Sunrise, Wizard Islet, British Columbia
Sunrise, Wizard Islet, British Columbia

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Dr. Brian K. Penney

Goulet 2320

603 641-7149

bpenney@anselm.edu

Brian K. Penney 's web page

Syllabus

Available online at http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/bpenney/teaching/BI102/syllabus.html


  • Course Description

    This course covers evolution, biological diversity and ecology; each represents approximately a third of the course. Throughout I will not only emphasize basic principles but also applications or tidbits that may be of interest to non-majors.


  • Goals and Objectives

    From this course, I hope you will gain a working knowledge of how real organisms function, interact, and change over time. Ideally, you will leave with enough knowledge to understand the crux of some related debates in our society- genetic engineering, loss of biodiversity, sociobiology- and to contribute to those debates in a meaningful way. To this end, I will try my best to clarify key concepts, and to give you the exercises and explanations you need to build your comprehension.

    The rough standard for fluency in biological topics we will use is the New York Times Science section, and other popular media.

    Also, multiple-choice testing is a fact of life for many professional disciplines. While you may not have previously been tested this way in a course setting, I hope to help you with this important skill.

    I hope to act as a coach, to help you use your reading, lab experiences and thinking outside class to help you understand the concepts and implications of these articles, and how to answer questions on them. However, for this to work you need to be prepared for class! Just as an actor needs to practice lines before rehearsal and an athlete needs to lift weights before practice, you will need to come every day with a good idea of what topics we are covering and the terms we will use to discuss them.



  • Office hours and contact information

  • Office hours

    Before and after class (T, R) and Mondays and Fridays between 9-4 by appointment. If those times don't work, email me and we will see what we can work out. I am generally around campus every day except Wednesdays, and am available via email 8am-5pm.

  • To make an appointment

    please contact me at bpenney@anselm.edu, using your SAC email account. I will get back to you within one business day.

    I will offer group help sessions this term. These will be announced in class and there will be a signup sheet on my office door.

    I do not return phone messages. Given the large number of students in this course, it would be impossible to keep up. You must contact me by email or see me in person, either after class or during office hours for any business pertaining to class and lecture.


  • How to succeed in this course

    "What do you need to know, and what is on the exam"

    Strategies

    Do not just passively reread or recopy notes! I expect you to:

    These are tried and true methods for succeeding, and doing so with less effort than many spend on their courses. For an introduction by an author of two books on how to succeed in college, see this post on how to optimize your studying

    There are more resources for study help at the Links page


  • Lecture Schedule
    DateUnit##TopicReading
    17 JanUnit 11The theory of evolution13.1-13.6
    19 JanUnit 12How populations evolve13.7-13.17
    24 JanUnit 13The origin of species14
    26 JanUnit 14Tracing evolutionary history15.1-15.19
    31 JanUnit 15Prokaryotes and protists16
    2 FebUnit 16Plants and fungi, and the colonization of land17
    7 FebUnit 17Plant structure, reproduction and development31
    9 FebUnit 18Plant nutrition and transport32
    14 FebUnit 29The evolution of animal diversity18.1-18.4; 18.15-18.16
    16 FebUnit 110Exam: Unit 1
    21 FebUnit 211Basal invertebrates18.5-18.8
    23 FebUnit 212Molluscs, Annelids and Arthropods18.9-18.12
    27 FebUnit 213SPRING BREAK: HAVE FUN!!!
    6 MarUnit 214Echinoderms and basal chordates18.13-18.14; 19.1-19.2
    8 MarUnit 215Vertebrates19.3-19.8
    13 MarUnit 216Human evolution19.9-19.17
    15 MarUnit 217Correlative versus manipulative studies [NOT IN TEXTBOOK]in class
    20 MarUnit 218TBA
    22 MarUnit 319Behavior: Concepts and ecological roles35.1-35.12
    27 MarUnit 220EXAM: Unit 2
    29 MarUnit 321Social behavior and sociobiology35.13-35.23
    3 AprUnit 322Biosphere 1: General, aquatic34.1-34.7
    5 AprUnit 323EASTER BREAK: HAVE FUN!!!
    10 AprUnit 324Biosphere 2: Terrestrial34.8-34.18
    12 AprUnit 325Populations36
    17 AprUnit 326Communities37.1-37.13
    19 AprUnit 327Ecosystems37.14-37.23; 34.18
    24 AprUnit 328Biodiversity38.1-38.6
    26 AprUnit 329Management and conservation38.7-38.13
    1 MayUnit 330Final review
    7 May319AM FINAL EXAM (CUMULATIVE), SECTION A (10am meeting time)
    8 May321PM FINAL EXAM (CUMULATIVE), SECTION B (1pm meeting time)


    Lab Schedule

    Information for Lab in BI102

    Lab rooms and instructors

    Schedule. Dates are for the week in which the lab unit starts. (click to download lab instructions and prequiz; if the lab is not hyperlinked, please wait until the instructions are posted.

    DATELAB
    23 JanEvolution
    30 JanMicroorganisms (slightly modified on 30 Jan 12)
    6 FebPlants
    13 FebAnimal diversity
    20 FebAnimal structure
    5 MarPig dissection I
    12 MarPig dissection II
    19 MarPractical Exam
    26 MarBehavior and cooperation
    2 AprNONE
    9 AprNONE
    16 AprSEMINARS I
    23 AprSEMINARS II
    DateUnit##TopicReading

    Readings: Are Chapters and Sections in Campbell et al., Lab assignments are pages in our custom lab manual.

    Both sets of readings, as well as lecture material, will be covered on exams!!! (except the pig dissections, which are only covered in lab)


  • Grading

    As part of my job as a professor, at times I have to turn from coach to "referee." However, I want to ensure you understand what will be tested and exactly how your grade is determined, so you can give me your best showing!

    YOU MUST COMPLETE THE PREQUIZ FOR EACH LAB IN ORDER TO BE ADMITTED TO THAT LAB SESSION. No complete prequiz means you are sent away and you get a zero for that day.
    AssignmentPoints
    Exam 150
    Exam 2 50
    Final Exam 100
    Lab quizzes 70
    Lab practical 20
    Lab seminar 10
    TOTAL 300

    Lecture

    The final grade is the total number of points accumulated from all lab and lecture exercises divided by the 300 possible points (e.g., your points accumulated/300). The 300 points are divided up below among the laboratory and lecture exercises.

    The Final Exam is cumulative: materials from the second exam onward are 2/3, material from before the second exam 1/3.

    It is the responsibility of each student to keep for their own records every graded assignment, quiz, exam or other materials that are returned to them.

    Any student who fails the first exam (exam grade is less than 45%) must seek tutoring at the ARC in Cushing hall. The student will be held solely responsible for this.

    If you have been diagnosed with a learning disability or other learning disorder, it is your responsibility to report to the Anne Harrington in Academic Advising. She will contact me to arrange any special conditions under which you can take lecture exams if you meet the appropriate criteria.

    Standard grade cutoffs by percentage in this course

    I know grades seem harder at SAC than you are used to, so I figure it is worth posting my average cutoffs for each grade, based on previous years (See below). This shows the minimum percentage of points you need to get in order to get a given grade.

    Do I "curve" the class? No. I do sometimes move the cutoff scores lower based on whether I thought some exams were tougher than previous years, etc. However I do this for the entire class, not individuals and only at the end of the course. Please do not contact me about giving you a particular grade for reasons other than your score in this class. It is unfair to the other 150+ students in the class.

    Grade Cutoff
    E 0
    D- 50
    D 56
    D+ 60
    C- 63
    C 67
    C+ 72
    B- 77
    B 80
    B+ 83
    A- 87
    A 93

    Lab

    There will be 8 lab quizzes (one given at the end of each lab) and one lab practical.

    I will drop the lowest quiz grade OF THE QUIZZES YOU HAVE TAKEN or for which you have an excused absence (e.g. illness). If you miss a quiz for an unexcused absence you are stuck with the zero. You may NOT drop the lab practical grade.

    Each student will make a 5 minute (no longer, no shorter!!!!) presentation in each of the seminar labs (see Lab Manual Addendum for details). Grading will be based on the quality of the topic, adherence to the time limit and quality of the presentation. All students must give a presentation and attend their colleagues' presentations. Failure to attend both of the seminar labs will result in a zero for the seminar grade and 20 point penalty against the total lab grade.

    Extra Credit

    There may be a number of small extra credit assignments available throughout the term, based on the questions given in class through the clickers unit or other things directly related to the course. I do not give extra credit for activities outside of class, and all opportunities are announced in class and available to every student.

    Grade Access

    Grades are available through the Sakai site. I do not release grade information through email.


  • Attendance

    I want student-athletes to attend all of their practices and all of their games in addition to all of their classes and labs. In order to achieve this student-athletes must do two things.

    1) Student-athletes must notify me as early as possible, in person, of any conflicts they will have with labs, lecture times, practices and games. We can arrange permanent changes in their lab or lecture schedule with the registrar's office. We offer early morning labs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which should work around most practice conflicts.

    2) Student-athletes must submit to me a “Class Conflicts for Student Athletes” form, signed by their coaches, or they will NOT be excused from class. These forms are available from your coaches.


  • Plagiarism and cheating

    I take Academic Honesty very seriously. Any cheating or plagiarism will result in an automatic zero for that assignment. For especially egregious cases, I reserve the right to give a zero for course. See the SAC student handbook for details. If you have questions about proper use of referenced material, see the library webpage.


  • Electronic devices


  • A printable syllabus, with course dates, required materials, grading and other policies can be found here.

    A one page printable version of the schedule can be found here.

    Copyright 2007-2012, Brian K. Penney

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