Oceanography & Marine Biology
Course Outline
Ms. Galan-Pena
1. Grading Policy:
Your grade will be based on the following
Exams/Quizzes (including Current events & Projects) – 70%
Log/Tank Work – 20%
(10% group + 10% individual)
Homework/Class Participation/Packets – 10%
2. Make-up policy:
Students are expected to make up all missed assignments by a specified
date (usually 2-3 days after absence)
Any work not made up by the specified date will receive a zero. No
exceptions.
3. Current Events:
Each quarter students will be required to complete 4 current event
assignments. The assignments will count as 1 test grade for the quarter.
4. Quarterly Projects:
Each quarter students will be required to complete a project involving
marine regions/organisms. Each project will be counted as 2 test grades
for each quarter.
5. Required Materials
Each student is expected to bring the following each day to class:
a) Loose-leaf or Pocket folder
b) Pen/Pencil
6. Cumulative Quarterly Exams
At the end of each quarter a cumulative exam will be taken. The exam
will consist of all material covered throughout the quarter. Each
consecutive quarter will have included all previous material covered
throughout the year.
Recommendation: Hold on to all notes and class exams taken
throughout the year for use as a study guide
7. Classroom Policies:
The following is a list of guidelines I expect each student to follow:
a) Arrive to class on time and be in your seat when the bell rings
b) If you are absent, you are responsible for all missed work. If
you are absent the day before a scheduled exam, you should
expect to take the exam with the class the day you return. If
you are absent the day of an exam you should expect to take it
the day you return.
c) Since the fish tanks are a portion of every student’s grade,
students are not to touch tanks for which they are not
responsible for. Failure to adhere to the policy will result in a
deduction in the student’s grade or removal from the tank
completely.
Current Events Assignment
www.sciencedaily.com
www.underwatertimes.com
Each quarter students will be required to complete four (4) current events
assignments. The assignment involves finding a “CURRENT” article from a
newspaper or on the Internet regarding marine biology and/or oceanography.
“CURRENT” means that the article must have been written within 1 week of the
due date. The student must hand in the original article and their responses
adhering to specific parameters and deadlines. The assignments will count as 1
test grade for the quarter.
For each article you must include:
First Paragraph – title of the article, author, newspaper/internet site,
date and page in which the article appeared
Second Paragraph – summary of the article
Third Paragraph – the article’s relevance to marine biology and/or
oceanography and how the information in the article
impacts the marine environment of that area
The assignment must be NO LESS THAN one full page and no more than 3
pages. The assignment must be typed; 1 inch margins, 12 New Roman Font
and double spaced to receive full credit.
The assignment must also adhere to the ‘CURRENT EVENT’ status. In other
words, the article used for the assignment must be within a 1 week window of
the due date to be accepted for credit.
*10 points will be deducted for each day the assignment is late. And will no
longer be accepted after 1 week of the due date of each assignment.
Due Dates
Assignments are due on the following dates:
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter