Heartland Community College
Math/Science Division
Student Syllabus for BIOL 114-07
Contemporary Biology
Spring 2012
Meeting Times:
BIOL 114-07, M and W, 4 – 6:20 PM [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:
Kevin Bossingham
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Biology
E-mail: Kevin.Bossingham@heartland.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
My office is in ICB 2402. If you need to leave a phone message for me, please call 309
268 8640. This is not my direct line. It is the number for the division secretary.
myHeartland information:
To access WebCT, IRIS, your Heartland student e-mail, the library, or class
cancellations, you will need to log into myHeartland, at https://my.heartland.edu
If you are logging in for the 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 if I forgot to tell you something in class or if I would miss class a
certain day.
Required Materials:
Starr, C., et al. Biology: Today and Tomorrow With Physiology. Third Edition. Belmont,
CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2010.
Jongky, T., Wallace, E., and Kishore, M. BIOL 114 Contemporary Biology Laboratory
Manual, Fall 2011 – Summer 2012.
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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, 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:
Final grade will be bases on the following requirements:
Classroom Components
Chapter Quizzes
Tests and Final
Poster Presentations
In-class activities
News journal
80% of final grade
Total final
grade %
Final grade
Lab Components
Labs are in lab manual
20% of final grade
90+
80+
70+
60+
<60
A
B
C
D
F
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Make-up policies
1.
If you miss a chapter quiz, you should contact the instructor (me) and
schedule a time to take the quiz. The make-up quiz has to occur before the
next class session that the student attends. There is a 2 pt deduction for each
make-up quiz, with a maximum of 2 make-ups.
2.
NO make-ups for in-class activities and tests.
3.
NO make-ups for labs
4.
Students usually complete labs during class. If you need to finish lab outside
of class, it must be turned in before 4:05 PM the next class period you attend.
You must be present for lab in order to complete and turn in the lab.
5.
Biological news journals are due each Wednesday before 4:05 PM.
6.
If a student does not take the final exam, he/she will get an F for the class.
BIOL 114 News Journal
Objectives:
1.
The student keeps updated on current biology-related news.
2.
The student notices how many different disciplines are interwoven in the news
and everyday life.
3.
The student finds connections between news items and class concepts.
4.
The instructor keeps up with the news as well!
Criteria:
1.
News must be current, written in January 2012 onward.
2.
News must have biological content.
3.
Location of news will depend on the student. The following are examples; a
news show on TV, a newspaper, a magazine, or the internet.
4.
Journals are due each Wednesday before 4:05 PM.
5.
Type two paragraphs about the news item. You must include the SOURCE
and DATE of the news.
6.
Put all news items in a folder. Items not in folder will not be accepted.
7.
Keep all news items (new and old) in your folder throughout the semester.
8.
No more than 2 news items can be accepted each Wednesday.
9.
Each news item is worth 2 pts, for a maximum of 4 pts per week. Turn in
enough news items to total 30 pts for the semester. The journal is worth 30
total pts.
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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 grade is given. The
student must sign a form requiring him/her to finish the class by next semester.
Notice of Cancelled Class Sessions:
Cancelled class sessions, for all HCC classes, will be listed under Cancelled Class
Meetings on the opening page of the My Heartland portal. Log into My Heartland using
your Heartland username and ID number to learn what classes have been cancelled for
that day and the upcoming week. Be sure to check the last column, which might contain
message from the instructor.
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.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a
paper, create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all
the work, except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own.
Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it
were your own.
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project as
if it were your own.
[Adapted from the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers. New York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism. The penalties for
plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece of work, failure in
the course or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
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Academic Support Center Services
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/
1.
Library
The Library, located in the Student Commons Building at the Raab Road campus,
provides Heartland students with a full range of resources including books, online
journal databases, videos, newspapers, periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan.
Librarians are available to assist in locating information.
For more information please call the Library (309) 268-8200 or (309) 268-8292.
http://www.heartland.edu/library/
2.
Tutoring Services
Heartland Community College offers tutoring in various forms at no cost to
Heartland students at the Tutoring Center in Normal and at the Pontiac and
Lincoln Centers. Tutors are available at convenient times throughout the
week. Study groups are also available by request. For more information
about services available at each location, please call the Tutoring Center in
Normal at (309) 268-8231, the Pontiac Center at (815) 842-6777, or the
Lincoln Center (217) 735-1731.
http://www.heartland.edu/tutoring/
3.
Testing Services
The Testing Center provides a secure testing environment for students who are
enrolled in online, hybrid, and other distance learning courses; have a documented
disability; or need to take a make-up exam. Testing accommodations for students
having documented disabilities must be arranged by the student through the Office of
Disability Services, and Testing Services will only administer make-up exams at the
request of the instructor. Contact Testing Services at (309) 268-8050 for more
information.
http://www.heartland.edu/testing/
4.
Open Computing Lab
The Open Computing Lab provides free computing for HCC students at convenient
times throughout the week. The computer lab is staffed by trained Lab Assistants and
offers the use of approximately 70 computers, a scanner, a laser printer, and an
electric typewriter.
http://www.heartland.edu/computerLab/
Documented disability
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations,
please contact Anita Moore at 268-8249 or anita.moore@heartland.edu
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Date
Assignment
Points
6
Total
Tentative Class Schedule, Spring 2012, Biology 114-07
W 1/18 Introduction/Syllabus/Overview of Course
M 1/23 Scientific Method (1.5-1.7)/Lab 1
W 1/25Finish Topic from chapter 1 (1.1-1.4)/Simpson’s Handout
M 1/30 Molecules of Life (2.7-2.10)/Lab 2
W 2/1 Quiz 1/The Cell – types, differences (3.1-3.5, 3.7)/Lab 3
M 2/6 Cell Structure/organelles (3.6)/Lab 4
W 2/8 DNA and RNA structure (chapter 6)/Lab 5
M 2/13 Test 1
W 2/15Protein Synthesis (chapter 7)/Lab 6
M 2/20 Quiz 2/Reproductive system (chapter 26)
W 2/22Video: Life’s Greatest Miracle/Lab 8
M 2/27 Cell division/cell cycle/mitosis (8.1-8.5)
W 2/29Meiosis (8.6-8.9)/Lab 7
M 3/5 Mendelian Genetics (chapter 9)/Lab 9
W 3/7 Test 2
Spring Break – No classes on M 3/12 and W 3/14
M 3/19 Quiz 3/Sex-linked/sex-influenced traits/Lab 9
W 3/21 Skeletal System (chapter 20)/Lab 10
M 3/26 Poster Presentations on Genetic Disorders
W 3/28 Circulatory System (chapter 21)/Lab 11
M 4/2 Quiz 4/Respiratory System (chapter 21)
W 4/4 Nutrition and Digestive System (chapter 23)/Lab 12
M 4/9 Test 3
W 4/11Nervous System (chapter 24)/Lab 14
M 4/16 Immune System (chapter 22)/Start Lab 16
W 4/18 Quiz 5/Video: Voyage to the Galapagos/Finish Lab 16
M 4/23 Natural Selection/Evolution (chapter 11)/Lab 15
W 4/25 Community Structure and Biodiversity (chapter 17)
M 4/30 Test 4
W 5/2 Population Ecology (chapter 16)/Lab 21
M 5/7 Protists/Bacteria/Fungi (13.4, 13.5, 14.8 – 14.9)/Lab 17
W 5/9 Optional wrap-up/review
M 5/14 Final Exam 4 PM
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