BISC208-081
HONORS INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
SPRING 2012
T
test example
Examples
of graded long reports
Course Structure
Formation and Functioning of Groups
Class Schedule
Grading
Attendance
COURSE INFORMATION
Meeting Time, Place |
Monday, Wednesday Friday
9:05-9:55, Memorial 110 |
Instructor |
|
Office |
241Wolf Hall |
Phone |
831-2476 |
E-mail |
ldion@udel.edu (best way
to contact me) |
Office Hours |
To be announced in class |
Textbook |
Brooker, Widmaier, Graham, Stiling. Biology, 2nd ed |
Web Page |
http://www.udel.edu/biology/dion/208honorssyllabus_2012.htm |
COURSE CONTENT
The physiology of plants and
animals, in addition to evolutionary and ecological concepts will be
the topics
of this course. Lecture is supplemented by labs which teach these
topics.
COURSE METHODS
Course Philosophy:
Introductory Biology is intended to be a survey course which introduces
students to the breadth of biological sciences and prepares them for
higher
level courses in biology or other science majors. Therefore a
broad-based
understanding of content is important. But so are the skills which will
be
needed to continue learning later in life. These include: the ability
to learn
independently, the ability to think critically and explain your
understanding
with clarity, and an ability to work constructively with others toward
shared
goals. Although the lecture format of teaching has the potential to
deliver
content, there is no assurance that a student will develop the skills
mentioned
above, since listening to lecture is a very passive activity.
Furthermore,
studies have suggested that
collaborative
learning improves productivity, professional self-esteem,
problem-solving
skills, and positive social relationships. Therefore, this course will
include
some lecturing, but will also have an active student-centered component
of
learning through the analysis of problems,
or
case studies.
Course
Structure
About one third of BISC208 classes will be devoted to problem-based
group
learning and the rest will be devoted to more traditional lecturing and
evaluation of your progress. For some of these activities you
will work
as individuals and for some of them you will work as members of a
group.
Lectures will be delivered by Power Point format. Power point
slides for
a lecture will be linked to the course web
page
at least one day ahead of time.
Problems: Many problems will be complex real-world scenarios which
you will
have to analyze in the context of the week's topic. Working with other
members
of your group, you will address a series of questions which will
require that
you use your text and class notes as resources. These problems should
reinforce
your understanding of the content material, help you develop analytical
skills,
and give you experience in addressing real problems. Sometimes you will
be
asked to preview the problem on line, and sometimes you will be asked
to do
research to prepare for it. Sometimes a problem will require that you
draw
something, since illustrating concepts is an effective way to learn
them. The
group answers that you hand in will be read, graded, and returned in
the next
class. Everyone who was present for the problem gets the same
grade. An upperclass biology major,
or peer facilitator, will mentor
your group on problem days. It is her/his job to keep you focused and
engaged
in discussion.
Quizzes and Exams There will be three
quizzes. In
addition to the quizzes, there will be 5 hourly exams. Three will be
taken as
individuals and two will be group exams. There will be no final exam.
Hourly
exams will be similar in format to the quizzes (i.e. mostly multiple
choice,
with the possibility of 1-2 essays), but with a more extensive
synthesis of the
material. Group exams will all be in essay format. You will work
with
your group to answer the questions and will submit one group copy; all
group
members will receive the same grade for a group exam. All exams except
for the
last one will be returned in class. I'll make arrangements to return
that one after classes end.
Preparation: At the beginning of each major topic, you should always do the assigned reading before listening to a lecture or discussing a problem. (Occasionally you may be asked to preview a problem). It may be helpful for you to print out the Power Point notes, so you can more easily follow a lecture (more about that below)
Using
McGraw-Hill's Brooker 2nd ed
Resources for preparing and studying material
McGraw-Hill,
publishers of Brooker's textbook, has a
web platform
known as Connect and Connect Plus. These contain materials available
for your
use to supplement the text. Connect Plus is Connect but includes
the electronic
version of the textbook. Connect Plus is
provided if you purchase a new text from the UD bookstore, but may not
be
provided if you purchase it elsewhere, or if you purchase a used
version. USE
OF CONNECT OR CONNECT PLUS IS OPTIONAL FOR THIS COURSE;
however, if you use either, your access is limited without
linking to a
virtual "course" on the website. Therefore I have set up this
"course", whose URL is: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/l_dion_section_81_honors
When
you first try to access this
"course", you will be asked to register, using your email and
provided password. Someone who is not registered will still be
able to
use the open access site of McGraw-Hill, which is http://www.mhhe.com//biosci/majorsbio/brookerbiology/
(click on 2nd ed
of Brooker). The Key
Concepts which I’ve listed in your Course Schedule will
refer you to practice quizzes. These are available on the
open-access site. You can use these for practice in studying. Keep in
mind that
use of the quizzes or anything on Connect is completely optional;
furthermore,
the quizzes do not cover all course topics, so are meant to be a
supplement,
not a replacement, for studying class notes. Also, since they are
designed for
general use of the text (not course specific), you may encounter
questions that
cover a topic not relevant to our class; answer the best you can, and
don't
worry about those questions.
It is possible to purchase Connect or Connect Plus from either the UD
bookstore
or McGraw-Hill at an extra fee. McGraw-Hill's website has a contact
number for
this; in fact you can even register for a free 3 week trial period to
use
Connect.
Support for Connect: I am not qualified to help you with web
problems. If
you have any issues while registering or using Connect, contact
McGraw-Hill's
CARE team through http://www.mhhe.com/support.
Looking at Power Point files , Problems & Key Concepts: To
access Power
Point files, Key Concepts or a problem, you will need to use a computer
linked
to the campus network. Using one from off-campus will not allow access,
since
these items are restricted to the UD community. However, if you live
off-campus
you can connect through a proxy server available only to UD students by using this link:
https://proxy.nss.udel.edu/login?qurl=http://www.udel.edu/biology/dion/208honorssyllabus_2012.htm You will get a log-in prompt; once you have logged in, you should be taken back to the syllabus page, but now you are accessing it through the proxy server. You should now be able to access restricted files. You will find the Power Point, or Problem link in the "Class Schedule" for the respective date.
FORMATION AND FUNCTIONING OF GROUPS
Heterogeneous groups of 4-5 people each will be assigned by me before the first class period. Except for minor changes which may have to be made because of late dropping or adding, these groups will be permanent for the whole semester. On PBL days (most Wednesdays) an upperclass biology major will attend class as a peer facilitator to help your group.
One of the first group activities will be to formulate ground rules, or operating rules of conduct that each member agrees to abide by. These will be sent by email to each group member, and to me for future reference. Each group will be given a folder in which attendance will be recorded and problems can be stored. An explanation of the peer evaluation process will also be in the folder.
Attendance and punctuality to group functions is very important for the optimum functioning of the group. Someone who is careless with punctuality or attendance may be penalized grade-wise for disrupting the functioning of the group. In the case of illness or an unavoidable absence, please notify me, as well as your group members to avoid being penalized. If you are absent on a lecture day,, consult the power point notes. Though these will help, I will supplement them during lecture. You can read about Attendance Policies for both lab and lecture in BISC208 here.
COMMUNICATION
I use email frequently to communicate with the class. Often,
announcements
will be made by email, so you should use your university webmail
account. The
web page should be checked frequently for changes or additions, and
will need
to be accessed weekly for notes or previews. In laboratory, data may be
shared
and transmitted through Sakai, which will be explained in lab. Note:
only lab
material will be available on Sakai. Other course information is linked
to this
lecture syllabus, which is on the world-wide-web (exceptions are
UD-restricted
files). Do not search for lecture information on Sakai. All lab reports
must be
typed (double-spaced); graphs should be done in Excel, if
directed; more
information will be provided in lab.
Class |
Date |
Lecture Topic |
Chapter |
Lab Topic of Week (Wednesdays) including
assignments |
- |
- |
EVOLUTION |
- |
- |
1 |
M 2/6 |
Introduction to Course &
to Evolution |
23*, 24 |
No Lab |
2 |
W 2/8 |
Microevolution |
24 |
- |
3 |
F 2/10 |
Hardy-Weinberg
practice; Speciation |
25* to p. 520 (omit |
- |
4 |
M 2/13 |
Speciation; begin
Systematics Key
Concepts |
26* to p. 535 |
Lab 1 Introduction to Lab; Evolution Assignment 1 - due end of lab |
5 |
W 2/15 |
Problem 1 on evolution |
- |
- |
- |
- |
PLANT BIOLOGY |
- |
- |
6 |
F 2/17 |
Finish Systematics;
Plant Diversity |
29* (omit sec 2); 30* to p. 626 |
- |
7 |
M 2/20 |
Quiz 1 on Evolution; Plant Diversity |
35 |
Lab 2: Systematics: Quiz #1 |
8 |
W 2/22 |
Problem 2 on Diversity and/or Structure |
35 |
9
|
F 2/24 |
37*, 38 |
- |
|
10 |
M 2/27 |
38 |
Lab 3: Plants I:
Anatomy & Transport |
|
11 |
W 2/29 |
Problem 3 on transport |
38 |
- |
12 |
F 3/2 |
finish Plant Transport
or Review |
- |
- |
13 |
M 3/5 |
Individual Exam 1 on
Evolution and Plants |
- |
Lab
4: Plants II:
Transpiration Project WorkPlan #1; Long Report #1 (due next week) |
14 |
W 3/7 |
Group Exam 1 on Evolution
and Plants |
- |
- |
- |
- |
ANIMAL BIOLOGY |
- |
- |
15 |
F 3/9 |
Brief introduction to
Animal Diversity; |
32 &34*, 47 |
- |
16 |
M 3/12 |
Circulation. Key
concepts |
47 |
Lab 5: Animals I:
Invertebrates: Dissection & pulsation rate in blackworm Assignment #3 (pre-lab - blackworm - due at start of lab); Short Report#2 (due next week - pulsation rate only) |
17 |
W 3/14 |
Problem 4 on Circulation |
47 |
- |
18 |
F 3/16 |
Gas Exchange |
48 |
- |
19 |
M 3/19 |
Gas Exchange Key
Concepts |
48 |
Lab 6 Animals II:
Invertebrates: blackworm project - affect of drugs on pulsation rate;
WorkPlan #2; Long Report #2 - (due in 2 wks after spring break) |
20 |
W 3/21 |
Problem 5 on Gas
Exchange |
- |
- |
21 |
F 3/23 |
Quiz 2 on material
since Exam 1 Nervous Control |
- |
- |
- |
- |
SPRING BREAK |
- |
- |
22 |
M 4/2 |
|
41 |
Lab 7: Animals III:
Touch & Temperature Senses; Quiz #3; Assignment #4 (due end of lab)
; no short report from this lab |
23 |
W 4/4 |
Problem 6 on Nervous Control |
41 |
- |
24 |
F 4/6 |
Muscles |
44 |
- |
25 |
M 4/9 |
Thermoregulation |
44 |
Lab 8: Animals IV: Respiration Quiz #4; Short Report #3 (due next wk) |
26 |
W 4/11 |
Problem 7 on
Thermoregulation |
46, sec 3 & 4 |
- |
27 |
F 4/13 |
Begin Digestion |
45 |
- |
28 |
M 4/16 |
Individual Exam 2 (on
material since Exam 1 but not including digestion) |
- |
Lab 9: Animals V: Chordate Anatomy Assignment #5; Statistics (due end of lab) |
29 |
W 4/18 |
Group Exam 2 |
45 |
- |
- |
4/18 5:00 pm |
Dr. John Gearhart, U of PA -
Arnold Clark Lectureship - "Instructing our Cells to Rebuild our Bodies" |
- |
- |
30 |
F 4/20 |
Digestion
|
45 |
- |
31 |
M 4/23 |
Brief Introduction to
Osmoregulation; |
49* sec 1-4; 56 |
Lab 10: Ecology; Quiz #5; Assignment #6 (Isle Royale - due end of lab) Short Report #4 (pegboard - due next wk) |
32 |
W 4/25 |
Problem 8 on Digestion |
49* sec 1-4 |
- |
- |
- |
ECOLOGY |
- |
- |
33 |
F 4/27 |
Quiz 3 on material since Exam 2 |
56 |
- |
34 |
M 4/30 |
Population & Community
Ecology |
57*, 58* |
- |
35 |
W 5/2 |
Problem 9 on Population
Ecology |
56 |
No lab; prepare for
exam |
36 |
F 5/4 |
Community Ecology |
57* & 58* |
- |
37 |
M 5/7 |
Communities & Ecosystems |
59*, 54* |
Lab 11: Lab Exam |
38 |
W 5/9 |
Problem 10 on Community Ecology |
59* |
- |
39 |
F 5/11 |
Ecosystems & Biomes; Peer
Evaluations |
- |
- |
40 |
M 5/14 |
Individual Exam 3 (on
material since Exam 2) |
- |
No scheduled lab this week;
either lab or my office will be open for a half hour on W 5/16 to see
lab exam grades |
*
These particular assignments are for reference only - read in a general
way, using
lecture content as a guide. For Osmoregulation, the only coverage will
be from
a few introductory remarks on 4/23 and doing the reading in Chapter 49.
Syllabus & lab schedule are subject to change. Quiz & Exam dates will not change unless weather causes class cancellation, or something else happens which is beyond my control.
The final grade is a reflection of effort both in the classroom and in the laboratory. Lecture will constitute 75% of the final grade, lab 25%. Information about your laboratory grade will be provided during the first meeting of lab, as well as in your lab manual.
Your grade in lecture will be based on three criteria: Individual
Performance,
Group Performance, Peer
& Instructor Evaluation
1. Individual Performance
(quizzes, individual exams) - 60% of lecture grade
2. Group Performance (group
exams,
problems) - 40% of lecture grade
3. Peer
&
Instructor evaluation (modifies the group grade - note: I reserve
the right
to modify the peer evaluation grade if it appears there will be a
miscarriage
of justice). The peer evaluation system is described in the section
below..
A more detailed breakdown of the individual and group components of
the lecture
grade is shown below:
Individual Component |
%Lecture Grade (60% total) |
3 Quizzes |
15% |
3 Hourly Exams |
45% |
Group Component* |
% Lecture Grade (40%
total)* |
10 Problems |
30% |
2 Group Exams |
10% |
*Group grade will be modified
by a value from peer evaluation
Total for lecture grade will be multiplied by 75%
Laboratory grading will be explained in laboratory.
The final grade will be determined from the following approximate range. However, this range is NOT set in stone. Assignment of the final course grade can be influenced by such things as final class average. Additionally, assignment of final course grade to each student will be considered on an individual basis and COULD be influenced by my consideration of circumstances which include (but are not limited to) the following: laboratory grading by TA is significantly different (more or less rigorous) than that of other BISC 208 honors TA's
A |
90-100 |
B |
80-89 |
C |
70-79 |
D |
60-69 |
F |
under 60 |
Plus
and minus grades MAY be given for the upper and lower extremes of each
range.
Attendance in class is never a problem with
honors
students. However, you should still know my policy, as follows:
Attendance in class is EXPECTED; absence will
be
noted. Attendance will be reflected in your peers' evaluations of you.
Announcements will be made, or activities started, at the beginning of
class,
so promptness is important. If you miss a class, notes must be obtained
from
another student or from the ppt file
linked to the
syllabus. If you miss an exam or quiz, you will not receive
credit.
Exceptions are the following:
1. documented
illness
2. documented
personal tragedy
3. documented
official University business
If you miss an exam or quiz for one of the above reasons, then a make-up quiz/exam will be given. Students who know they will miss a quiz/ exam for an excusable reason must inform me promptly before or on the day of the exam (no later than two hours after the class has met) through phone or e-mail; otherwise, absence will be considered unexcused and a zero will be given. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Under certain circumstances, a group problem may be made up, but only if the problem is turned in before the groups' problems are returned in class (this means you would have to turn in a problem at 9:05 am on Friday morning following the missed problem day); if the absence is not considered excusable, a zero will be given for the problem missed..
Official BISC208 policy is that attendance in
laboratory
is MANDATORY. We place high importance on the laboratory experience.
Therefore unexcused
laboratory absences will result in a grade reduction for lab and
possibly for
the whole B208 course. One or two unexcused absences will result in
no
credit for work (quizzes, assignments) done that week in lab, and three
unexcused absences will result in a failure of BISC208. Excused
absences
fall into the categories listed above but must be made up by
attending a lab
at another time during the same week after first checking with
me about
the reason for missing the lab, and also writing to your TA.
If you miss a lab for an excusable but unanticipated reason, you must
inform me or your TA within two hours of the missed lab (phone or
email). Responsibility for arranging a make-up lies with the student.
Make up during a later
week cannot be accomodated. If a
student misses three labs for excused reasons and is unable to make
them up
(due to excusable extenuating circumstances), an automatic
incomplete will
be given. Missed labs and the final exam must then be made up in
the
following semester. Additional laboratory policies will be explained in
lab,
and they should also be read in your lab manual.
For the problems and
group exams,
all members of a group receive the same grade. The expectation is that
everyone
made equal contributions and expended equal effort. However, in
reality, that
may not be true - some may work very hard, while others may "coast".
To acknowledge differences in effort among group members, you will have
a
chance to evaluate one another with respect to attitude, participation
and
contributions by doing peer evaluations.
Peer evaluations will be
done twice
during the semester. The first time will be at the middle of the term -
these
will be done as practice and to provide constructive feedback to
improve group
performance. End-of-term peer evaluations will be done quantitatively.
They
will be used to advise me in determining how, or whether, to modify a
person's
group score.
Evaluation scores will be
given by
assigning 0-10 points to fellow group members. A score of 10 indicates
that a
person is a fully functional group member (comes to class on time,
comes
prepared to work, contributes to group) - in other words, he/she merits
100%
for group effort. In the past, Honors students have usually earned a 9
to 10.
If a group is not functioning well because of one or more weak members,
this
should be brought to my attention as early as possible so that the
situation
can be corrected, and low evaluation scores can be avoided.
After averaging your peer
evaluation
scores, I will determine whether, and how much, to modify your group
grade. An
evaluation score will be used to modify your group grade in the
following way.
If for example, you receive scores of 9.5, 10, and 9
from your other group members, your average is 9.5 pts. This
means you
will receive 95% of your group
performance
score. If your average is 8.5pts., you will
receive
85% of the group performance score. Again, everyone should
strive
for an evaluation of 10 pts. or 100%. A
sample of the
end-of-term evaluation form can be seen here.
NOTE ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
For lab and lecture, be familiar with the university policy on Academic Dishonesty. All work submitted for grading in lab and lecture, except collaborative group work (PBL problems), must be the original work of each individual. Although you will work as a group in lab, lab reports are to be written individually. This means that graphs or tables should also be done individually. Exceptions will be explained.
The most common problems of academic dishonesty among freshmen students are plagiarism and cheating (both usually done unintentionally because of misunderstanding of what constitutes these infractions). Therefore, based on the Student Guide to University Policies (http://www.udel.edu/stuguide/11-12/code.html#honesty ), here are definitions of each. These definitions are not necessarily all-inclusive.
Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own. When a student submits academic work that includes another’s words, ideas, or data, whether published or unpublished, the source of that information must be acknowledged with complete and accurate references and, if verbatim statements are included, with quotation marks as well. By submitting work as his or her own, a student certifies the originality of all material not otherwise acknowledged. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
Cheating
is an act or an attempted act of deception by which a student seeks to
misrepresent that he or she has mastered information that has not been
mastered.
Cheating includes, but is not limited to:
If academic dishonesty is discovered or suspected, the case will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs and penalties could ensue. Clearly, you as a student are best served by doing your own work. If you have any questions about the right to collaborate, please ask your lab TA or course instructor. Their decisions are binding.
Bottom Line: Do your OWN work. This
includes writing your own lab reports, creating your own graphs,
completing other lab assignments on your own, even if you worked as a
lab group to collect data.
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES
This is a center (www.udel.edu/DSS/) which provides services
to
students with either physical or learning disabilities. If you think
you need
help or need to be evaluated, contact this center. I am not qualified
to assess
whether or not a student has such a disability, and therefore will not
make accomodations for testing without
instructions from this
office. If I learn of any group tutoring for BISC 208, I will inform
the class.