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.

• See my policies on office hours posted here

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"

• "Lecture" classes: I try not to lecture extensively, as evidence suggests this is not the best way to learn. Instead, I will spend parts of the time presenting media, asking questions and presenting problems to help you learn the material. Two important things you should realize about this format:
• Classes will not simply rehash the book, and may not fully represent what is on the exam. The outlines on this website are meant to give the full picture of what is on the test. However, I may not follow this outline exactly in class, as I will be trying to address areas where students have the most trouble.
• I assume that you have done the assigned reading; any material in the reading assignment is fair game for exams, except descriptions of what individual scientists do (interviews, etc.) and specifics of intro essays (e.g. I will not ask for specific adaptations of blue footed boobies from Ch. 13)

Strategies

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

• Read the assignment and articles, and download the outline before lecture and check the relevant vocabulary words.
• Come to lecture and spend your time listening actively and asking/answering questions.
• Use your "clicker" to respond to questions I ask in class. These questions and similar ones will be on the exams, so I can help you more if I know how you are responding in class!
• Use the lecture outlines to jot down short notes or areas for further clarification, NOT to try to copy verbatim what I say in class.
• Work on course materials on a regular basis in short bursts, not all at once the night before the exam. Especially, practice vocabulary for short times (5-10min) daily.
• Knowing the material is not just reading it and thinking "well, I guess that makes sense." Here are some real tests as to whether you know the material, and these match with the sort of questions I am going to ask you.
  • can you recall the information, hours after looking at your notes?
  • can you recognize the principle in an example?
  • can you distinguish this concept/definition from similar concepts or examples?
  • can you summarize the concept in different words?
  • can you use it to predict the outcome of a situation?
• Practice the questions on the CD that comes with the text; they cover the questions above to test whether you really know the material. If you get questions wrong, then go back to the text and your notes to understand why.
• Make practice questions yourself, especially for vocabulary. Pick five flash cards, look at the definition for one and then shuffle. Can you find the appropriate word? Or look at lecture topics from the outlines, and combine five into choices for a multiple choice question. This is pretty much what I do making the exam.
• Get a good night's sleep before the exam! If you are tired, you won't remember what you've studied

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

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!

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.

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.

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 Course Home | Course Links How to succeed in this course CPS Website for registration