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

Spring 2008

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Dr. Brian K. Penney

Goulet 2320

603 641-7149

bpenney@anselm.edu

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 emphasize basic principles and 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.

  • Texts and Required Materials (in bookstore)

  • Office hours and contact information

  • Office hours

    Official: T, R 2:30-4. Other times by appointment. 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.

  • See my policies on office hours

    I have more detail posted here

  • I do not return phone mail 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

    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 Why the word "study" is meaningless

    There are more resources for study help at the Links page

    • Lecture Schedule
    DateUnit##TopicReading
    15 JanUnit 11The theory of evolution13.1-13.5
    17 JanUnit 12How populations evolve13
    22 JanUnit 13The origin of species14
    24 JanUnit 14Tracing evolutionary history14.11-13; 15
    29 JanUnit 15Prokaryotes and protists16
    31 JanUnit 16Plants and fungi, and the colonization of land17
    5 FebUnit 17Plant structure, reproduction and development31
    7 FebUnit 18Plant nutrition and transport32
    12 FebUnit 21The evolution of animal diversity18.1-18.4; 18.22-18.23; 20.2-20.4; 20.9-20.10
    14 FebUnit 19Exam: Unit 1
    19 FebUnit 22Basal invertebrates18.5-18.8
    21 FebUnit 23Molluscs and Annelids18.9-18.10
    26 FebUnit 24Arthropods18.11-18.12
    28 FebUnit 25Echinoderms and basal chordates18.13-18.16
    1 MarUnit 26SPRING BREAK: HAVE FUN!!!
    11 MarUnit 27Vertebrates18.17-18.23
    13 MarUnit 28Human evolution19
    18 MarUnit 29EXAM: Unit 2
    20 MarUnit 210EASTER BREAK: HAVE FUN!!!
    25 MarUnit 31Behavior: Concepts and ecological roles35.1-35.12
    27 MarUnit 32Social behavior and sociobiology35.13-35.23
    1 AprUnit 33Biosphere 1: General, aquatic34.1-34.6; 34.9-34.17
    3 AprUnit 34Biosphere 2: Terrestrial34.7-34.8
    8 AprUnit 35Populations36
    10 AprUnit 36TBA
    15 AprUnit 37Communities37.1-37.8
    17 AprUnit 38Ecosystems37.9-37.20
    22 AprUnit 39Biodiversity38.1-38.5; 38.9
    24 AprUnit 310Management and conservation38.6-38.14
    29 AprUnit 311Final review
    3 May109AM FINAL EXAM (CUMULATIVE), SECTION A (1pm meeting time)
    8 May119AM FINAL EXAM (CUMULATIVE), SECTION B (4pm meeting time)

    Lab Schedule

    Dates are for the week in which the lab unit starts! Readings are LM= Chapters in our Custom Lab Manual, C=Campbell et al 5th ed. For lab manual assignments, check the linked page for detail of what exercises we are doing and which we are not.

    DateUnit##TopicReading
    21 Jan1EvolutionLabLM 1; C:260-263
    28 Jan2Bacteria and DiseaseLM 2
    4 Feb3Plant structureLM 3
    11 Feb4Animal diversity ILM 4:83-96
    18 Feb5Animal diversity IILM 4:96-105
    10 Mar6Pig dissection ILM 5,6: 119-120; 127-141
    17 Mar7Pig dissection II (Mon and Tues BEFORE EASTER BREAK, Wed, Thurs, Fri AFTER!)L7: p 145-153; 159-164; 167-178
    31 Mar8Practical ExamReview Pig labs
    7 Apr9Behavior and foragingLM 8:191-199
    15 Apr10Seminars

    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!

    AssignmentPoints
    Exam 150
    Exam 2 50
    Final Exam 100
    Lab quizzes (best 7 of 8) 70
    Lab practical 20
    Lab seminar 10
    TOTAL 300

    For standard grade cutoffs by percentage in this course, see here

    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 50%) 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 Assistant Dean, Dr. Duane Bruce. You must request that he contact me so that we can arrange any special conditions under which you can take lecture exams if you meet the appropriate criteria. It is your sole responsibility to contact the Assistant Dean and follow the appropriate procedures.

    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 originality 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 each 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 will be a number of small extra credit assignments available throughout the term, based on the questions given in class through the CPS ("clicker") unit or other things directly related to the course. I do not give extra credit for activities outside of class.

    Grade Access

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

  • Attendance

    • Attendance in lecture and laboratory is mandatory. I will take attendance often in lecture. Consult the Student Handbook for College policy on attendance. Students missing more than 5 lectures and/or 2 or more labs without a College approved excuse will be dismissed from the course. If a student misses an exam for which they have a College approved excuse, they will have to make it up on the last day of classes at 5:00 pm. Students must have a note from the Assistant Dean's office if they have missed an assignment (quiz or exam or lecture) due to illness! Health Services is not responsible for issuing paperwork on student absences. Refer to the Dean's policy here for clarification.
    • If there is a death in the family I must have a note from the Assistant Dean's office (Dr. D. Bruce) to confirm the event. Failure to obtain a College approved excuse for missing an exam will result in a grade of zero for the missed exam.
    • Each student must make up the lab the week it is given or they will penalized. Plan ahead when you think there might be a need for a temporary change in your lab time (athletes - see below). You must see Dr. Penney before the lab you want to change to obtain a sticker for your quiz when you are making up a laboratory exercise. If you do not have one of these stickers on your quiz you will receive a zero for that quiz grade. You are only allowed to make 3 temporary changes in your lab during a semester. Please see me well before the lab you want to change to make sure there is room in the lab (see office hours or make an appointment using e-mail:bpenney@anselm.edu). If you have to change your lab permanently for the semester then you must see me before the second week of the semester.
    • Exams MUST be taken in the section for which you are registered!
    • Athletics and Attendance: Student athletes will occasionally encounter conflicts between games and their labs and lectures in this course. It is your responsibility to see Dr. Penney before the scheduling conflict between your game and lab or lecture and make the appropriate arrangements. Make sure that you check the possible labs you can make up so that you can attend your event. Every athlete must show this web page to their coaches so they are aware of this policy. Remember that academic obligations always take precedence over athletics at Saint Anselm College.

    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 (link from our Blackboard site)

  • Electronic devices

    • Cell phones, beepers, pagers or other similar electronic devices are not allowed in the lecture or laboratory. They are a distraction to you, your fellow classmates and the instructor, so turn them off before lecture or lab in this course.
    • Laptops are allowed ONLY for taking course notes. If you are doing other things (watching movies, playing WoW, whatever) that distracts you or your classmates, you will lose your right to use a laptop in class for the rest of the term.
    • Failure to adhere to this policy will result in:
      1. me taking the offending device for the remainder of class
      2. a 5 percent penalty to the Final Grade (example, 80% becomes 75%) for each occurrence during the semester.
    • Because camera phones and text messaging have been used to cheat in university courses, if I see you handling a cell phone during an exam, you will automatically fail and will be escorted from the room!

    • 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 2007-2008, Brian K. Penney

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