I’ve already heard back from a few of you that your exam score went way out of whack.

It appears that there is a “fudge factor” box for each person, and Canvas has decided to randomly select a “fudge factor” for each student, throwing their grade off by that amount. I have no idea why this happens – and it sucks because now I’m going to go back in and regrade each of your exams manually (I can see which answers you picked for each question) and then post the REAL corrected scores manually.

I apologize for this problem. Clearly, Canvas sucks when you add correct answers. Actually, I’m just going to say it sucks, period.

Please give me some time – I will try to do this asap – but as it is already 10 pm, I am thinking that it may not be a good idea to mess with scores when I’m pissed off and tired. I’m liable to make a mistake, and we don’t need any more of those.

So I think the best solution is for me to do this tomorrow when I’ve calmed down and had some coffee.

I’m so sorry this happened – but at least your original exam answers are preserved, and I can actually go in and do the grading accurately.

Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll post here and also email you when I’ve finished the regrading process.

Hi all –

Sorry this is coming later than I intended – but I spent the day with my dad at a doctor’s appointment and then we went to dinner.

By the way, I showed him the gorg blanket you guys gave me, and read him the card, and also told him about all the emails I got from you guys, and he teared up. He said “You have a really nice class.” I said, “I know!”

Back to the exam. You guys did REALLY well – great job!

There are three questions that were among new ones I wrote this year (= not tested on previous classes) that had some issues. Here they are, along with my resolution for each of the questions. Note that the order of the distractors may be different than you remember, because Canvas shuffles the distractors for each exam.

Question 4.
Which of the following most accurately describes the notochord?
A. It merges with the neural tube and becomes part of the spinal cord
B. It is a signaling structure that tells the three germ cells what to do
C. It is a linear structure within the epiblast that helps cells differentiate into the three germ cell layers
D. It forms part of the placenta and supporting structures

The correct answer was marked as B. The problem is that I forgot the word “layers” after the word “cells” – and that mistake caused some of you to pick different answers. So I am giving everyone a point for this question. That way the people who answered incorrectly get that point back, and the people who chose the correct answer don’t get penalized.

Question 21.
Each skeletal muscle cell is composed of a bunch of:
A. Myofibers
B. Myofibrils
C. Fascicles
D. Myofilaments

I had listed the correct answer as B, but even after double checking the question, I didn’t realize that D is technically a correct answer too, as myofibrils are composed of myofilaments. So I am accepting both B and D as correct for this question.

Question 31.
Proteoglycans are composed of:
A. A carbohydrate core with a bunch of attached proteins
B. A glycosaminoglycan core with a bunch of attached carbohydrates
C. A glycosaminoglycan core with a bunch of attached proteins
D. A protein core with a bunch of attached carbohydrates
E. A protein core with a bunch of attached glycosaminoglycans

I had listed the correct answer as E, but some of you picked D, as we talked in class about how proteoglycans are composed of a lot of glycans (carbohydrates) with a relatively lesser amount of protein. And technically, D is true – because what are glycosaminoglycans but a bunch of carbohydrates? (Granted, they come in pairs, and one has an amino group, but still). So I am accepting both D and E as correct for this question.

I have made the changes above in Canvas. For question 4, I went in and manually increased everyone’s score by one. So you should see that your exam score has gone up by AT LEAST 1 point. But if you remember answering questions 21 or 31 with the previously incorrect answers, and do NOT see your score updated for those now-accepted-as-correct answers, please let me know, as Canvas did that re-grading automatically, and frankly, I don’t trust it.

So bottom line: please check your score in Canvas and let me know if you think it’s wrong!

Sorry for the confusion. No matter how hard I try when I write new questions, checking and re-checking, it’s not uncommon for me to make a typo, or miss seeing that two answers are actually correct.

Oh my gosh you guys – this blanket is so amazing.

It feels like a mink coat (not that I want a mink coat but just saying)

You’re SO SO thoughtful!!

I tried really hard to get this message up right away on the projector screen so you guys could see it, but with all the weird Zoom meeting stuff and new tech stuff it took forever 😦

I’m just speechless.

I’m cozy, I’m navy, and I can’t wait to have you guys in class this year and next year.

You’re incredible.

❤

Hi everyone –

Just wanted to let you know a few things I learned from my meeting with administration – and also remind you of a couple things regarding tomorrow’s exam.

1. I learned that for in-classroom exams, we are NOT supposed to use audio/video proctoring through Honorlock. I know I told you that already in an email but I just wanted to remind you because that was causing some issues for us in our practice exam.
2. The administration also said that some of you were using the desktop version of the Honorlock app. Although we do have that option available, we are not supposed to use it. So please, only use the Honorlock Chrome extension.
3. The practice exam is still available on Canvas, in case you want to run through it and make sure it works 🙂
4. Please remember to bring your privacy screen for your computer tomorrow!
5. Just a reminder that my exam questions are as straightforward as I can make them – so they will be different from some of the questions we’ve had in our Kahoots. Please take a look at this post on sample questions to get an idea of what to expect.
6. The reason I’m spending time telling you about my question-writing style is because I want to help you avoid a common mistake people make when taking tests – they go back and check over their answers, and start over-thinking a question, and then change their original correct answer to an incorrect answer. This happens a lot. And because my questions might seem too straightforward, it could be tempting to think of exceptions or wonder if there’s some hidden trick. There’s not. Just go with your first answer.
7. You have from 1:00 – 2:55 pm to take the test, but you’ll probably find that you don’t need the whole period.
8. I’ll be available during the exam but I won’t be able answer questions requiring me to clarify exam questions (since there are other students taking the exam elsewhere and that wouldn’t be fair – also, some people may have already left, etc.). Anything else, though, feel free to ask 🙂
9. The exam should show up for you in your queue as “Histology Exam 1” but it won’t be available until 1pm tomorrow.
10. Feel free to email me anytime with questions.

This post contains specifics about the content and number of questions for our first exam in General Histology (DDS 6214).

I try to make the number of exam questions per lecture reflective of the length of each lecture (both in terms of number of hours and number of slides, although those don’t always match up exactly!) For this exam, for example, the Intro to Histology lecture was very short (and so were the number of objectives), so I only have one question on that lecture. As opposed to the Cartilage and Bone lecture which has 59 slides and took almost two hours – that lecture has 8 questions

Anyway – that’s my general practice, just so you know for this and future classes.

For this first exam, there are 40 questions. Here’s the full breakdown by lecture:

Intro to Histology: 1 questions
Embryology: 5 questions
Epithelial Tissue: 8 questions
Muscle Tissue: 7 questions
Nervous Tissue: 5 questions
Connective Tissue: 6 questions
Cartilage and Bone: 8 questions

All questions are multiple choice with one correct answer, and each question is worth one point.

Please take a look at the Sample Exam Questions post to get an idea of how I write questions. There will not be any tissue microscopic images on the exam, but as I mentioned in class, there may be an electron micrograph image of the sarcomere on the exam. Questions 13 and 14 in the Exam 1 Review Kahoot, and question 4 in the Sample Exam Questions post show this image – so take a look at those.

I’d like to give you a heads up on the way I write exam questions, so you’re better prepared for this first exam.

Exam questions should test your knowledge (obviously). You shouldn’t get a question wrong because it was confusing, or because it intentionally led you down the wrong path. When I write questions, I try to be as straightforward and clear as possible, so you understand what the question is asking you. And I don’t try to trick you into picking the wrong answer.

So if you look at a question and you know the answer right away, that’s okay! Don’t worry that you missed some sort of trick, or that the question can’t possibly be that simple.

Here are some examples of typical exam questions (the last two are on lectures we haven’t covered yet, but you can come back here after we do those lectures if you want):

1. In general, what happens during the second phase of the embryonic period?
A. Cells proliferate and migrate
B. Internal and external structures begin to differentiate
C. Organs grow and mature
D. Organs reach their maximum size

2. Which type of intercellular junction attaches epithelial cells to the basal lamina?
A. Zonula occludens (tight junction)
B. Zonula adherens (adherens junction)
C. Macula adherens (spot desmosome)
D. Gap junction
E. Hemidesmosome

3. What would you call epithelium composed of one layer of cells that are much taller than they are wide?
A. Simple squamous
B. Simple columnar
C. Stratified squamous
D. Stratified cuboidal
E. Pseudostratified columnar

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Question 4 refers to the electron micrograph above, which shows a sarcomere in its relaxed state.

4. Which letter (and corresponding line) marks a region that contains ONLY myosin filaments?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D

5. On H & E staining, which type of connective tissue proper is composed of abundant ground substance, scattered cells, and a few scattered thin fibers?
A. Dense irregular connective tissue
B. Dense regular connective tissue
C. Loose areolar connective tissue
D. Loose reticular connective tissue

6. Which glial cell myelinates axons in the central nervous system?
A. Astrocyte
B. Ependymal cell
C. Microglial cell
D. Oligodendrocyte
E. Schwann cell

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Scroll down for the answers!

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Answers:

1. B
2. E
3. B
4. B
5. C
6. D

I just wanted to let you know about a few things I’ve done today and yesterday. Tomorrow I’ll be working on getting some exam details straightened out, and so you’ll hear from me again soon.

For now, just wanted to let you know:

• I’ve left the practice exam open until September 3rd at midnight just in case you want to test it out again. I’ve also changed the settings so that you can take it as many times as you want.
• I posted Friday’s lecture on our Schedule page
• I put up the Kahoots page again, and updated the Epithelial Kahoot (the question asking about which intercellular junction has integrins was miskeyed – it’s now fixed)
• I posted the Exam 1 Review Kahoot we went through in class on Friday on our Kahoots page.
• Someone asked a great question about a misleading statement in the Epithelial Tissue lecture – and I posted a response to it on our Home page. 
• Some of you were asking for more explanation about how the sarcomere bands change as the sarcomere contracts – and I found the BEST VIDEO!! It’s super short and you can just stare at it and zone out. It’s on our Resources page – but before you watch it, please, please scroll all the way down and watch Le Bug. You may have seen it – it’s not new – but it is so funny, you deserve to see it again. Sound on. 

Okay, that’s it for now. If you have questions, please email. I’ll be working on getting the exam as straightened out as possible, including accommodations, tomorrow (and if I have to wait until people are in the office, I’ll finish on Monday).

Take care of yourself! Sleep! Eat some (dark) chocolate!. Hug a person or a furry creature. 

Just a quick update: all the lecture slides for this week are now updated and posted on our schedule page. I went through all of them last night, streamlined them a little bit here and there, and reposted them. So everything you see there now is current and won’t change 🙂

Also, just a reminder: there are review videos, Kahoots, and crosswords that you can go through if you like (they’re totally optional).

The review videos come with a little disclaimer: they were made a few years ago, which means that they sometimes contain content or slides that differ a bit from our current lecture content and slides. You’re ONLY responsible for the stuff we cover in our lectures this year – so if you choose to look at the review videos, please keep that in mind. I wish I had time to go back and make new videos but I can’t do that right now – so I am just leaving these up with that disclaimer in place. If this makes things too frustrating, then just ignore the videos for now 🙂 I certainly don’t want to add in any confusion.

I will go through the Kahoots and crosswords as soon as possible to remove anything that doesn’t conform to what we are covering this year. Those are much easier to edit – so I’ll do that asap and let you know when that’s done. Until then, the same disclaimer applies – if you see stuff that we didn’t cover in class, you’re NOT responsible for that information for our exams.

Please let me know if you have any questions!