|
General Course Information and Policies
Instructor: M. S. Norris, M.S. Email: msomervi@uncc.edu Office: Woodward Hall 282C Phone: 704-687-8513 Office hours: Tuesday 3:30-4:30, Thursday 12:00-12:30, and by appointment Course website: http://www.bioweb.uncc.edu/BIOL1110/lecture/Somerville/index.htm
Textbook website: http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_krogh_biology_3 Laboratory course website: http://www.bioweb.uncc.edu/1110lab Course description: Biology 1110 is the first of a two-semester introduction to Biology for non-science majors. Since these courses are especially designed for non-majors (in fact, biology majors do not receive credit for this course), you will be provided with a broad overview of biology with an emphasis on the human aspects of this science. My personal goal is to help you understand foundations in biology so that you can relate to current events in biology and make informed and intelligent decisions concerning your health as well as environmental issues. Biology 1110 will introduce you to some basic concepts in biology (the details of which are listed on the course schedule). Just in case you are curious, Biology 1115 (the second semester of this course) covers all of the basics on human organ systems and how they function, as well as animal diversity, animal behavior, and ecology.
The level of the course: Many students are surprised at the amount of material covered in this class and the level at which it is covered. I do realize that you are non-majors; however, this does not mean that you can get by with no effort on your part. This is a college level course and I expect college level performance. Please be aware that we have a lot of material to cover and we will be moving quickly. You should be prepared to put in time after class every day. You will find that it is extremely difficult to catch up if you fall behind.
Course Materials (available at either Gray’s Bookstore or the Campus Bookstore) Ø Lecture Manual (required): The required course pack is entitled “Biology 1110 Lecture Materials”, by J.M. Warner, published by East Coast Digital Printing. All course handouts, assignments, outlines, and study questions (which directly correlate with the lecture material and provide you with practice on exam type questions) are contained in this packet. You must bring this packet with you to class every day as it contains the lecture outlines for in class note taking. Ø Clickers (required): Students will also need a Personal Response Device (PRS), or, clicker for the course. Students will be expected to bring their clickers to class and use them for participation, individual feedback, and answering questions by simply pressing a button. A portion of your grade will be determined by clicker participation making this device mandatory for every class meeting. You can use your clicker for multiple courses and in future semesters as it is the clicker system used campus wide. This technology and other details will be explained more fully in class. Ø Text (recommended): The text for this course is Biology: A Guide to the Natural World (UNCC Custom Core, 3rd Edition) by David Krogh. The text is a valuable resource for clarifying and amplifying lecture material. You may find it to your advantage to pre-read the assigned text material before it is discussed in class. You will find this text to be concise, to the point, and cheaper than any other textbook available. There are also copies available on reserve at the library.
Grading: Your grade for the course will be based on the following: 3 exams (20% each), comprehensive final exam (30%), and class participation via clickers (10%). You will receive a detailed version of the grading policy in class. You will be required to bring your student ID to all exams.
Ø Extra Credit: You will be given the opportunity to earn extra credit in this course in two different ways which will be described to you in detail during the next week or so. These assignments are completely optional and are not a course requirement but can significantly help your course grade. Ø Bonus opportunities: You may the opportunity to earn bonus credit with in class quizzes, homework, or bonus in class clicker questions. I also reserve the right to make previously unannounced in-class assignments. If you are not in class, you will be unaware of these opportunities and will receive no credit for them.
Academic integrity: All students are required to read and abide by the UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity included later in this section and it is your responsibility to be familiar with this code throughout your academic career. Students will be prosecuted for any and all violations of the Code of Student Academic Integrity and the Code of Student Conduct. Definitions and examples of violations are set forth in the Code which is also available from the Dean of Students Office or online at: http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html
Resources for Help: Ø Study Questions: In an effort to help you focus on the most important aspects of the lecture material, there are a series of study questions corresponding to each lecture topic. These questions are included: ü In the Lecture Manual ü On the course website (in the form of practice quizzes and extra study questions) ü In the textbook at the end of the chapter (suggested numbers are posted on the website here). I can’t overemphasize how important these questions are. They help you determine your level of understanding of a topic and they provide you with practice on exam-type questions. It is completely up to you whether you use these. I have found that students who always do these questions are the ones who do well on exams. Should you have questions, feel free to make an appointment with me (we won’t be going over these during lecture time), however, do not wait until exam time to do this. Ø SI and Tutoring: Supplemental instruction and free Tutoring are both offered for this course. Students participating in SI often receive up to one letter grade higher on the final course grades than nonparticipants. Further details regarding SI will be to follow and students can sign up for tutoring online at: http://www.ucae.uncc.edu/ts/ts_home.html Ø Office hours: I expect that if you are struggling with the material after coming to class and utilizing the resources at your disposal, you come see me for help. The bottom line is that if you don’t ask – I assume you understand!
Problems to Avoid: One of the biggest keys to success in this course it to attend class. You should not expect to be successful if you are not attending class. If you begin to feel lost or behind, get help early. Feel free to see me before or after class, set up an appointment, email me, or call me with any problems you may be having. Do not let your problems continue without seeking help. All material in this course builds on itself - the further you get behind, the harder it is to catch up. Remember, help is yours for the asking! Ø Missed classes: Keep in mind that I am here for every lecture providing you with lecture notes, handouts, bonus assignments and the like. There is great benefit to actually hearing a lecture as opposed to trying to learn the material from another student’s notes. This means that every time you miss class, you will be missing important materials. It is not my responsibility to provide you with this material if you are not present to collect it as I give it out in class. Please do not ask me to provide you with lecture notes and other materials if you are not attending class. Should you experience an exceptional circumstance (such as illness or personal emergency) please contact me to make arrangements. Ø Tardiness: I expect you to be on time for class. Late students are distracting to everyone. While I understand that there are certain circumstances for a student to be late, I expect you to make every effort to be on time. Being habitually late to class will not be tolerated.
Common Sense Courtesy Rules: Common courtesy and respect is a must in any class. « In the case that you are late for class, please remove your note-taking items before you enter the room so that you don’t disturb other students as you rummage through your bag. Also, please don’t attempt to climb over 5 students in order to get a seat. Be considerate and try to minimize noise. « Talking can be a major disturbance during lecture. Should this be a problem, I will ask you to leave the lecture. This is a university-level course and I will not tolerate disruptive behavior during class. If you are seated near someone who is causing these problems, please let me know so that I can take care of the matter. « Use of cell phones, iPods, pagers, or other similar device is prohibited and should always be turned off the minute you walk in any classroom. Make a habit of checking every time you come to class. « It is not acceptable to “float” in and out of class or to leave class early unless there is a very compelling reason to do so.
Special Accommodations: UNC Charlotte strives to create an academic climate in which the dignity of all individuals is respected and maintained. Therefore, we celebrate diversity that includes, but is not limited to ability/disability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. If you need special accommodations (through Disability Services, for example), please let me know right away and I will be glad to assist you.
Final notes: · The way to be successful in this course is to come to class every day. Generally speaking, students who fail this course do not attend class regularly. Most students who have problems with the course do so because they miss class. It takes much less time to just come to class than it does to miss class, try to get notes, and then to try to piece together what you missed. · As a college student, you are personally responsible for all of your actions. An attitude of personal accountability and responsibility will greatly enhance your academic success in your college career. · Don’t have the attitude that the rules don’t apply to you – I treat everyone equally and the rules are applied the same to every student. · Please keep in mind that mutual respect is a critical aspect to any relationship. I will always treat you with respect, and I expect that your treat me and your fellow classmates with that same level of respect. (back to top) Grading Policy for Biology 1110This policy supersedes the one printed in your course pack!
Grading at a Glance:
Exams: The three exams for this course will consist of a variety of question types. About 60-70% of the questions on each test will be multiple choice. The remainder will be short answer questions on topics discussed in class or on assigned readings. Each exam is worth 20% of your course grade. Further details regarding the format of the exams will be explained in class.
Final exam: The final exam will consist of all multiple choice questions. It will be a cumulative exam and will cover all lecture material presented in the course. Every student must take the final exam which counts as 30% of your course grade.
Participation: Your class participation grade is determined by your answers to clicker questions administered in class throughout the semester. You must have a properly registered clicker and be in class to earn these points. Participation via clicker points counts as 10% of your course grade and you must answer all clicker questions through the semester in order to receive the full points for this portion of your grade. Please see the separate handout on clickers for more details. The details regarding clicker use and operation will be explained in class.
What happens if you miss an exam?: Because this is a large class, it is impossible to give make-up exams to any student. However, it is understood that there are legitimate reasons for missing an exam or for doing poorly on an exam. As a result, a policy has been developed which allows the final exam score to substitute for a single missed exam (Exam 1, 2 or 3) OR for a single low exam grade (Exam 1, 2 or 3). Thus, if your final exam grade is higher than the lowest exam grade you received during the semester (in the case of a missed exam, the score recorded would be a zero), your final exam score would automatically be counted twice (once as your final exam score; a second time for your lowest score). This policy is possible because the final exam is cumulative.
GRADING SCHEME EXAMPLES:
· Be aware that emergency situations are never expected. This means that if you elect to skip or do poorly on an exam and an emergency comes up later in the semester that causes you to miss an exam, you will not be given special consideration. · Be on time for exams. Late students distract other students and will not be given extra time. · All exams will be returned to you in class. If you do not pick up your exam in class, you will need to come to my office (during office hours) to pick it up.
The Portfolio
What is a portfolio? · The portfolio is a semester long collection of assignments (more details to come) that can provide extra credit to your course average at the end of the semester. This is a completely optional assignment that you do not have to participate in. The point of the portfolio is to allow you to complete assignments that relate to “real-world” situations where you can apply the information you learned in lecture. These assignments will help you to increase your knowledge of course material which will in turn probably increase your exam scores.
Why should you complete a portfolio? · Because UNCC does not have a + / - grading system, a student could earn a B in a course with an average between 80-89%. This means that if your course grade is an 88 that you would earn a B in the course. However, I feel that if you put in the extra effort to complete portfolio assignments that it should be worth a few points to your course average (3 points is the maximum value). This means that the same student with the 88 (B) average could gain the points needed to bump their average to an A. Basically, the portfolio can mean the difference between letter grades for the course. I will stress that the portfolio can not add more than 3 points to your average – don’t expect miracles!
What kinds of assignments are part of the portfolio? · The portfolio will consist of a variety of written-type assignments. Each assignment will have specific instructions. The portfolio is your opportunity to show me that even if your exam grades are lower than you would like, that you put extra effort in the course. This is your opportunity to impress me with your very best work. · All of the portfolio components are detailed in the next section of the course pack. Here are the basic requirements: 1. Completion of a biology journal (basically a collection of news articles along with summaries) 2. Completion of 3 written assignments. You will be given a set of 7 potential written portfolio assignments, 3 of which you will complete. In order to give you some freedom in this assignment, you may select 3 of these assignments that interest you the most. 3. Completion of a final reflection of your performance in the class.
How is your portfolio evaluated? · Each portfolio assignment will have a tentative date on it that indicates when the topic will be discussed in class. These assignments can’t be done until we have discussed the topic in class. Once the topic has been discussed, it is a good idea to go ahead and complete the assignment. You will get verbal reminders in class when each assignment should be completed. · You will keep up with these assignments and turn them in to me on the last day of class for evaluation. I will be grading these assignments based on their quality and completeness. Please follow all of the guidelines on the instruction sheets.
Final Note: · Keep in mind that you really won’t know if your grade is borderline until the end of the semester. The portfolio assignments are very valuable to your learning experience and I believe that doing them will increase your scores on the lecture exams. Keeping up with the portfolio is the only “preventative medicine” you have to help out your final average. Don’t be disappointed at the end of the semester if your grade could have been increased had you done these assignments!
Supplemental Instruction One more opportunity in case your grade is borderline!
What is SI? v Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a special opportunity for you to get extra help in this course throughout the semester. SI sessions will be conducted by your SI leader who is a student who has taken this course and completed it with an extremely high average. SI sessions are student driven meaning you get to pick what you need help on. They are not lecture sessions. You will be given the opportunity to ask questions, answer questions, work on problems, practice for exams and more. I know it is hard to believe but last semester the students who attended actually admitted to having fun in SI! If you have used SI for another class on campus, please give this one a try. I think you will find it to be uniquely different.
How do you get involved? v I will be announcing the SI session times in class and will post the schedule to the class website. These will be held each week at the scheduled time. In addition, there will be some extra sessions near exam time. All you need to do is show up to get started. This is a great way to meet other students in the class.
Why should you spend your outside time going to SI? v Student feedback indicates that the hour or so you spend each week in SI is as good as spending several hours on your own studying. So really, you are spending less time on this course by attending SI. For an average student, one time a week is sufficient however you can attend as much as you would like. Students who attended SI about once a week over the past few semesters had an average final course grade that was nearly 2 letter grades higher than people who didn’t use this option!! Enough said!
As if you need more incentive . . . v I am so confident that attending SI once a week will significantly improve your grade in this class that I am willing to give you an incentive to give it a try. Each week you attend, you will be given one credit. If you accumulate 10 credits by the end of the semester, I will give you 1 point on your course average. Sorry, only one credit given per week – this promotes great study habits. As stated previously, this is time well spent. Not only will you get a grade boost, you will perform much better on your exams. Finally, students who attend SI will be provided with practice exam materials to prepare for class exams.
One last thing . . . v Please remember that your SI leaders are students who are taking a full load of classes. You will find them to be extremely helpful but please do not abuse them! If you find you need more help than what SI can offer, come talk with me and I will get you additional help. The same courtesy and respect rules that I use in lecture also apply in SI. If any student acts inappropriately (and unfortunately this does happen occasionally), they will lose the privilege to attend SI for the rest of the semester. Some Suggestions for a Successful Semester in Biology 1110
1. Attend all lectures and take comprehensive notes. Rewrite your notes before the next lecture if this helps you. If you are having a problem understanding your notes after the lecture, bring them to me for review. I provide you with skeleton outlines but you need to be in class to get the details!
2. Do your study questions. Complete these within a day or so of when we complete the topic in class. You never know when similar questions might appear on the exam.
3. Do the practice quizzes on the course website. Again, do this within a few days of completing the topic in class.
4. Go to SI once a week.
5. Use the FREE tutoring services provided for this class through the University Center for Academic Excellence. You may sign up for an appointment (these are for 45 - 60 minutes) by stopping by the Tutorial Services office (318KFretwell Building) or by calling the office at 704-687-2163 to set an appointment. In addition, you may sign up for a tutoring appointment online through TutorTrac, the online appointment sign-up system. You can log in to TutorTrac at the University Center for Excellence website.
6. Use your textbook. Pre-read all assigned materials before they are discussed in class. Pre-reading a textbook chapter is an active learning strategy that can improve the communication between the textbook author and the student. Through pre-reading, the student develops a mental outline for the entire chapter. This outline is the framework whereby concepts new to the student can be readily learned during more thorough chapter reading or classroom lecture. Pre-reading allows the student to develop a realistic study plan by providing insight into the length and level of difficulty of the chapter. (Taken from: Kate Kinselia, San Francisco State University) How to pre-read a textbook chapter: 1. Read the chapter title. The title provides the overall theme of the chapter. 2. Read the introduction or first paragraph. This gives the reader an idea of what the material is about. 3. Read each major heading. 4. Read the first sentence of each paragraph. 5. Note any typographical aids (boldface or italics). 6. Note any visual aids. 7. Read the last paragraph or chapter summary. 8. Review questions and terms listed at the end of the chapter.
7. Do the suggested questions in the textbook and utilize the resources that accompany your text. These include questions, study tools, and animations on the textbook’s website.
8. Realize that studying for biology is not like studying for other disciplines. Memorization won’t help you here – you have to understand and be able to explain the concepts and processes and apply them to unique situations. I test using application and critical thinking.
9. Talk about the material to anyone who will listen (even pets work here). Having to verbalize a concept lets you know very quickly whether you truly understand the material.
10. Be aware that a class taught at the college level should require that they average student spend 3 hours preparing for each contact hour per week. We have 2.5 contact hourse per week meaning that you may need to spend 7.5 hours a week outside of class studying. This is a national statistic and is not just for science classes!
11. Form a study group. I realize many of you may like to study alone but for the reason stated above, a group might help you. When you have to explain something to a group it helps you determine if you really understand it. This is something you can’t determine by staring at your notes alone. I will be happy to help in the formation of study groups.
12. If you are having problems understanding a topic, see me immediately. Don’t wait until test time.
13. Study in small blocks of time (every day or every other day) instead of a single, long session. This greatly enhances your long- term retention of the material. This also significantly reduces the amount of time you have to spend studying right before the exam (this means you can actually sleep the night before the exam!).
14. Make sure you are in class!! This is the best way to ensure you success in the course. I will be giving out many helpful handouts, study questions and bonus opportunities in class. If you aren’t there, you won’t have access to these resources. A little information about email etiquette
F The best way to ensure that your email will be received is to send your email from your UNCC account. The use of other accounts can delay the delivery of your email. o By the way . . . Class updates and information will be disseminated over UNCC email only and it is your responsibility to check your UNCC account daily. If you forward e-mail from your 49er Express account to another e-mail account, timely delivery is your responsibility, even if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has problems delivering mail. Remember that 49er Express is the official method of communication at UNC Charlotte (http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-20.html).
F Avoid using fancy fonts and large, small, or colored text. Any email with embedded images, most often the “stationary” or “themes” of Microsoft Outlook will be quarantined as spam in the UNCC email network and will not be delivered.
F When you reply back to an email, keep the thread. Set up your email to make sure your replies keep the original thread. This will keep the message in the thread, and make it easier for the recipient to follow.
F Be sure to write an appropriate and specific subject in the subject line so that the recipient knows what to expect. Include course number and section such as “Biology 1110-002 Exam 1” instead of “exam” or “class”. This is very important. Remember, most faculty are teaching multiple courses and don’t know what course you are referring to when you say “last week in class . . .”
F Take the time to proof your message and use the spell check. Make sure you reread what you wrote before clicking send. I receive emails on a daily basis written in IM language with no punctuation and I need an interpreter to explain the content of the email. If what you have sent cannot be read, then don’t expect a response. Use capitalization, punctuation, and correct grammar!!
F Do not use all capital letters or overdo punctuation. USING ALL CAPS MAKES IT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING! IT'S ALSO MORE DIFFICULT TO READ!!! DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?!?!??
F Sign your email with your first AND last name. Remember, for right now, I only know you based on what the registrar calls you on the roster! If you go by another name, just indicate that as well so I know how to address you.
F Allow time for a reply. Before sending a reminder, allow some time for a response, a minimum of 24 hours. Remember that your professors don’t usually sit in their offices most of the day. We tend to be in classrooms, in meetings, and in appointments for the majority of the day.
|
