BIO 105: Biology For Everyday Life (online, for non-majors) Fall 2013 Krista Delahunty, MSc.([email protected])
Blackboard URL: http://www.courses.maine.edu/ (follow instructions to course)
Questions to me are best done through email, but phone calls can be arranged with advance notice. I also encourage questions posted on the discussion board to allow for group interaction. Required Course materials:
Text: Colleen Belk and Virginia Borden Maier. 2012. Biology: Science for Life with Physiology. Pearson. ISBN No. ISBN-13: 9780321767585
Lab: Labpaq, LP-0051-BK-02 kit (Note: this includes a CD-rom of lab manual but no hard copy). Ordering instructions are in the “Helpful Files” folder on Blackboard.
Welcome to Biology 105! This is a course that was created for two primary reasons: 1) to have an on-line science course (with a lab component) available to give students in general and on-on-line majors in particular an option to complete their general education curriculum, and 2) to focus on topics that non-science majors would find interesting and useful. Thus, the title of this course is ‘Biology for Everyday Life’. We evaluated 6+ text books for this course and selected the one that did the best job of making connections between biology and information, decisions, news, and other items that you encounter in your daily life. For example:
- Do you know anyone that has refused to get their children vaccinated? Is this a good idea or not? - Does evolution really happen? Did ‘superbugs’ really evolve in response to human medicines or
pesticides?
- Why should I care about my family’s BPA and phthalate plastic exposure? - What is a genetically modified organism? Are these bad for me or not? Why?
Overall course goal: We figure that this may be the only college lab science course that you may ever take. Thus, we take this as our opportunity to provide you with as much knowledge as you need to make decisions that affect the well-being of yourself, society, and the planet. Think of all the things you need to consider that have to do with science generally or some aspect of biology – we live in a science-rich world. Decisions about yours and your family’s health, what foods to eat, how your behaviors affect the environment, how things in the environment may affect you, how your body works – so many daily events require you to make decisions based on biological knowledge. We want you to gain factual as well as conceptual knowledge to be able to make informed decisions and evaluate the science your encounter daily. Through lab exercises we also want you to experience science and gain some hands-on skills.
Course Learning Objectives
Students will be able to draw valid conclusions from numerical data presented in a variety of formats.
Understand and be able to apply the scientific inquiry process to researchable questions or problems
Develop the ability to become consumers of biological information to better inform one’s daily life
Understand and be able to cite examples of evolution and natural selection Be able to identify the diversity of life at the domain and kingdom levels Understand the cell theory and cell structures and their functions
Be able to identify the structure and function of a variety of anatomical and physiological systems of humans and a variety of other organisms
Understand contemporary issues in ecology, especially with respect to Maine species and habitats
Course Organization
The course is organized into learning modules. Each module has an overall theme or topic (often but not always corresponding to a chapter in the text), and readings, assignments, quizzes, and a lab activity associated with that module. Some modules (ex: 5, 6, and 7) are larger than others and are set up in subfolders to keep the content easier to organize for you. All assignments for a particular module must be completed by the published due date. To guide your learning, we will provide a list of keywords and concepts for each chapter, as well as state which learning outcomes from the first page of each chapter are emphasized.
All modules will not be made available all at once, but will be made available at least two weeks in advance of the due date to give you flexibility to complete it. This course has been developed
collaboratively by Dr. Jason Johnston (an UMPI wildlife biology professor) and Ms. Krista Delahunty. For this reason, much of the lecture content you view/hear (e.g. lectures) are delivered by Dr. Johnston.
Course Logistics
This on-line course will utilize Blackboard to organize all content, Panopto (embedded in Blackboard) to deliver lecture content by video, and a LabPaq home experiment kit and lab manual to conduct
experiments. Since this is an online course, you should be prepared to have a reliable way to send images for various assignments. At times, you may need to send a digital photo image as a jpg file (i.e. show how your lab experiment on precipitating DNA turned out) or a scan a page in pdf format (e.g. biological drawings of microorganisms, tables, etc.). You are responsible for ensuring that these files get to me on time and in the proper format. If you need help with any IT issues, please call the UMPI Help Desk at 768-9626. Additionally, there is a number for Blackboard Help listed on the Blackboard home page: 1-800-696-4357 Monday-Friday 7:00 AM - 7:30 PM. As the course further develops I may occasionally utilize other technologies. Instructions for use of all technology will be provided as needed.
Communication:
From instructor to students: All content and assignments will be posted on Blackboard. I will use the BB email function to communicate, as well.
From students to instructor: The most efficient way to communicate with me is through email. You can expect a response from me within a day, and in most cases much sooner. You may also schedule a phone call with advance notice. If I email you, I expect a response email within two days.
Discussion Board: You should use the Blackboard discussion board for most questions about course content, logistics of lab exercises, etc. Other students may have the same questions that you do, and this is a way to allow group communication and some peer input, making the online experience feel a little more like meeting in a classroom or lab. I will answer questions directly on the discussion board for all to see, and also encourage peers answering questions about the course content, lab setups, etc. (but there is no awarded portion of your grade for discussion board postings).
At-home labs: The kit you were required to purchase is absolutely necessary to conduct lab exercises; it contains a CD-ROM lab manual and all of the specialized materials you will need to do labs. Labpaq has been doing science by correspondence since before the internet (some of you may remember this time…). You will also need some household supplies, and may need to purchase incidental items like an onion or isopropyl alcohol (listed at the start of the lab exercise), so make sure you are prepared before beginning the experiment. Just like any lab (or just like following a recipe to bake a cake) you should read through the whole exercise first, get your materials ready, and then conduct the exercise. In some cases, you may need to start something many days in advance (i.e. germinating seeds, etc.) so plan ahead! Each lab assignment will have some combination of an experiment summary, mini-lab report, or post-lab questions to turn in for grading and will be specified for each lab in the assignment box on Blackboard. Please note that I modify many things about the LabPaq lab, including post-lab questions, using only parts of a lab topic, or combining parts of different LabPaq topics into a single lab activity. Carefully read the instructions that I provide for each lab to ensure that you do the correct parts and answer the correct questions (i.e. don’t just take the LabPaq lab with the title that corresponds to our module and conduct it as LabPaq instructs).
Grading:
Blackboard quizzes (roughly 1 per module) 30% Assignments based on the text and lecture material 25%
Lab exercises 35%
Final exam 10%
Grades will be recorded and posted on Blackboard. Sixty (60) percent is a passing grade in this course. Your current grade at any point in the semester will be displayed in Blackboard under the column titled “weighted total”, reflecting the above proportions. To determine your letter grade at any given point during the semester, use the following scale.
A = 93-100; A- = 90-92; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B- = 80-82; C+ = 77-79; C = 73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62; F = 59 OR LESS
Course Policies
Academic Honesty: Students are expected to do their own work on tests and outside assignments pertaining to both lab and lecture. This includes submitting your own original answers (i.e. in your own words, not those of Wikipedia) in all cases, indicating and referencing quotes where appropriate, NEVER copying and pasting information from the web, etc. Plagiarism checking software is available and is in use. In case of a violation of academic honesty, the instructor will discuss the matter with the student. Where an academic violation has been judged to occur by the instruction, a grade of F (zero points) for that item will be awarded, OR the student may be required to withdraw from the course with a grade of F depending on the gravity of the offense. While we encourage collaboration, study groups, and otherwise working together, you should not work together when completing ANY assignments, i.e. answering questions, etc.
The official published UMPI policy on Academic Honesty is as follows:
Student Academic Integrity Policy: The academic community of UMPI recognizes that adherence to high principles of academic integrity is vital to the academic function of the University. Academic integrity is
based upon honesty. All students of the University are expected to be honest in their academic endeavors. Any breach of academic honesty should be regarded as a serious offense by all members of the academic community. The entire academic community shares the responsibility for establishing and maintaining standards of academic integrity. Each student has an obligation to know and understand those standards and expectations. All students, faculty, and staff are expected to help to maintain academic integrity at the University by refusing to participate in, or tolerate, any dishonesty. A student who is found to be in violation of academic integrity will be subject to appropriate sanctions. Sanctions will be determined in accordance with the Procedures for Student Violations of Academic Integrity. A copy of the complete policy and procedures may be obtained from the Dean of Students office or accessed online on the Student Life section of the UMPI website (http://www.umpi.edu/student-life.)
Academic Appeal: There is an Academic Appeals procedure for a student with a grievance concerning alleged violations of, in part, the explicitly stated and/or published policies regarding a particular course. The intent of the procedure is to guarantee fair procedure rather than to interfere with the prerogative of the faculty to evaluate the quality of a student's course work the student should refer to the section on Academic Appeal in the most current issue of the UMPI Course Catalog.
Attendance and Late Assignments: You are expected to view all video lectures, conduct all lab exercises, and complete assignments in a timely manner (by published due dates). On-line attendance is defined as participation on-line. As such, attendance will be assessed by timely completion of assignments, as well as occasional posts/emails that require you to respond to your instructors. You should respond to any emails that require your response within two days. If possible, any necessary absences should be discussed with me beforehand. Behavior that detracts from the classroom learning environment/on-line learning environment–including excessive absences or extensive periods of not logging into the class or posting to discussion boards–can result in removal from a class or administrative withdrawal from the course. You will asked to withdraw from the course or be given a grade of ‘L’ (student did not attend the class), if you either: 1) fail to respond to repeated (3 or more) requests from the instructors, or 2) have not completed ALL assignments for any two modules.
Late assignments are highly discouraged. All late assignments will receive a 10% deduction per day late. After 7 days late the assignment will be marked as a zero. If an assignment is due at 8 AM, Friday morning, it will be considered late if it is handed in at 9 AM. Unreadable files, ‘failed’ emails or other reasons for a ‘late’ assignment with be scrutinized. For example, if you say you sent it by email, but it didn’t go through, you should be able to forward the sent item with time/date stamp from your email account.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND STUDENT RESOURCES
University of Maine at Presque Isle Statement of Commitment: As an UMPI student you are expected to commit to the following statement: “As a member of the university, I pledge to pursue academic
excellence, support open inquiry and civil expression, listen respectfully to the viewpoints of others, participate responsibly in the life of the community, conserve and enhance the beauty of the campus, and help members of the university realize their potential.”
Academic Advising and Resource Center: The Advising Center, located on the first floor of South Hall, provides direct service and support to optimize the student experience and improve student retention and
success. Our services include degree program exploration and declaring or changing a major or minor, assistance with MaineStreet and degree progress reports, referrals to faculty advisors and assistance with academic procedures such as course withdrawals and academic appeals. For more information, contact us at [email protected]
Disability Services
Disability Services is located on the first floor of South Hall. Students with disabilities needing
accommodations or assistance with coursework or testing should contact Mary Kate Barbosa, Director of Student Support Services, at 207-768-9613. Please note that students with disabilities must present current and complete documentation to receive accommodations.
Tutoring
Student Support Services, located on the first floor of South Hall, offers tutoring to all students for all courses via experienced professional and peer tutors. If you are interested in receiving tutoring, please contact Meghan Lightbown, the SSS Assistant Director, at 207-768-9614.
UMPI Writing Center
Located on the first floor of South Hall, the writing center offers one-on-one consultations for writers at all levels of course work, at all stages of the writing process. Call 207-768-9615 or register and sign up online to set up an appointment. For more information you can also check out our web page:
http://www.umpi.edu/academics/english/writing-center. Catalogue and Student Handbook
The University Catalogue and the Student Handbook are the student’s guides to the programs and regulations of UMPI. Students are expected to become familiar with University policies and procedures, and to assume responsibility for abiding by them. Failure to do so does not constitute waiver. Enrollment implies that students understand and accept the obligation to comply with University regulations and procedures and that they will endeavor to meet the academic standards of UMPI. For specific information, consult the Student Handbook, available in the Dean of Students Office and online at http://www.umpi.edu/student-life.
Email Communications
Your @maine.edu is your official email address. You are expected to check that email address routinely to receive official university communications.
ETS Proficiency Profile (ETSPP)
In order to meet regional accreditation standards, UMPI must assess student learning in our General Education program. One way we do that is by administering the ETS Proficiency Profile test to all incoming freshmen and all graduating seniors. It is absolutely imperative that UMPI have a representative sample of its students complete the Proficiency Profile each year. Therefore, if you are a graduating
student you will be expected to complete the assessment at a designated time this semester. You will receive information at your @maine.edu email address of the exact date and time. It is an expectation that you will complete the assessment before the end of the semester.
Course Modules (all information will be posted with each module on Blackboard) 1: Scientific Method
2: Classification and The Macrobiome 3: Ecology
4: The Microbiome
5: Evolution, Natural Selection, and Genetics
6: Properties of Life, Metabolism, and Human Nutrition 7: Human Anatomy and Basic Physiology
