BISC208-012 INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
SPRING 2011

Index

Explanation of t-test on excel
Samples of graded long reports
Class Activities
Group Assignments
 (also see Formation and Functioning of Groups below)
Course Schedule
Attendance
Grading

COURSE INFORMATION

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
This section of Iintroductory Biology will combine lecturing with an active student-centered approach. During some class meetings, you will work with your group to analyze biologically relevant, real-life problems in light of what you have learned from lectures or you may work on other group activities such as practice quizzes or exercises..

CLASS ACTIVITIES
     Preparation:  You as students will work as individuals and as members of a group. At the beginning of each major topic,  you should always do the assigned reading before listening to a lecture or doing a group activity.  It will be VERY helpful for you to print out the Power Point notes, so you can more easily follow a lecture (more about that below). Key Concepts and Practice Quizzes: for each topic, I will provide some key concepts with which you should be familiar. Use these as a guideline when reviewing your notes and the readings. They will be linked to the syllabus (Class Schedule) for the first day on which a topic will be covered. Each document may also list a practice quiz on the publisher's website which you can use for practice. This website is accessible at www.brookerbiology.com When this site opens, choose edition 2, then choose the appropriate chapter, then choose Post Test. I've omitted some questions from each quiz because the answer is wrong, ambiguous, or because we are not covering it in class.  If you wish to use the electronic version of the textbook you must access Connect Plus. If you bought your 2nd ed. text new from the UD bookstore, an access code for this should be included (same one used in fall 2010). However, you must first log in to this "course" managed by the McGraw-Hill company before you can log in to Connect Plus. The log-in you should use is:
http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/l_dion_section_12_mwf
     Quizzes & Exams:  Three quizzes will be given this term. They should be an incentive to review material already covered in class so that studying for the exams will be less overwhelming. Quizzes will consist of approximately 10-12 questions.  In addition to the quizzes, there will be three "hourly" exams and a final exam. The format of the exams will be similar to that of the quizzes but will be a more extensive synthesis of the material previously covered in the course up to that time.  See comments below about attendance at exams and quizzes. All hourly exams and quizzes are given in the regular classroom during a regularly scheduled class. Grades are not posted, nor may they be sent by email - you must get your exam in class to learn your grade. Anything that is done in class, or that's assigned for reading is fair game for exams. It's usually best to concentrate on what we do in class when you study for an exam. The final exam's date will be determined by the Registrar and will be posted later in the semester. I have no control over the date scheduled for the final exam. Please do not make any travel arrangements until the exam date is known. There will be no exceptions made to taking the final exam on the assigned date. The final exam will be comprehensive - i.e. will cover all course material, with the exception of lab material.
     Lecture days and Group Work Days:   Class time will be spent in Lectures and "Group Work". Two to three class meetings will usually be required to cover a topic. For two of them, I will lecture and for the third, there will be some type of group activity. Such an activity could be analyzing a real life problem related to the week's topic, or it could be taking a practice quiz or drawing and labeling an assigned structure. Information learned from group work will be included on exams and quizzes. Group work and problems will not be linked to the class syllabus.

 

Accessing Power Point Notes, Key Concepts and other restricted files:  To access Power Point notes or other restricted files 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 direct link:
https://proxy.nss.udel.edu/login?qurl=http://www.udel.edu/biology/dion/208012syllabus.html). This will connect you to the proxy server, which will then require that you log in. After logging in, you will get immediately back to the syllabus (now through the proxy server), so you should now be able to access any restricted files. To download the Power Point slides, you will need Power Point on your computer (if someone does not have this, speak to me). I will create Power Point files in Office 03 and  Office 07. (If you only have Office 03, you can download a free converter package from Microsoft's website). Power Point notes can be accessed through the link under "Class Schedule" for the respective date on this syllabus. Do NOT search in WebCT  or Sakai for lecture notes for this course, although the laboratory portion of it may use Sakai - this will be announced by your TA if she/he decides to use Sakai for your lab section.

FORMATION AND FUNCTIONING OF GROUPS

Heterogeneous groups of 6 people each will be formed by at least the 3rd class period. I will determine who is in these groups, and they will remain intact for the entire semester, with the exception of changes due to students dropping or adding the course. A list of groups and their members are provided here.  If you wish to see which group you are in, you can access the alphabetized list here. One of the first group activities will be to formulate some "rules of the road", that is, a series of ground rules for conduct that each member agrees to abide by.  There will be a few suggestions provided for reasonable conduct. Your list of ground rules should be signed by everyone.

COMMUNICATION

    I use email frequently to communicate with the class at-large, and with individuals. Often, announcements will be made by email. In addition, comments about exams or problems may be put on the course web page, as well as the links to Power Point notes.  In laboratory, data may be shared and transmitted through Sakai, which will be explained in lab (note: lab work is the only part of this course which may be on Sakai). Lab TAs will  expect all writing assignments to be typed and double-spaced; they will tell you whether graphs can be hand-done or done in Excel. As you can see, it will be necessary for you to have easy access to a computer which has Excel, Word and Power Point. You will also need your campus email access, since this is the only way you would receive class emails from me..

CLASS SCHEDULE
 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

     Attendance in lecture is EXPECTED and will be recorded daily on your folder, using the Honor System.  Announcements will be made, or activities started, at the beginning of class, so promptness is important. If you miss a lecture, notes must be obtained from another student, or Power Point notes can be consulted. However, I supplement the Power point notes in my lectures, so you will learn best by coming to lecture.  If you miss an exam or quiz, credit will not be received.
     Exceptions are the following:
          1. documented illness
          2. documented personal tragedy
          3. documented official University business

     If you miss a quiz for one of the above reasons, then a make-up quiz will be given. This make-up must be given before the next class meets. If you miss an exam for one of the above reasons, the portion of the final exam which contains this material will substitute for that exam grade. Students who know they will miss a quiz or exam for an excusable reason must inform me 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. An exception will be made for someone who is hospitalized - in that case, I expect to be notified by the end of the day by a parent or Dean. Later explanations will not be accepted.
     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, or possibly for the whole B208 course. One or two unexcused absences will result in NO credit for work done that week in lab (quizzes, assignments) and three unexcused absences will result in a failure of BISC208. Excused absences fall into the categories listed above and must be made up by attending a lab at another time during the same week. Responsibility for arranging this lies with the student after FIRST checking with me to explain the reason for missing the lab, and also writing to your TA. Once I've accepted your explanation, you must then (with help of your TA) arrange to take a lab later in the week. Make up during a later week cannot be accomodated, since labs are stripped of their equipment on Thursday evening and set up for the following week's labs on Friday. As in BISC 207, students who have 3 excused absences and are unable (due to excusable extenuating circumstances) to make up those missed labs during the course receive an automatic incomplete in the course. Missed labs and the final lab exam must be made up in the following semester. Additional laboratory policies will be explained in lab by your laboratory instructor, and they should also be read in your lab manual. Your Lab Instructor may give grade deductions for tardiness of lab reports, or late lab arrival, so please do things promptly to ensure your best chance of success in lab. If you arrive late to lab on a quiz day, you might not be allowed to take the quiz.
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GRADING

     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%. Your laboratory grade will be explained during the first meeting of lab & is also in your lab manual. It will be based on the criteria shown below, whose due dates are listed in the laboratory manual:. 

Your grade in lecture will be based on these criteria: Quizzes, Hourly Exams and Final Exam, and Attendance & Participation (modified by your Peer Evaluation Score)

     A more detailed breakdown of the components of the lecture grade is shown below:
 

PEER EVALUATION SCORE
        When problems are discussed by groups in class or practice quizzes are done,  the expectation is that everyone makes equal contributions and expends equal effort. However, in reality, that may not be true - some may work much harder than others. 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. These will be done at the end of the term, in a quantitative way; i.e. an average "score" for each group member will be determined. These will then be used to advise me in determining how, or whether, to modify a person's "Attendance and Participation" grade component.
        Evaluation scores will be given by assigning 0-5 points to fellow group members. A score of 5 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. Usually students receive between 4-5 points for their peer score.  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. I reserve the right to modify peer evaluation scores if I think someone has been unfairly evaluated by group members.
        A peer evaluation score would be used to modify your  grade in the following way. I will determine how much of the 5% you deserve for attendance alone. If your attendance was perfect, you deserve the total 5%; this would be multiplied by your peer evaluation score (if you attended 75% of the time, you would automatically start at 5 x 75% or 3.75% , multiplied by your peer evaluation score). If for example, you receive scores of 4, 5, 5, 4 and 4.5  from your other group members, your average is 4.5 pts. If you had perfect attendance, your Attendance-Participation grade of 5% will be multiplied by 4.5/5 to give a grade of 4.5%.. If your peer evaluation average is 4 out of 5 pts., and you attended only 75% of classes your Participation grade is determined by multiplying 5 x 75% x 4/5, to give 3% toward your grade.  Everyone should strive for an attendance/participation score of 5%. This can be accomplished through perfect attendance, a concerted effort to work constructively with your group, and diligent work on problems, demonstrating that you have understood their application.  

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, 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 in lab.

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/10-11/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:

1. The quotation or other use of another person’s words, ideas, opinions, thoughts, summaries, or theories (even if paraphrased into one’s own words) without acknowledgment of the source; or
2. The quotation or other use of facts, statistics, or other data or materials that are not clearly common knowledge without acknowledgment of the source.

1. Copying of all or any portion of another’s academic work and submitting it, in part or in its entirety, as one’s own;
2. Allowing another person to copy one’s own academic work—whether intentionally or recklessly;
   
3. The unauthorized collaboration with any other person on an academic exercise, including collaboration on a take-home or make-up academic exercise, or on the writing of a laboratory report, where instructions have stated that reports must be individually written;
4. The unauthorized use of electronic instruments, such as cell phones, pagers, or PDAs, to access or share information; or
5. The unauthorized completion for another person of an academic work, or permitting someone else to complete an academic work for oneself.