Note: You may take this class for either a letter grade or credit/no credit. Please decide as soon as possible after the first exam. As in most science courses, 90% and above = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, below 60% = F. Cr = C or above. NC = D or F.
There will be three exams, approximately 100-150 points each, worth about 70% of your grade. Your service learning project, worth 50 points, is another 15% of your grade. The remaining 15% will consist of homework assignments and in class exercises, such as 5 min essays and your iclicker points. The clickers will be used frequently and are a way for me to keep track of your attendance, and give you points for participation, and answering questions in class. Some questions will be essentially quiz points, some will be polling or opinion questions for which there is no incorrect answer.
I will eventually add some extra credit activities. Read the university rules for withdrawing from or dropping a class. Those rules will be followed by me. If you are ill, or have a family emergency that causes you to miss an assignment, or an exam, you must notify me within 24 hours- by phone, e-mail, or in person. I usually grade the exams and give them back the next class period, so by then it is too late. I may ask you for proof before I allow you to take a make-up exam. DO NOT make the mistake of skipping the next class after an exam. We start working on new material immediately. DO NOT skip on days we have videos- I include them in the syllabus for a reason- they illustrate things that are difficult to understand or grasp without seeing images, or hearing directly form experts in the field. I will be referring to those images during subsequent lectures.
Read the textbook, use the study guides! Take advantage of the Powerpoints on Blackboard as well. You are responsible for your own success or failure in the class. You must be an active and engaged learner. If you want to succeed, plan on attending class every day, be prepared by reading the appropriate chapter, be ready to take notes (I suggest printing the power points and taking notes on those pages). Make sure you do every homework assignment and turn it in on time. Put some thought into your writing- only complete and well thought out assignments will get the full number of points.
SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT: This is a new addition to the course. The goal is to have you apply what you learn in class to the larger community, in order to see the relationships between the course material and the world as a whole. The total amount of effort required will be similar to the hours needed to write a short research paper. It is my hope that you will find service learning more enjoyable and more relevant than writing a paper. See Service Learning web page
This is a General Education class aimed at non-biology juniors and seniors. GE classes have the following goals:
Course contract: 1. Come to class prepared to think and participate. I spend a lot of time thinking and preparing for each class session, I expect the same from you. 2. You will earn your grade. I do not “give” you a grade. What you get out of a course is usually directly proportional to what you put into it. 3. I will respect you as a person and as a learner. Please do not be afraid to ask questions. If you already knew the material, you wouldn’t be in the class! Usually, if one person is confused, it means other students are too. If I feel one person or topic is taking up too much class time, please do not be offended if I defer the discussion to a later time, or ask you to communicate with me privately. Your questions and feedback are important to me. In addition, some of you have life experience that can enrich the class. We can learn from each other. 4. I expect you to respect me and the other students in the course. You will be asked to participate in some group discussions and exercises. Disagreements are part of the learning process. It is important that each person be allowed to speak, and that you can “agree to disagree”. One of the big advantages of a college education is exposure to different people and different points of view. Try to learn from your differences. 5. Turn your assignments in on time. If you are ill, or your car breaks down, or whatever, and you e-mail your assignment to me, I will accept it up to two days late but you will lose points. 6. I will check for plagiarism. Trust me, you cannot fool me. If you plagiarize, you will either lose points, or get an F, depending on how blatant and pervasive it is. I don’t tolerate cheating. It is not “harmless”. It indicates a lack of self-discipline and responsibility, and has no place in civilized society. Trust is fundamental to all our social interactions. If you want respect, you have to be trustworthy.
You can find this schedule at http://arnica.csustan.edu/carosella
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