College of the Canyons: Organismal & Environmental Biology (BioSci 106)
Spring 2006 – Lecture & Lab Syllabus
I.
Instructor Contact Information:
Dilek
Sanver-Wang
E-mail:
dilek.sanver-wang@canyons.edu
Mailbox: A-112 (ask the switchboard operator to place
it in my mailbox)
Course website: http://www.biologyprofessor.com/coc/106
Course Blackboard account: http://bb.canyons.edu
II.
Lecture/Lab Meetings:
Section 44250
Lec:
Tues. and Thurs,
1-2:20pm
, L-105
Lab: Monday,
2:30-5:20pm
, L-205
Section 44251
Lec:
Tues. and Thurs,
1-2:20pm
, L-105
Lab: Wednesday,
2:30-5:20pm
, L-205
Section 44252
Lec:
Tuesday,
7-9:50pm
, L-105
Lab: Monday,
7-9:50pm
, L-205
Section 44253
Lec:
Tuesday,
7-9:50pm
, L-105
Lab: Wednesday,
7-9:50pm
, L-205
III.
Office Hours:
I will not have regularly scheduled office
hours but I am happy to meet with you outside of class to answer your questions
or provide additional assistance with the course material.
The best way to reach me to set up an appointment is through e-mail or
talking to me after class.
IV.
Course Description
Bio 106 provides an introduction to major plant
and animal groups and principles of ecology and evolution.
4 units. BIOSCI 106 & 107 are
necessary for biology majors.
V.
Course Texts and Materials:
Required
Lecture Textbook:
Purves,
W.K., Sadawa, D., Orians, G.H., and Heller, H.C. Life:
The Science of Biology.
W. H. Freeman and Company, 2004
Required Laboratory Book:
Rose, B.
and Dole, J. Lab
Manual
for
Organismal & Environmental Biology. 2001
Required
classroom supplies:
Four
(4) scantron forms to be turned in prior to the first midterm. Form No. 882-E.
Recommended
Laboratory Aid:
Perry,
J. and Morton, D. Photo
Atlas for Biology.
Wadsworth
Publishing 1996
Rust,
T. A Guide to Biology Lab.
1983.
VI. Attendance & Assignment
Deadlines:
You are
expected to attend the lab and lecture section you are enrolled in every week.
If you miss a lecture/lab
exercise, exam or quiz, you will not be able to make up the work or the points.
If
you have a documented emergency that prevents you from attending a lecture or
lab meeting, you must contact me immediately and show me the appropriate
documentation to avoid receiving a zero on that day’s assignment.
VII.
Academic Honesty:
Any student
caught plagiarizing, cheating on exams, or failing to abide by the policies of
academic honesty will immediately receive a failing grade (F) for this course.
While group work and collaboration is encouraged when working in the lab
and when studying outside of class, all assignments that will be submitted for a
grade should be completed individually unless I indicate otherwise.
I have outlined the two main types of academic dishonesty below for your
reference.
a)
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is intellectual theft.
It means use of the intellectual creations of another without proper
attribution. Plagiarism may take two
main forms, which are clearly related:
1.
To steal or pass off as
one’s own, the ideas or words of another.
2.
To use a creative
production without crediting the source.
Credit
must be given for every direct quotation, for paraphrasing or summarizing a work
(in whole, or in part, in one’s own words), and for information which is not
common knowledge.
b)
Cheating on exams:
Cheating
includes talking during an exam, passing notes during an exam, copying from
another student’s exam, using cheat sheets or other forms of unauthorized
written or verbal sources on an exam, receiving answer signals from another
student during an exam, etc.
VIII.
Grading/Assignments:
A.
Point Distribution:
Lecture:
Online Homework:
60 pts
2 Midterms:
140 pts
(70 pts each – you will be given 3 midterms and the lowest midterm score will
be dropped)
Final
Exam:
100 pts
Lab:
2 Quizzes:
50 pts
(25 pts each– you will be given 3 quizzes and the lowest quiz score will be
dropped))
Attendance
& Write-ups:
150 pts
Final Practical Exam:
100 pts
Total Points:
600 pts
B.
Grading Scale:
The following scale will be
used to determine your letter grade in this course:
90-100%
A
80-89%
B
70-79%
C
60-69%
D
Below 60% F
You can determine your current grade in the class at
any time by adding up all the points from exams, quizzes, assignments, etc. you
have earned, dividing that value by the total possible points you could have
obtained up to that point, multiplying by 100 to get your % score, and looking
up your grade on the grading scale.
C.
Laboratory Assignments:
a)
Lab Exercises / Write-ups (150 points):
For the lab questions and write-ups, you should attempt to answer every question
completely. If you do not know the
answer to a question, you need to demonstrate that you have thought about it
critically. We will often go over
the questions in class and I expect you to make corrections and/or additions to
your answers as appropriate. I will
check your lab notebooks/worksheets in class and collect them periodically, to
grade them for accuracy and completeness. The best way
to organize your lab work and assignments is to put all your paperwork into
order in a loose-leaf binder which must be brought to lab every week.
b)
Quizzes (50 points):
There will be three quizzes, each worth 25 points. At
the end of the semester, your lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Quiz questions will be based on laboratory material and will be
administered during the first 15 min. of lab.
Each quiz will focus on material not covered on the previous quiz unless
I announce otherwise. Do realize,
however, that a lot of the information you learn early on in this course will be
reiterated in subsequent labs, so the quizzes will be cumulative with regards to
some of the content.
c)
Field Trip (10 points)
There will be one field trip for this course where we will go to the
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro and observe the tide pools.
We, as a class, will decide on a day and time to go on the field trip
when everyone can attend and when the low tide schedule is appropriate.
During the field trip you will be asked to complete a worksheet.
The points for this activity will be based on attendance and completion
of the worksheet and will count as one of your labs towards your lab
participation/write-up score.
d) Lab
Practical Exam (100 points)
There will be a Lab Final Practical, during the week of May. 22, during your regularly scheduled lab.
The lab practical exam will consist of numerous lab stations that have been set
up with specimens, lab apparatus etc. and will contain questions that you will
have to answer. The questions will
be similar to the questions contained in your lab book and on quizzes.
The best way to prepare for this exam is to work through each lab
exercise thoroughly and make sure you understand the answers to all the lab and
quiz questions throughout the semester. There
are also numerous study guides available through the biology computer lab
(L-211) in Powerpoint slideshow format that will be useful in reviewing the lab
material.
D. Lecture
Assignments:
a) Online Homework Assignments (60 points):
Each week you will be required to complete an online homework assignment and/or
take a quiz on Blackboard. Your
grade will be based only on turning in completed work for these assignments and
quizzes; it will not be based on the accuracy of your answers.
I will provide more information on this, as well as an orientation to
using Blackboard, in class during week 2.
b) Midterms (140 points):
There will be three midterms, each worth 70 points. At
the end of the semester, your lowest midterm score will be dropped.
Midterms will include a variety of question styles: multiple-choice,
matching, short answer, etc. The lecture exams will
cover both lecture and lab material, but
the emphasis will be on material covered in lecture.
c) Final Exam (100 points):
Tuesday, June 6,
3-5pm
in L-105 for the afternoon lecture section
7-9pm
in L-105 for the evening lecture section
The Final Exam will include a variety of question styles: multiple-choice,
matching, short answer, etc. The
exam will be a cumulative review of the material presented in the lectures and
labs, with an emphasis on lecture material.
Attending class regularly, taking notes and reviewing your notes
regularly, reviewing the class Powerpoint slides and outlines, and forming study
groups with fellow students will help you to succeed in this course.
E. Extra Credit
(30 points):
You can earn up to 30 points in extra credit in this course by completing
any three of the activities outlined on the course website under the “Extra
Credit” section. The
due date for all extra credit assignments is Tues., May 30, although you can
turn in your assignments any time before the deadline.
At the end of the semester, if your grade is borderline (e.g. 89%, 69%),
I will only consider a grade adjustment if you have completed all possible extra
credit assignments, and attended lecture and lab regularly.
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