USD Fall 2015 - Dr. Judith Williams, Instructor ( Dr. J ) email: judydrj@sandiego.edu
Office Hours: After Class MWF-2:30-3:30, or make an appointment with me
My Office: Shiley Science, Rm 251
Lecture - MWF at 1:25-2:20pm
Lecture Room – Camino Hall, Rm 112
Please allow 24-48 hours for a reply to your email
REQUIRED TEXT: Biology; A Human Emphasis, 9c, by Starr, Evers, Starr, Cengage Learning
Publisher, USA, 2015
Course Objectives:
Biology 101 is a survey course covering many of the basic principles of Biology. This course is designed to introduce students to the unifying concepts of Biology, such as Evolution, Cell organization, Plant and Animal structure, Homeostasis, Principles of Genetics & inheritance and
Ecology.
The field of biology is massive and grows daily as new discoveries are made! This course serves only as a broad introduction to the major study areas of Biology, and their fundamental concepts. This introduction will include the physical and chemical laws governing life functions, the way energy is acquired and used by living things, the origin and diversity of life, the structures composing living organisms and the functions that they perform, as well as how all living things interact with each other and the environment. The student will also lean how scientific studies are conducted by being introduced to current, ongoing research studies.
Many students have little or no background in Biology or science when they enroll in this course, thus Biology 101 is designed for the beginning college student. Biology courses can be great fun, but are challenging and time consuming, therefore to succeed, you must be capable of reading and writing at the college level, have the self-discipline to commit yourself to many hours of study, and make your college education your Top Priority.
Please come to class; Come see me and ask questions; become engaged in learning, and it will pay off!
Do not wait until the end of the semester before coming to talk to me! I can help you succeed if you come and talk with me.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course the student will be able to:
• Learn and understand steps of the Scientific Method and be able to apply them to real world problems, including writing and presenting a biological research report
• Describe the central themes related to the form and function of a eukaryotic cell
• Demonstrate a survey-level understanding of cellular reproduction and genetics
• Discuss concepts related to biological evolution, including speciation
• Describe a coherent survey-level understanding of the main anatomical and physiological systems involved in animal homeostasis
• Elaborate on the core concepts found in ecology, with an emphasis on human choice and the central issue of sustainability
REDUCING PAPER LOAD! USE BLACKBOARD !
In an effort to reduce the amount of paper generated with handouts, notices, project information, I will post All of this on Blackboard. Please get a Blackboard account. Once in
Blackboard, You will see all of your classes for this semester, assignments, emails, notices, announcements, times, any changes I make to the syllabus, and your grades. Please contact me
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(or the IT Department) for help in getting in and set up. You are responsible for knowing what is posted there!
Pay attention to the announcements and read what is posted on BlackBoard.
Components of Your Grade:
Your final grade will be earned by your performance on the exams, your attendance, and your participation.
Exams:
There will be 3 Exams and 1 Final Exam. Each Exam is worth 100 pts. The Final Exam is worth 120 pts. These exams will be from the lecture material and any handout or scientific paper given to you.
The exams will consist of a mixture of multiple choice, short-answer, fill in the blank, short essay and/or labeling a diagram. Not all of these types of questions will be on One exam. For example:
Exam 1 may have a lot of multiple choice and fill in the blanks, while Exam 2 may have more short answer, fill in the blanks and diagrams to label. Please study with these types of questions in mind – it makes it easier for you.
Group Project and Presentation:
There will be a group project about ¾ of the way into the semester. Your group will choose a topic from a list I provide and your group will research that topic, with everyone working on some aspect of the topic, then you will present it before the class in a Powerpoint presentation. The Group will be given a Group grade, for each member of the group. Each person in the Group will also write a paper on their part of the research. This is worth a total of 50 points and is very important to your overall grade.
Participation:
The students that do really well in this class are those students that always come to class, take notes, and if they don’t understand something, they ask questions. That is Participation. Another aspect of the Participation grade is the work done on the Group Project. I will randomly give time during class to work on the project or other assignments and if you miss class that day, you miss the participation.
I take roll - so don’t take a chance!
THERE ARE NO MAKE UP EXAMS.
Point Breakdown for Determining Final Grade: p.s. = I do NOT give any extra credit! I believe you should spend the time doing extra credit studying the material that will be on the exams!
3 Exams – each worth 100 pts = 300 pts
1 Final Exam – worth 120 pts = 120 pts
Group Work in Class = 10 pts
Homework Assignment – 10 pts
Group Project Research Presentation– worth 25 pts = 25 (for the Group effort, idea, PPT, research/presentation as a whole)
Group Project- Your Individual Paper = 25 pts (Individual grade)
Participation Grade = 20 pts (calculated at the end of Semester based on absences, discussion and participation in class, which is noted by me throughout the semester)
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS = 510 PTS
To determine your grade, add up all the points you earned and divide by 510 points. That will give you a percentage of the total, which is your grade. Example: you added up all your points and it came to 431. Take the 431 and divide it by 510. This gives you a percent of total points like 0.887, which would be an 89 grade or a high B.
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FINAL EXAM IS ON FRIDAY THE 18 TH OF MAY AT 2:00-4:00pm
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN THE CLASSROOM:
There are many areas where You will practice Academic Integrity.
1). Cheating - will not be tolerated. During Exams, Your desktop must be clear of everything but a pen/pencil. Under desk- no open books, notebooks or electronic devices. No Cell Phones on the desk.
If I come and stand before you, or your row and Stare at you- you can assume that I think you have been cheating ! If you consistently looking around, looking to either side or talking/ whispering to someone else, even after I have asked students not to do this--- What does this mean? I think you are guilty of cheating and I may ask you to move to another location or you may be asked to turn in your paper and leave the room. Cheating on an Exam will result in a 0 grade for that Exam! Cheating is considered a crime in Academics and it will go on your record permanently.
2). Plagiarism - will be caught I assure you. Plagiarism is when you copy things directly from an article, book or the internet and you do not cite that source (it makes it look like it was your idea or thought). I will ask for your citations to include the web address where I can match the article to what you wrote. The Faculty are given an app for catching plagiarism so it is easy for us to check what you write!
3). Group and Non-Group Assignments:
There is a group assignment in this class. The Group Research Project and Presentation will be done as a group, with a Group grade. However, the research paper that goes with this is Your Work for the Investigation & Presentation. This paper must be your own, describing the research project and what part you did.
4). Classroom Courtesy :
Classroom courtesy extends to the Professor as well as to your fellow students. Do not be disruptive to the other students or to the Professor- Please act in a mature manner. Failure to do so can result in your being asked to leave the classroom. If you have to enter the class late, please come in quietly and sit down.
Use of Cell Phones is prohibited during class time!!
This is for real- if I see you on your phone when I am lecturing, I will come and ask you to put it away, the First Time. If you do it again- I will take your phone and bring it to the front of the classroom for the remainder of the period and you can pick it up after class.
5). Attendance:
(a) You are on your own in College, and it is up to you to get up and get to classes on time. Please be on time. There are breaks between classes that provide enough time to get from one to another.
Should you HAVE to enter the classroom late- please do so very quietly.
(b) Attendance and Dropping the Class:
It is important to come to every class. I lecture on the subject matter in the book, that is true- but I also add things during lecture that you will not know unless you attend class! I also tell students what to look for on exams, or give examples of questions – these may not appear anywhere, only in my lecture. Therefore, you can see by simply attending all the lectures, you will have a better understanding of all the class material.
(c) If you are absent for more than 5 lectures, you will be assumed Dropped if it is before the final drop date. After the final drop date, when the total number of classes missed equals 5, you will be given an ‘F’ for the course. Yes- Really. However, if you have truly been sick- you must bring an official Doctor statement, with prescription drugs given, for your illness. If you have a tragic death in the family and that makes you miss a total of 5 classes, then you must bring the Death announcement of your Grandmother/Grandfather/any other relative. They are posted the day of or the day after the death. However, if you do NOT miss but 1 class- you will get 3 pts added to your total points!
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If you desire to drop the class after the first few weeks, it is YOUR Responsibility to do so! I cannot submit a Drop form for you! Just because you do not attend does not mean You are Dropped according to the Registrar.
(d) I am not allowed to hand a paper/test/assignment back to anyone other than the student that did the work.
***YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING ALL
INFORMATION GIVEN TO YOU IN THIS SYLLABUS and ON BLACKBOARD, WHETHER
YOU CHOSE TO READ IT OR NOT.
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