Wisconsin-Madison supports the right of all enrolled students to a full and equal educational opportunity. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Wisconsin State Statute (36.12), and UW-Madison policy (Faculty Document 1071) require that students with disabilities be reasonably accommodated in instruction and campus life. Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities is a shared faculty and student responsibility. Students are expected to inform faculty [me] of their need for instructional accommodations by the end of the third week of the semester, or as soon as possible after a disability has been incurred or recognized. Faculty [I], will work either directly with the student [you] or in coordination with the McBurney Center to identify and provide reasonable instructional accommodations. Disability information, including instructional accommodations as part of a student's educational record, is confidential and protected under FERPA.” http://mcburney.wisc.edu/facstaffother/faculty/syllabus.php

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Institutional statement on diversity: “Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.” https://diversity.wisc.edu/