Three hours lecture.
The emphasis of this course will be on the fundamentals of the
relationships among organisms and their environment.
Co-Requisite:
Biology 111L (One credit hour)
Scheduled Class Times
Lecture:
The class meets at
Laboratory:
You also must be registered for a laboratory section. Laboratory meets at the assigned time in
Attendance: Absences are excused for acute
illness, a family emergency, or a college sponsored event. Documentation from a physician or a college
representative is required for an excused absence.
Accommodations:
Course Content
There are several ways to approach
learning general biology. Many general
biology classes (and many textbooks including the one that we are using) start
small and work up. That is, many classes
start with chemistry and advance to cells, organs, individuals, and only later
examine whole organism interactions. We
start with the big picture before exposing you to the details of biology. Though it may be disconcerting to start in
the middle of the textbook, this approach makes sense. We learn to appreciate biology (the study of
life) by studying whole organisms, learning about the constraints faced by
organisms evolutionarily and ecologically. We will use class discussion, group
and individual projects, laboratory exercises, and field trips to amplify the
concepts that we cover in lecture. This
approach also lets us take advantage of the fine fall weather and get outside
to study communities of organisms. We
will practice observational skills, how to generate testable hypotheses, and
learn the characteristics that define different types of organisms. Then, next
semester, you will learn about the underlying processes that govern the
phenomena that you observed in whole organisms.
Purpose of Course
This course, required for biology and
biomedical science majors, helps students meet biology program goals 1.1a,
1.1b, 2.1b, and 3.1g and biomedical science program goals 2.1 and 2.3. This course fulfills several of
Learning Objectives
The student will:
·
Recognize how scientific inquiry is
used in explaining several general biological principles.
·
Use scientific methods of laboratory
and field testing and observations to explain scientific ways of knowing.
·
Explain the major theories covered in
class and be able to make connections with scientific ways of knowing.
·
Learn to use basic scientific
methodologies in problem solving.
·
Derive data from their own scientific
inquiries and draw conclusions based on those data.
·
Use computers to analyze numerical data
and to word process information and compose scientific papers.
·
Use critical thinking skills to draw
conclusions from the data they collect.
·
Write in the appropriate scientific
format.
·
Work in groups in the classroom and on
laboratory exercises.
Assessment of student performance:
·
Students will be required to write one
lab paper, two lab abstracts and several laboratory exercises in the correct
scientific format. These will be graded
for content, the understanding of concepts covered in the lab exercise, and the
appropriate use of grammar and syntax.
·
The student’s understanding of each
major principle will be evaluated in separate test sections, on quizzes, and on
take-home assignments.
·
The final exam will have questions
designed to determine whether the student:
o
has a firm grasp on the major
biological principles
o
can use sets of data to solve
scientific problems
o
can draw appropriate conclusions from
the data presented.
How
to prepare for classes and exams
You should read the relevant material
in the text before each lecture. After
the lecture, you should go through each chapter again. The second time through the text, put together
a list of the major concepts, ask yourself what processes govern a particular
concept and what key features are important in the chapter. Tests and quizzes will require more than
memorization. You will have to
understand the concepts in order to use them!
The second time through the text will be useful preparation for tests and
quizzes.
Now
that you have a general understanding, explore the class web page on Blackboard
or the main campus server. The course
Blackboard page will include news, assignments, and notes to students of the
course. We will also post a version of
our course notes on the page. These
notes are not intended to be a complete course reference. This outline is available so that structure
and content of the course can be more readily followed. We encourage you to review other sections
instructors’ notes as well. We discuss
the same material and find that variations on the same subject can help
students’ comprehension.
Supplementary textbook information is
available on the internet (see http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/classware/infoCenter.do?isbn=0072464631&navclick=true
). PASS sessions will be scheduled and
announced to provide you with further reviewing opportunities. You will find making use of multiple review
methods will greatly enhance your understanding and retention of material in
this course.
Drs. Cowden and Benson have scheduled
office hours weekly. You are welcome to stop by during these hours if you have
any questions or problems with the course materials. If you feel as though you would benefit from
an opportunity to review some material or ask questions individually, please
take advantage of this time. As these
hours will not be convenient for everyone, you may request appointments during
other times. We are available by phone
in our offices or by email to schedule appointments. It is very important that you are able to
stay current in the course. As such, we
will accommodate your needs as best we can.
Instructors
Dr.
Nancy Cowden Office 296 Hobbs Hall, phone: 544-8371
Office Hours: Mondays 10-noon, Thursdays
Email: cowden@lynchburg.edu
Personal
information about Dr. Cowden. As the product of a military family, I’ve
lived many places (the most exotic was
Dr. Kari Benson Office 218 Hobbs Hall, phone: 544-8364
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Email: benson@lynchburg.edu
Personal
information about Dr. Benson. I am the youngest of four children. In my family, get-togethers are usually
located over water where we either hike, study natural history, or fish. I received my bachelor's degree from
You
will receive the same grade for the entire class, lecture and laboratory
together. Due to scheduling
difficulties, the two courses have been separated by the registrar. Laboratory accounts for 25 % of the final
grade in four credits including the lecture and laboratory portions of the
course. Your final grade will be
determined as follows:
Item:
Percentage
3
Tests 30
1
Final Exam 20
? Challenges and Quizzes 10
? Team Projects 10
Class Participation 5
Laboratory 25
Total 100
Tests:
There will be three in-term exams: 28
September, 26 October, and 30 November.
If you miss any exams, the grade for that exam will be replaced with the
grade on the cumulative final. The laboratory portion of this course is meant
to augment the lecture and questions expanding on topics covered in the
laboratory may appear on exams. Each exam will cover material since the
previous exam. These exams will account for 30% of the final grade.
Because the course depends on what you
learn in both lecture and laboratory, there will not be a separation of the
material from these two areas. That is,
you will need to understand the lectures to succeed in lab, and questions about
laboratory exercises are fair game in lecture.
Final
Exam: The final exam is cumulative
and will account for 20% of the final grade.
Remember that any missing test scores will be replaced with the grade
from this final.
Final
Exam Schedule:
You must attend your scheduled section for the final examination
Lecture Section A:
Lecture Section B:
Lecture Section C:
Lecture Section D:
Challenges
and Quizzes: Quizzes will be given periodically to
cover the latest readings or material in the class. They will be fairly short and concise and
designed to insure that you understand the key concepts under consideration. Quizzes will be unannounced. Some material is
better understood if you have an opportunity to think for more time than is
available for an in-class assignment.
For this reason, challenges will take the place of some quizzes. These will be short, take-home assignments
designed to allow more consideration than an in-class quiz. Quizzes and challenges will account for 10%
of the final grade. The lowest 1/4 of
the quiz and challenge grades will be dropped for the final quiz/challenge
average.
Team Projects:
Like individual work, group work will be of two forms: quizzes and
challenges. As described above, group
quizzes will be unannounced and given periodically to cover the latest readings
and/or class material. Because better
understanding sometimes comes from small-group discussion, these quizzes will
provide opportunities to reinforce concepts cooperatively. Some group assignments will require pre-class
preparation. These take-home, group
assignments involve more preparation than class time permits and involve
presentation of the completed assignment to the rest of the class. Group quizzes and challenges will account for
10% of the final grade.
Class
Participation: This grade will be determined by the
level of thoughtful participation including: contributions to class discussions,
team exercises, laboratory exercises, and independent learning. Participation in the laboratory also includes
clean up of the classroom and any class equipment. Class participation will account for 5% of
the final course grade.
Teamwork: We
will divide all of the students into learning teams. You will be required to work as a team on a
number of in-class and out-of-class projects.
You are encouraged to use these teams for test and quiz
preparation. Your work on team related
work will be scored as a team. However,
the grade that each individual receives will be corrected by the score that
their team-mates give them at the end of the semester. The instructor reserves the right to adjust
team-given scores if they seem inappropriate. If any individual receives an average of six
or lower out of ten for their team score, the individual will receive a failing
grade for the course.
Laboratory:
Material covered in the laboratory is instrumental to understanding the lecture
material. Laboratory assignments are to
be conducted as a class. Therefore,
attendance to your assigned laboratory section is very important. If you must have an excused absence from a
laboratory, please make arrangements to attend another section. If this is not possible and the absence is
excused, alternative arrangements will be made.
The laboratory will constitute 25% of your final grade.
Homeworks/Quizzes: For several of the
laboratory meetings, you will be required to answer questions and complete an
assignment on either the current or the previous laboratory. More detailed information will be provided
when necessary. (12.5% of your course
grade for the semester)
Abstracts: For two of the
laboratory exercises, you will be required to produce an abstract. An abstract is a short summary (150 words or
fewer) of the concepts, objectives, and results of a research project. More detailed information will be provided
when necessary. The first will be due in
lab during the week of 1 October, the second will be due in lab during the week
of 5 November. (5% of your grade)
Paper: One research paper will be
required. The details of paper
presentation will be given with the laboratory handout for that week. This paper will be due in class on 19
October. (5% of your course grade)
Writing assignments in biology?
Yes. Being able to communicate
effectively is important in any discipline.
Help is available. The college
has a writing center that is designed to help you hone your writing skills and
your instructors are available to help you with any particular assignment.
Lab Final: There will be one
cumulative final, held on the last day of lab.
This will be worth 2.5% of your grade for the semester.
Make-up tests and quizzes will
not be given!
Grading
Policy: Students are expected to hand in work on time. For each day (including Saturday and Sunday)
that an assignment is late, 5% of the grade will be deducted from the
score. Assignments that are more than
one week late will not be accepted. If
you wish to hand in a late assignment, either hand-deliver the assignment to
your instructor or place the assignment into the appropriate mailbox in Hobbs
Hall.
Re-evaluation:
If you find that you disagree with the grading on any particular question, we
will re-evaluate your work. We will only
accept re-evaluation requests in written form.
Be sure to include your name, the question number, explain why you
should have received credit that you did not, and how much additional credit
you feel you deserve. Be sure to attach
this form to your original work. For
bookkeeping purposes, all re-evaluation requests must be submitted within two
days of the return of the work.
Extra
Credit: There will also be an opportunity to earn up to 5% extra. You will have to notify me during the first
five weeks of the semester (before 3 October) to make arrangements if you want
to do an extra-credit project. This
involves an outside reading as well as writing a short (4 pages or fewer)
document summarizing the work and YOUR views on the reading. There is a link to the assignment on the
Blackboard course page.
Ethical Conduct:
Honor Code: We encourage a free
exchange of ideas both in and out of the classroom. Science is a collaborative endeavor. However, when a scientist finds information
from a book, magazine, or website, he or she is expected to acknowledge or
reference the source fully. A
description of what constitutes an honor code violation is available in the
catalogue and in the student handbook.
If you are unsure about how to attribute another individual’s work for
intellectual contribution to your own work, please see an instructor prior to
the deadline of the assignment. Failure
to adhere to these rules can result in failure in the course.
Respect: Everyone in the class
should feel free to express their ideas and opinions. We encourage intellectual controversy and
debate in the course, and, thus, demand that everyone's right to different
thoughts and opinions be respected, even as we challenge the ideas underlying
those opinions. Treating one another
with respect includes arriving in class on time and not distracting fellow
students (cell phones and portable music players must be turned off) during any
course related activities.
Course Schedule:
This is a tentative schedule of the
material to be covered in this course.
We may stray from this, but we will keep you up to date on the reading
requirements as we proceed.
Week 1 (Aug. 27)
Scientific Method, ch 1
lab: Scientific
Notation and Experimental Design
Week 2 (Sept. 3)
Scientific Method and Evolutionary History
Evolution, ch 1, 17
lab: Reproductive Apportionment in a Plant (Abstract, Due
week 6 in lab)
Week 3 (Sept. 10)
Inheritance and Genetics, ch. 17, 18
lab: Field Trip for Fossil Collecting
Evolution and Population Genetics, ch. 18
lab: Evolution and Population Genetics
Finish Evolution, ch. 18, 20
Sept. 28: Exam
1
lab: Data Analysis and Graphing
Animal Behavior, ch. 45
lab: Animal Behavior (Paper, due 19 October)
Population Ecology, ch. 46
lab:
Aquatic Ecology
Community Ecology, ch. 47
lab: Fall Break - No Lab
Ecosystem Ecology and the Biosphere ch. 48, 49
lab:
Week 10 (Oct. 29)
Oct. 26: Exam 2
Diversity, ch. 20
lab: Organizing Diversity
Week 11 (Nov. 5)
Archaea, Eubacteria, and Protista, ch 21, 22
lab: Microscopes and Microscopy
Protists, Fungi, and Plants, ch. 22, 23, 24
lab: Plant Adaptations to Water Constraints
Plants, ch. 24
Lab: Thanksgiving Break, No Lab
30
November: Exam 3
Deuterostomes, ch. 31
Review
Lab: Laboratory Final
Exam
Final
Exams:
Lecture Section A: 10 December,
Lecture Section B: 13 December,
Lecture Section C: 15 December,
Lecture Section D: 10 December,