SYLLABUS INFORMATION
The topics listed below will be (and have been) taught each semester in this
class (please see the attached syllabus for a current example), although the
amount of time devoted to each of these subjects may vary:
ASLO
1,2,4,5
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,4,5
Course Specific Objectives/Student Outcomes
Assessments
Students will appreciate that the diversity of life existing today
has arisen through the process of evolution. Students will
understand and be able to describe forces that increase genetic
diversity and decrease genetic diversity in a population.
Students will understand and will be able to describe how new
species arise through allopatric and sympatric speciation.
Evolutionary Biology/Population Genetics
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Students will be introduced to the history of life on earth as
understood through fossil and molecular data. Phylogenies will
be accentuated, and the unity of all life on earth emphasized.
History of Life
.
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Students will understand and be able to explain the naming and
classification of organisms using the Linnaean system of
nomenclature. Taxonomy
Students will understand and be able to explain evolutionary
relationships among extant lineages of organisms using
information from the fossil record, comparative anatomy,
development, biogeography, and molecular data. Students will
understand and be able to explain how cladistic phenetic, and
evolutionary approaches to systematics differ. Systematics
Students will appreciate the diversity found within each of the
currently recognized six kingdoms of life. Life history patterns,
structural and physiological variation, and evolutionary histories
of each kingdom will be surveyed. Diversity
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
1,2,3,4
1.2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
Students will understand and be able to describe the structure
and function of a “typical” plant. Structural and reproductive
variation in plants will be surveyed. Plant Biology
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Students will understand and be able to describe the variation in
anatomy and physiology found within the animal kingdom.
Animal Biology
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Students will be able to describe how members of populations
interact. Population Ecology
Students will understand and be able to discuss how members
of different populations interact by competition, predation, and
symbiosis. Students will be able to describe a species’ niche
within a community, and how communities change through
succession. Community Ecology
Students will appreciate the diversity of ecosystems present on
earth. Ecosystems
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Specific test items
will be used to
assess student
competency with
regard to this
objective.
Process Objectives/Learning Outcomes
ASLO A person educated in biology courses should:
1,2,3,4,5
1,4,5
1) Understand, value and use science as a
process of obtaining knowledge based upon
observable evidence.
2) Understand that human beings are living
organisms dependent for survival and quality
of life on the biological and physical natural
world.
Assessments
Understanding and use of scientific
process will be assessed by monitoring
and scoring student laboratory work.
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
examinations.
A combination of multiple choice, short
2,4,5
3) Appreciate the historical development and
cumulative nature of science.
4,5
4) Understand the relationships and
differences between science and technology.
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
examinations.
Student use of technology in the
laboratory will be assessed and
monitored.
1,2,4,5
5) Recognize science as an achievement of
human civilization that enables us to
understand and appreciate the natural world.
1,2,4
6) Distinguish between science and
pseudoscience.
1,2,4,5
7) Understand and accept the social and
ethical responsibilities of scientific knowledge.
1,2,3,4
8) Understand essential principles, concepts
and appropriate terminology of science.
Student writing assignments will be
assessed to monitor understanding
and appreciation of scientific
achievement
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
examinations.
Student writing assignments will be
assessed to monitor understanding
and appreciation of social and ethical
responsibilities
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
examinations.
Content Objectives/Learning Outcomes
A person educated in the life sciences should
ASLO
have an understanding of these essential
concepts:
1,2,3,4,5
9) Principles and applications of the scientific
method.
1,2,5
10) The chemical and physical nature of life
and the applicability of physical laws.
1,2,5
11) The patterns and processes of evolution
and the resulting diversity of life.
1,2,5
12) The inheritance and continuity of life
(genetics and reproduction).
1,2,5
13) Structure, function, and development at the
molecular, cellular, and organismal levels.
1,2,5
14) The interactions of organisms with each
other and with their environment.
1,2,5
15) The consequences of interactions between
humans and the biosphere.
Assessments
Understanding and use of scientific
method will be assessed by monitoring
and scoring student laboratory work.
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
lecture and laboratory assessments.
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
lecture and laboratory assessments.
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
lecture and laboratory assessments.
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
lecture and laboratory assessments.
A combination of multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions will be
included as assessment items on
lecture and laboratory assessments.
Student writing assignments will be
assessed to monitor understanding
and appreciation of social and ethical
responsibilities
Delivery Format(s): This class has both lecture (three hours per week) and laboratory (3 hours per
week) components.
Student performance in the lecture portion of this course will be assessed using exams and/or
quizzes. Exams and quizzes use question formats appropriate to the subject matter, including (but
not limited to): multiple choice, matching, short answer, labeled diagrams, and essay. It is an
expectation of this course that students will express themselves (on exams) using proper grammar
and spelling.
Laboratory performance will be assessed on the basis of lab participation, lab quizzes, and a
laboratory writing assignment. The laboratory score constitutes twenty percent of the student’s final
grade.
Instructions on Specific Assignments and Processes:
Methodologies utilized in this class include: lecture, readings in the textbook, and laboratory work.
Lectures, where possible, will be coordinated with laboratories. Reading assignments are coordinated
with lectures.
Students are expected to attend each lecture and take notes during the entire period. If appropriate,
the class may meet in other settings.
Reading assignments in the course textbook are provided to broaden the base of information provided
to students. It is the expectation that students will preview appropriate chapters before being lectured,
and will read for depth following the lecture on each topic. The instructor typically provides a textbook
study guide with study questions and appropriate vocabulary for each assigned chapter. Students are
also encouraged to take advantage of online study materials provided by the textbook publisher.
Students are expected to attend and participate in laboratory each week. Students should read the
lab manual prior to lab, so as to use their limited time in lab to full advantage. Laboratory
methodologies will vary from week to week, depending upon the nature of the laboratory exercise,
but will include both individual and collaborative efforts. The laboratory includes both quantitative and
qualitative exercises. Students may be asked to write a laboratory paper that utilizes both library and
internet sources.
Appendix A Sample Syllabus
BIOL 1620 (College Biology II) - PROPOSED SYLLABUS
Biol 1620 is an introductory biology class that is intended for all students who wish to major in Biology at SLCC. Students who
successfully complete the Biology 1610/1620 (College Biology I/II) course sequence at SLCC will be able to transfer their credit
to any school in the Utah State system that also offers a Biology I/II sequence. Topics covered include population genetics,
speciation, evolutionary process, history of life, taxonomy and systematics, life cycles, ecology and a kingdom by kingdom survey
of the diversity of life Students are expected to attend three hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory (Biol 1625) per week.
Additional time should be anticipated to complete assigned readings in the text (or other assignments) and prepare for
quizzes/exams. Please note the following information:
1. Lecturer: William Tanner
Office: SI 329
Phone: 957-4792
email: william.tanner@slcc.edu
Office Hour: M-F 1-1:50
2. Text: Solomon et al – BIOLOGY
3. Grading:
Performance will be evaluated on the basis of three one-hour exams, a two-hour
comprehensive final exam, and your lab score. Each exam and the final will be valued at 100 points, and the
lab score will also be expressed as a percent with a possible total of 100 points. The possible point total for this
course will therefore be 500 points. The test schedule and grading scale are give below.
TEST SCHEDULE
GRADING SCALE
Test 1 – End of Week 5
Test 2 – End of Week 10
Test 3 – End of Week 15
Comprehensive Final
Final Exam Week
4. Attendance:
462 - 500 = A
450 - 461 = A437 - 449 = B+
412 - 436 = B
400 - 411 = B387 - 399 = C+
362 - 386 = C
350 - 361 = C337 - 349 = D+
312 - 336 = D
300 - 311 = D<300 = E
Attendance of lectures is expected of all students. Please come to class on time, prepared
to take notes during the entire fifty minute lecture period.
5. Biology Laboratory: Concurrent enrollment in Biol 1625 is required of Biol 1620 students.
Note: Your lab scores make up twenty percent of your grade.
6. Holidays: This class does not meet during Spring/Fall break or State and Federal Holidays.
7. Study Time: Students should anticipate spending one to two hours each day doing assigned reading and
learning lecture material.
8. Last Day to Withdraw: xx/xx/xx. Please make note of this date. Withdrawals after this date are
only permitted for extraordinary situations (see college catalogue for specifics).
9. Cell Phones/Pagers: Please turn off during class.
10. Policy on Cheating: Cheating will result in an E for the course.
LECTURE SCHEDULE
Week
Chapter/Topic
1
1-2
2
2
3
3
4
5
5
22) Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life (review)
23) The Evolution of Populations (review)
24) The Origin of Species
25) Phylogeny and Systematics
26) The Tree of Life: An Introduction to Biological Diversity
27) Prokaryotes
28) Protists
29) Plant Diversity I: How Plants Colonized the Land
30) Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants
6
7
7
7
8
8
Test 1
31) Fungi
32) An Introduction to Animal Diversity
33) Invertebrates
34) Vertebrates
35) Plant Structure, Growth, and Development
36) Transport in Vascular Plants
9
9
9
37) Plant Nutrition
38) Angiosperm Reproduction and Biotechnology (in part)
39) Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals (in part)
Test 2
10
10
10
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
13
13
13
14
15
40) Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function
41) Animal Nutrition (in part)
42) Circulation and Gas Exchange (in part)
43) The Immune System (in part)
44) Osmoregulation and Excretion (in part)
45) Hormones and the Endocrine System (in part)
46) Animal Reproduction (in part)
47) Animal Development (in part)
48) Nervous Systgems (in part)
49) Sensory and Motor Mechanisms (in part)
50) An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
51) Behavioral Ecology
52) Population Ecology
53) Community Ecology
54) Ecosystems
Test 3
Comprehensive Final Exam
Please Note:
Students with disabilities needing accommodations, please contact me and/or the
Disability Resource Center in the College Center.