Heartland Community College
Math/Science Division
Student Syllabus for BIOL 114-01
Contemporary Biology
Fall 2010
Meeting times:
 BIOL 114-01: M and W, 8:30 – 10:50 am [ICB 1405]
Catalog Description:
Prerequisite: MATH 087 with a C or better or assessment
BIOL 114 will introduce students to a broad range of biological principles, including organization,
structure and function, heredity, evolution, and ecology. Students will demonstrate how their knowledge
in biology is relevant to them, their community, and their world. Students will use scientific evidence as
the basis for their arguments. Students will improve their skills in relaying biological information to
peers and to the college. In addition, students will leave with a better understanding of scientific views
that differ from their own. The laboratory component will emphasize scientific inquiry and use of
knowledge in problem solving. This course is intended for students who are not pursuing a science
career.
Instructor Information:
Thuong Jongky
Phone: 268-8659; Fax: 268-7964; Office: ICB 2415; e-mail: thuong.jongky@heartland.edu
Office hours:
M and W: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
T and R: 9:00-9:30am; 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Lab Assistant: Jisha Thomas
Important URL’s
http://employee.heartland.edu/tjongky/ includes: link to class website and my semester
schedule, with office hours
http://employee.heartland.edu/tjongky/biol114.html includes: syllabus, up-to-date class
schedule, chapter outlines, handouts, where to get help info, and biological websites that might
interest you
myHeartland information:
https://my.heartland.edu includes: access to IRIS, your Heartland student e-mail, WebCT, your
Backpack files, the library, Class Cancellations, and announcements
 If you are logging in for FIRST time, use Password Station to create password and
change your security questions after creating password.
 IMPORTANT: If you choose to e-mail me, I will only read and respond to your e-mail
if your e-mail extension is my.heartland.edu. Also, I am able to e-mail the entire class
through myHeartland.
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Required Materials:
Starr, C., Evers, C.A., & Starr, L. (2010). Biology Today and Tomorrow with Physiology (3rd
ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Jongky, T., Wallace, E., & Kishore, M. BIOL 114 Laboratory Manual.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
BIOL 114 fulfills 4 of the semester hours of credit in Life and Physical Science required for the
A.A. or A.S. degree. This course should transfer as part of the General Education Core
Curriculum described in the Illinois Articulation Initiative to other Illinois colleges and
universities participating in the IAI. However, students should consult an academic advisor for
transfer information regarding particular institutions. Refer to the IAI web page for information
as well at www.itransfer.org
Course Learning Outcomes:
1. Students hypothesize, experiment, gather data, and formulate conclusions.
2. Students question validity of results and conclusions that are presented in lab, newspapers,
magazines, TV, or radio.
3. Students relate concepts (in cellular, organismal, and biodiversity) to their daily life and to
the world around them.
4. Students synthesize information from various sources to produce a product.
5. Students demonstrate responsibility for the community and global, ecological environment.
6. Students improve independent learning skills.
HCC General Education Learning Outcomes:
Because BIOL 114 is part of HCC’s General Education Program, assessments done to assess the
course learning outcomes will measure also the following four General Education Outcomes:
1. CT 1: Students gather knowledge, apply it to a new situation, and draw reasonable
conclusions in ways that demonstrate understanding.
2. CT 3: Students generate an answer, approach, or solution through an effective synthesis of
diverse sources and arguments and provide a rationale.
3. CO 2: Students effectively deliver a message via various channels/modalities.
4. DI 1: Students are receptive to beliefs and values that differ from their own.
Method of Evaluation
The final grade will be based on the following requirements:
Classroom Components
Chapter Quizzes
Chapter pre-quizzes (8 % of total grade)
One cumulative final
In class activities, projects, articles, other
80 % of final grade
Total final grade %
90+ = A
80+ = B
Lab Components
Labs in manual
20 % of final grade
70+ = C
60+ = D
<60 = F
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Make-up policies
1. If a student is unable to take a chapter quiz, the student should inform the instructor as soon
as possible. The instructor will put the quiz in the Testing Center. Take the quiz before the
next class session that the student attends. I trust you as individuals and as adults. If you are
not able to come to class, you must have good reason. Because you wish to learn the
material, you should be able to make up the quiz. The reason you have to take the quiz
before the next class session you attend is because we tend to review the quiz during the next
period.
2. Projects or case studies or article summaries or other assignments that must be completed
outside of class time are due at the beginning of class. I trust you as individuals and as
adults. If you are not able to hand in an assignment on time, you must have good reason.
Because I trust that you will do the best job you can in the assignment in your effort to learn,
I will allow you to hand in the assignment when you have finished it. When handing in late
assignments, I ask that you also hand in a Late Assignment Note, as a confirmation in our
trust that you did the best work you could in the assignment.
3. There are NO make-ups for pre-quizzes.
4. There are NO make-ups for in-class activities.
5. There are NO make-ups for labs.
6. The student will complete most labs before leaving class. If a lab assignment has to be
finished outside of class, the assignment is due at the beginning of the next class day that the
student comes to class. Only students who attend lab can finish the lab assignment outside of
class when necessary.
7. Any student who does not take the final exam will receive an F for the class.
Incomplete Grade
An Incomplete grade may be justified to a student if the student encounters extreme
circumstances (e.g., serious illness, accident, death or serious illness in the immediate family)
toward the end of the semester and is unable to complete the semester. The student must be in a
position to pass the class if the Incomplete is given. The student must sign a form requiring
him/her to finish the class by next semester.
Required Writing and Reading
The student will read the textbook, articles, and possible case studies. The student will write
summaries for articles and possible projects and/or portfolio, and students will write answers for
various worksheets and lab questions.
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People learn 10 % of what they read, 20 % of what they hear, 30 % of what they see, 50 % of what they see and hear, 70 % of what they discuss, 80
% of what they experience, and 95 % of what they teach to someone else.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR OWN GRADES.
Lecture
Your
Poss
Lecture
pts
pts
Ch1 prequiz
Ch 24 prequiz
Ch1 quiz
Ch 24 quiz
Ch 3 prequiz
Ch 11 prequiz
Ch 3 quiz
Ch 11 quiz
Ch 6 prequiz
Ch 12 prequiz
Ch 6 quiz
Ch 12 quiz
Ch 7 prequiz
Ch 16 prequiz
Ch 7 quiz
Ch 16 quiz
Ch 8 prequiz
Ch 17 prequiz
Ch 8 quiz
Ch 17 quiz
Ch 26 prequiz
Ch 26 quiz
Ch 9 prequiz
Project:
Ch 9 quiz
Ch 20 prequiz
Project:
Ch 20 quiz
Ch 21 prequiz
Ch 21 quiz
Ch 23 prequiz
Ch 23 quiz
Your pts
Poss
pts
Lecture
Your pts
Poss pts
Lab
Your pts
Poss
pts
TOTAL
1. To calculate your classroom percentage:
Your Points in lecture (everything except prequizzes)/ Possible Points in lecture = 0._____ x 72 =
Your Points on prequizzes
/ Possible Points on prequizzes = 0._____ x 8 =
2. To calculate your lab percentage:
Your Points in lab
/ Possible Points in lab = 0._____ x 20
=
3. To calculate your TOTAL class percentage: add the answers above
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BIOLOGY 114 Fall 2010 Course and Lab Schedule (tentative)
Week
Topics
1
2
3
4
5
Invitation to Biology (Chpt 1)
QUIZ Chpt 1; Cell Structure (Chpt 3)
QUIZ Chpt 3; DNA structure and Function (Chpt 6)
QUIZ Chpt 6; Gene Expression and Control (Chpt 7)
QUIZ Chpt 7; How Cells Reproduce (Chpt 8)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
QUIZ Chpt 8; Cancer presentations
Reproduction and Development (Chpt 26)
QUIZ Chpt 26; Patterns of Inheritance (Chpt 9)
QUIZ Chpt 9; How Animals Move (Chpt 20)
QUIZ Chpt 20; Circulation and Respiration (Chpt 21)
QUIZ Chpt 21; Digestion and Excretion (Chpt 23)
QUIZ Chpt 23; Neural Control and the Senses (Chpt 24)
QUIZ Chpt 24; Evidence of Evolution (Chpt 11)
14
15
16
QUIZ Chpt 11; Processes of Evolution (Chpt 12)
QUIZ Chpt 12; Population Ecology (16)
FINAL EXAM: Dec 6 (Mon), 8:00-9:50 am
Related labs and videos
[Other assessment methods, such as projects,
activities, and case studies are not included in
the list below]
Lab: Scientific Method
Lab: Microscope; Lab: Life
Lab: DNA; DNA display project
Lab: Protein Synthesis
Video: mitosis; Video: meiosis; Lab: Mitosis
and Meiosis
Lab: Human Sexual Reproduction
Lab: Genetics; Genetics problems handout
Lab: Skeletal System
Lab: Circulatory System
Lab: Nutrition; Lab: Calories, Calories
Lab: Senses
Video: Evidences for evolution; Video: Visit to
Galapagos; Lab 14: Natural selection
Video: Neanderthals
Lab: Population Ecology
The following chapters are not indicated in the above schedule. As time allows, some of the above chapters may be switched for one
or more of the following chapters:
Week ?
Week ?
Early Life Form and Viruses (Chpt 13)
Plants and Fungi (Chpt 14)
Week ?
Communities and Ecosystems (Chpt 17)
Week ?
The Biosphere and Human Effects (Chpt 18)
Lab: Bacteria; Lab: Protists and Fungi
Lab: Classification and Dichotomous Key;
Lab: Plants
Lab: Food Chain; Lab: Siamese Fighting
Fish Behavior
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The following table represents an open agreement between you (the student) and me (the instructor). I wish to see you succeed as a
student and as an individual, and I wish to succeed as a teacher who could guide you toward that success. Therefore, the following
agreement illustrates clear expectations (results), guidelines, resources, accountability measures, and consequences so that we both
know our roles and how to do well in those roles.
Your answers
Mrs. Jongky’s answers
What do you expect to get out of BIOL
114? That is, what results do you wish to
achieve? What do you expect to learn?
What skills do you wish to pick up?
Provide some guidelines, rules, parameters
of how you will achieve your stated
expectations.
Identify resources that are available to you
to help you achieve your stated
expectations.
How will you know if you have reached
your intended expectations? How will you
be accountable to achieve those results?
Describe the consequences of not meeting
your expectations.
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