DETAILED SYLLABUS
BIOL 3090 Invertebrate Zoology & Included Laboratory
Spring 2016
CRN:30135
Class Time: MWF; 10:00-10:50am; Conger 107
Lab Time: M; 3:00-5:50pm; Britt 204
Instructor: Phil Hightower
Email: phightower@abac.edu
Please do not use D2L to email me.
Phone: 229.391.5111
Division Office: 229.391.5100
Mr. Hightower’s Office: Conger 209
Spring Office Hours: Listed below and by appointment as needed. I can also meet with small groups for study sessions. The AAC* is a free tutoring center in the bottom floor of the Carlton Center. Ask the student at the front desk when tutors are available to help with your area of need. Choose success by using all the resources available to you.
If you need anything, please see me and ask for help!
Monday 8:30-9:50am
Tuesday 8:30-10:50am
Wednesday 8:30-9:50am
Thursday 9:30-10:50am
Friday 8:30-9:50am
11:00-11:50am
11:00-11:50am (at AAC*)
1:00-1:50pm
11:00-11:50am
1:00-1:50pm
BIOL 3090 INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY. 4 hours. Prerequisite: BIOL 2080 with a grade of C or higher. Three hours of lecture and three hours of lab each week. This course entails a survey of the evolution, morphology, diversity, and ecology of invertebrates.
Course Objectives:
1.
Understand the evolution of major invertebrate phyla.
2.
Gain an awareness of the various invertebrate body plans.
3.
Understand the diversity of major invertebrate phyla along with associated taxonomy.
4.
Comprehend basic ecology of major invertebrate phyla.
5.
Understand reproductive life cycles of selected invertebrates.
Course Outcomes:
1.
Demonstrate knowledge of the evolutionary relationships between major invertebrate phyla.
2.
Demonstrate knowledge of the various invertebrate body plans.
3.
Demonstrate a basic understanding of the diversity and taxonomy of major invertebrate phyla.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the ecological role of invertebrates.
5.
Demonstrate comprehension of various reproductive life cycles associated with representative invertebrates.

CLASS PORTION OF THE COURSE
Materials Required for the Class:
Textbook: Jan A. Pechenik. 2015. Biology of the Invertebrates. 7 th edition.
McGraw Hill.
Scantron Forms: Five forms of the 100 question type. The student must bring a
Scantron form with them to each exam.
ACADAMIC RESPONSIBILITY: Cheating and Academic Dishonesty in any way, shape, or form is grounds for an assigned grade of an F, possible dismissal from the course, and perhaps other punitive action depending upon the circumstances. Refer to the college catalog ( www.abac.edu/ses/handbook/CodeofConduct.pdf
) for a more complete explanation. Be aware that plagiarism is also considered to be academic dishonesty. Feel free to check with the instructor before turning in an assignment if you are unclear on the meaning of plagiarism.
Telling another student what questions to expect on a quiz/test you have already taken or using copies of assessment materials obtained without the permission of the instructor are also considered to be cheating and academic dishonesty.
Electronic checking for plagiarism may be used in this course.
WITHDRAWAL: A student may withdraw from the course up to the midpoint of the semester and receive a grade of W. After midterm, students may withdraw only with the permission of the Academic Dean and may receive a W or WF according to their documented averages at the time of withdrawal. Students abandoning classes will still receive a grade at the end of the semester (probably an F due to missed point opportunities). See the college catalog for the college policy on withdrawal.
ATTENDANCE: Regular class attendance is expected. Roll will be taken each class period and generally during the first 10 minutes of class. Any student not present at the time the roll is taken will normally be counted absent. Two tardies will count as one absence. The instructor’s roll is official and will not generally be changed after each day of class. Check with the instructor regularly if you wish to see your absences.
Plan to be on time and stay for the full class time.
If you are playing on cell phones or devices, it is the instructor's opinion that you are not really present in mind or spirit nor fully attempting to learn the material necessary to be successful in the course.
The instructor reserves the right to assign absences or tardies in such cases. Students are expected to remain in their seats until dismissed except in cases of emergencies.
Students absent from class due to any non-institutional reasons will usually not be allowed to make up any missed point opportunities (quizzes, exams, in-class assignments, etc.). In addition, the student will lose the opportunity to learn the material in a classroom environment and may miss any announcements regarding exams, quizzes, and assignments. It is each student’s responsibility to keep up with all classroom activities; lecture notes (oral, written on the board, or on slides); and dates of exams, assignments, quizzes, etc. regardless of whether or not they attend class.

Students missing class due to official ABAC business are required to notify the instructor ahead of time and make arrangements in a manner acceptable to the instructor to ensure they do not miss any course content, assignments, or exams.
TESTING: There will be four lecture exams over content assigned or discussed during class. The lowest regular lecture exam score will be dropped the end of the semester. If a student misses one exam, then that will be the lowest grade (0) and will be dropped.
Subsequent missed exams will not be able to be dropped. For example, if a student misses two regular lecture exams, one will be dropped and the student will normally receive a ZERO for the other missed exam. Makeup exams are not generally given. If the instructor chooses to allow a makeup exam, then it must be taken within one week of the scheduled exam. The final exam will be comprehensive and will not be able to be dropped.
Cell phones, pagers, music players, and any electronic communication device must be turned off during any testing periods. All such items must be on mute/silent at other times and should not be in active use. The wearing of earbuds is prohibited at any time during class, including during exams. Students may not use programmable calculators on in-class exams or quizzes. Students may be asked to remove caps or turn them around during testing periods.
CLASS POINTS SUMMARY
In-class work, other assignments, and pop quizzes:
Total
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
100pts
100pts
100pts
Exam 4 100pts
Total Exam Points
Comprehensive Final Exam
Total Lecture Points
300pts
100pts (Approximate)
(remember lowest exam grade drops if beneficial to student)
100pts
500 pts (Approximate)
GRADING: Any late assignments accepted will receive a 10% penalty for each ABAC work-day or any part thereof that it is late. Assignments 7 days late or more will receive a zero. Also, be aware that any assignments turned in after the last day of the class will receive a zero.

Materials Required for the laboratory:
Lab Manual: Smith and Schenk. 2014. Exploring Zoology. 2nd Edition. Morton
Publishing. Englewood, Colorado.
Safety Goggles: One pair of the approved type
ATTENDANCE: Roll will be taken each day of lab. Students absent from lab due to any non-institutional reasons will not normally be allowed to make up any missed point opportunities (quizzes, exams, assignments, etc.). It is each student’s responsibility to keep up with all lab activities; lab notes (spoken aloud, written on the board, or on slides); and dates of exams, assignments, quizzes, etc.
Students missing laboratory due to official ABAC business are required to notify the instructor ahead of time and make arrangements in a manner acceptable to the instructor.
LAB ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES: There will be lab assignments and lab quizzes throughout the semester estimated to be worth an estimated total of 100 points.
TESTING: There will be three Lab Practical Exams. Each will be worth 75 pts.
Cell phones, pagers, music players, and any electronic communication device must be turned off during any testing periods. All such items must be on mute/silent at other times. The wearing of earbuds is prohibited at any time during lab, including during exams. Students may not use programmable calculators on in-class exams or quizzes.
Students may be asked to remove caps or turn them around during testing periods.
LAB POINTS
Lab activities and quizzes
Lab Practical Exam 1
Lab Practical Exam 2
Lab Practical Exam 3
Total Lab Points
100pts (Estimated)
75 pts
75 pts
75 pts_
325 pts (Estimated)
GRADING: Any late assignments accepted will receive a 10% penalty for each ABAC work-day or any part thereof that it is late. Assignments 7 days late or more will receive a zero. Also, be aware that any assignments turned in after the last day of the laboratory will receive a zero.

FINAL COURSE GRADE
An assigned final grade for the 4hr course will be determined using the letter/percentages below by combining the percentages from lecture and lab. The lecture grade will count 75% of the final grade and the lab grade will count 25% of the final grade.
For example, if you made a 0.78 in class and a 0.88 in the lab; you would figure your grade as (0.78 X 0.75) + (0.88 X 0.25)= (0.585 + 0.22) = 0.805 and thus you would have earned a B for the 4 hour course.
A 90-100% B 80-89% C 70-79% D 60-69% F zero-59%
Percentages will be rounded to the nearest whole number when assigning letter grades for the 4hr course.
Mr. Hightower will consult attendance records and reflect upon patterns of course attendance and attentiveness when determining extremely close (0.5%) borderline grades.
If there is a student in this class who has properly documented specific needs because of learning disabilities or any other disability, please feel free to contact the instructor.