SYLLABUS

revised 2/4/18

Instructor: Dr. Kimo Morris
Department of Biology
My Office:  R-204
Email: morris_kimo@sac.edu
Websites: http://rsccd.instructure.com/
Phone: (714) 564-6620 BUT EMAIL IS BEST

Section 48351
Lecture: Building R, Room R-126
Lab: Building R, Room 219
Office Hours: Mon, Wed 9:00 am - 10:15 am
(and by appointment)

Required Textbook:

1. REQUIRED: Rye, C. et al., 2016, Biology, OpenStax Open Educational Resources.
2. REQUIRED: Knisely, K. 2013. A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology, 4^rd Ed., W.H. Freeman Publishing.
3. REQUIRED: Laboratory Safety Goggles (purchased in the SAC Bookstore)
4. REQUIRED: Laboratory Safety Gloves, latex or nitril, non-powdered (purchase in the SAC Bookstore)
5. OPTIONAL: Campbell, N.A., J.B. Reece, L.A. Urry, M.L. Cain, S.A. Wasserman, P.V. Minorsky, and R.B. Jackson. 2013. Biology, 10^th Ed. Pearson/ Benjamin Cummings Publishers.

Pre-requisites:  Bio 211 - with a grade of C or better

Welcome to the natural world of animal diversity and ecology! In this course, you will discover the variety of ways that animals have come to thrive on planet Earth. You will also explore the interactions of animals with their physical environment and other living things. Towards the end of the course, you will use all that you have learned to understand the value of biodiversity and the challenges facing humans in maintaining biodiversity and managing our natural resources. This course is intended for those majoring in biology, medicine, forestry, marine sciences, agriculture or a related field. Keep in mind that this rigorous 5-unit course is fully UC/CSU transferable. NOTE: This course includes both a lecture and lab, and requires occasionally meeting outside the times appearing in the course catalog, particularly for the lab section of the course. You will know these dates well in advance (see the lab schedule).

Five units – that's a lot! To do well in this course, you should allocate an appropriate amount of time for study and review of the material. Because we have a lecture AND a lab, you will need to keep very organized in this class, and attend all class meeting times. Make sure you write deadline dates on your calendar and keep up with the reading. Come prepared to discuss current science issues that appear in the news! It is my sincere hope that you come away from this course with a deeper appreciation for the natural world and all of its varied inhabitants and processes. I also hope you will find this course to be fun and inspiring!

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs)

1. Students will learn the basics of the technical vocabulary of biology.
2. Students will develop their ability to comprehend readings on biological subjects.
3. Students will develop their critical thinking skills by evaluating scientific evidence to reach valid conclusions.

IMPORTANT DATES

Please pay close attention to key dates for this course (quiz deadlines, midterms, final exam, assignments, lab practicum, etc.) as well as important dates set by Santa Ana College, for example the final day to add or drop this class.  Course dates appear below in the tentative lecture schedule.  Important SAC dates appear on the first page of the Fall 2015 Schedule of Classes and at the following link:

http://www.sac.edu/StudentServices/AdmissionsRecords/Pages/Instructional-Calendar.aspx

GRADING:

TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE:

The lecture schedule is NOT set in stone.  Reading assignments and topics discussed may move slightly ahead of or behind this schedule, depending on the performance of the class.

TENTATIVE LAB SCHEDULE:

EXAMS AND QUIZZES:
Exams will cover the material from the sections that precede it, although as the semester progresses later exams may also contain questions that require the synthesis of major concepts from earlier sections of the course. The final exam is partly cumulative and will cover material and concepts from throughout the entire course, although the latter material will be emphasized. There are no makeup exams. No extensions or grace periods will be granted. If you miss an exam due to an unexcused absence, you will receive a zero. Show up early on the day of an exam. If you show up late and other students have already turned in their exam, you will not be allowed to take the exam. There are no exceptions to this rule. The dates for all the exams are given to you well ahead of time, so you should have plenty of time to reschedule your other commitment. Make it clear to your employer that your college education is your first priority.

The lectures are set up to complement the reading sections described above. You must attend the lectures since I will regularly introduce other information that does NOT appear in your textbook. This information will appear on the exams, which gives a clear advantage to those who attend class.

You should read the textbook chapters prior to the accompanying lecture. In order to help you with this, you will be required to complete weekly quizzes through Canvas that must be completed by a designated date and time. This means you get to do them at home or on campus on your own schedule! Each week you will be responsible for completing an online quiz assignment. This quiz is automatically graded. Once you start taking the quiz, you will have 20 minutes to complete it – this will be ample time if you read the chapter and look over your lecture notes beforehand! You will also have two attempts to get the best score possible. Yes, this is an open book quiz, but if you try to hunt for every answer in the chapter, you will run out of time and get a worse score than if you had just read the chapter first.

Please note: DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER FOR ANY EXAMS or QUIZZES!!! Internet Explorer does NOT work well with Blackboard – if you accidentally use Internet Explorer, it will automatically timeout your exam and will submit a zero score. Again, DON’T USE INTERNET EXPLORER. Instead, please use Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome – all of these seem to work well with Blackboard.

LECTURE QUIZ DUE DATE SCHEDULE:

There are four due dates for the LECTURE quizzes. Quizzes 1-3 must be completed before Sunday, 2/25/18 by 11:59 pm (notice this is the day before the first midterm). Likewise, quizzes 4-7 must be completed before Sunday, 3/25/18 by 11:59 pm (the day before midterm #2). Quizzes 8-12 must be completed before Sunday, 5/6/18 by 11:59 pm (the day before midterm #3). And quizzes 13-15 must be completed by Tuesday, 5/29/18 by 11:59 pm (the day before the final exam). Do yourself a favor, and try to complete the quizzes early. It will not help you to wait until the last day to complete the quizzes.

Grading:  Each online lecture quiz is worth 10 points for a total of 150 possible points.

ALL QUIZZES MUST BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM ON THE LAST DUE DATE. NOTE, AT MIDNIGHT THE QUIZZES DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY FROM BLACKBOARD, AND THEY WILL NOT RE-APPEAR.  THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS – IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO COMPLETE QUIZZES LATE, AND THERE WILL BE NO OPTION FOR MAKING THEM UP.

Lab quizzes will cover the material from the previous week. This means, even if there is nothing to hand in for a particular lab, you should still take copious notes and study them to do well on the corresponding quiz. Quizzes will be given at the beginning of lab, which means you must show up on time to take the quiz. You will only be given 10 minutes to take the quiz, so if you are late to lab, you will only have the remaining time to complete the quiz. If you are more than 10 minutes late, you will miss the quiz entirely. You will not be allowed to make up missed quizzes. If you know ahead of time that you will not be able to attend a lab, you MUST contact me prior to the lab. There are 10 total lab quizzes, each worth 10 points for a total of 100 points.

INTERNET ACCESS

In this course, we will be using Blackboard, YouTube, and many other internet tools. You will also receive regular emails from me, so you should be checking your email and logging on to Blackboard on a daily basis. If you do not have internet access at home, don’t worry – you will always have access to the course website on Blackboard from any campus computer lab. But you MUST check your email regularly. The email address I have on file for you is the same one you submitted when you registered at Santa Ana College. If you are not receiving my emails, then you must go back into WebAdvisor AND Blackboard and check to make sure your email address is correct. When sending emails to me please make sure you include “Bio 212” in the subject line and be sure to use both your first and last name so I know who you are. When emailing me, please keep your written communication professional and to the point. Do not formulate your email in “text-speak”. Here is an example of an email that is NOT appropriate: “umm, yo prof. i 4got wen hmwk wuz due LOL, can u tell me pleeeez prof”. You are all preparing for professional careers in science, so your interactions and correspondences should be professional from now on. Please address me as Dr. Morris or Professor Morris (not Mr. Morris).

LABORATORY MEETINGS:

Attending the lab is mandatory. During the lab, you will gain essential hands-on experience, and it is expected that you will attend all the labs. FIve of our labs will take place offsite. No transportation will be provided by Santa Ana College – therefore, you will have to arrange transportation on your own (you may wish to consider carpooling with other students!). Be sure to allow yourself PLENTY of time to get to the field sites. Quizzes may be given at the beginning of labs, even at some offsite locations, so if you show up late to an offsite field trip, you will not be given extra time to complete a quiz. Directions to the field sites appears on the course website.

OFFSITE FIELD TRIPS:

The offsite field trips in this class are mandatory.  This includes ONE FRIDAY AND ONE SUNDAY field trip.  If for some reason, you cannot make it to an offsite field trip, an alternate assignment will be available, however this must be arranged BEFORE the field trip in question. The alternate assignment will NOT be given to students inquiring after the day of the field trip. The offsite field trips will be to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (3/2/18), Bolsa Chica Marine Reserve (5/9/18 during lab time), and aboard the research vessel Yellowfin (5/13/18). The two weekend field trips will replace two labs during the week.  

LABORATORY GROUP PRESENTATION: 

In Week #7 and #15 you and a partner will give a 10-minute power point presentation. The first presentation will be on a lesser-known phylum of animals that will be randomly assigned to you. The second presentation will be of an ecological impact of your choice. A list of reasonable topics will be listed on the course website for you to view prior to the second presentation. You are not obligated to stick to my list. It is really meant as a guide, and you and your partner are therefore welcome to come up with your own topic. By the end of Week #5 and #13, you and your partner are expected to have emailed me the topic that you wish to present (as well as a backup topic just in case). Specific instructions on how to prepare for the group presentation will appear on the course website. Your partner for the second presentation must be different than your first partner. Your presentation partners cannot be the same person chosen for your insect collection.

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT: 

You will be given multiple opportunities to earn extra credit in this course. Some of the extra credit assignments are available on the course website. The first assignment is a self-guided tour of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which can be conducted on your own time. The aquarium closes at 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Sunday, and is closed on Monday, so please plan accordingly. You should be able to complete the assignment in less than 2 ½ hours. If you choose to do the extra credit assignment, you must hand it in no later than the day of the final exam. It will be worth 15 points. In order for your extra credit assignment to be accepted, it MUST be stamped by an employee at the front desk. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you fail to get it stamped, you must return to the aquarium to get it stamped. I will not accept a pamphlet, other handout, or parking stub as evidence of your visit to the aquarium. I will also not accept a digital or scanned copy of the assignment – you must turn in a hard copy. The assignment can be handed in anytime during the course, up to the day of the final exam. I will not accept it after the final exam.

A second extra credit assignment will be explained in greater detail in class. It will involve choosing a documentary on a list provided on the course website and designing questions that you will present to an audience (consisting of your friends and family) to whom you will show the movie. This assignment is extremely rewarding and will give you an opportunity to see what your friends and family really know about the biosphere. This assignment is worth 5 points. Only one movie assignment is allowed.

Periodically throughout the semester, I may add other extra credit opportunities. These may include attending public presentations by local scientists or participating in events on or off campus. However, the total cap for extra credit is set at 30 points. That is, no matter how many extra credit opportunities you complete, only 30 points can be earned. This means you will be able to pick and choose which additional extra credit opportunities you wish to complete.

ATTENDANCE:  

Class attendance is MANDATORY… it is NOT optional.  There will be a class attendance sheet for you to sign each day we meet for lecture and lab.  Sign only your own attendance.  Attendance is a good indicator of effort and will be used to determine borderline grades.  We will begin immediately each day, and hence you are expected to arrive on time ready to learn every day.  If you know ahead of time that you will be absent from a class, please notify me by email BEFORE the day you will be absent to prevent being penalized – and be sure to state the nature of the absence in your email.  Excusable absences include participation in intercollegiate games, meets, or matches, drama productions or music ensembles, as well as official class field trips (practices or rehearsals do not qualify as excused absences).  Other excusable absences will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  Although you may be excused from attending for the day in question, you are still responsible for material covered that day.  It is the policy of Santa Ana College that “A student may be dropped for excessive absences when the total hours of absences exceed 10% of the total scheduled hours of the class”.  In this course, 10% is equivalent to 4 absences.  This means, if you miss 4 classes without notifying me beforehand, you will be dropped.  If the drop deadline has passed, you may receive a failing grade (F).  Leaving early without notifying me ahead of time may be counted as an absence. Do not be late to class – it is extremely distracting.  Arriving late to class will hurt your participation grade, plus you may not be allowed to sign the attendance sheet, which would count as an absence.

POLICY ON PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING:

The Santa Ana College policy on plagiarism and cheating is strictly enforced in this course.  Please refer to the Student Support Services section of the Santa Ana College website and familiarize yourself with the section on Student Rights & Conduct:

www.sac.edu/StudentServices/StudentLife/Pages/Rights-and-Conduct.aspx

In this class, cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Plagiarism and cheating are defined as follows: Plagiarism is the presentation of information as one's own when in reality some or all of the information was derived (or copied) from some other source (including work of other members of the class).  Cutting and pasting from an internet source IS PLAGIARISM.  This pertains to any assignment, including the extra credit assignment.  Cheating consists of any un-permitted use of notes, texts, or other sources (including copying answers completed by others) so as to give an unfair advantage to a student in completing a class assignment or an examination.  Intentionally aiding another student in cheating is also considered cheating.  If you cheat, you will receive a ZERO on the assignment in question.  This could ultimately result in a failing grade (F) in the class.  You will also be reported to the Dean of Student Development in the Office of Student Life, which in certain cases can lead to suspension or expulsion from the college.  Please, just don’t do it!  For the sake of your future, it’s not worth it to cheat.

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE:

While in class please be courteous to me and to your fellow students.  Please be on time to class – showing up late is very distracting and will result in losing participation points.  Do not chat with your neighbor while I’m lecturing.  Even in a large classroom, voices carry.  TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES and other distracting electronic devices (vibrating phones make noise too) when in class.  Remove your headphones! And unless you are expecting a baby, a kidney or heart transplant, there is no reason to send or receive text message during my class.  There is nothing more deflating than telling a joke in class, having a student laugh, only to realize they were laughing at the text they just received… yes, it has happened.  Again, turn all electronic communication devices completely off.  Anyone caught texting in my class will lose serious participation points.  Keep your attention on the discussion in the classroom. 

If you wish to bring a guest into the lecture hall, please ask me first.  Chances are I’ll allow it, but I must know ahead of time.

Laptops ARE allowed in class – in fact I encourage you to take notes with your laptop.  This saves paper and helps reduce the overall impact of this class on the environment.  However, I will allow this with the understanding that you will ONLY use your laptop to take notes during my lecture.  If you are caught digitally chatting with friends, surfing the internet, checking email, or engaging in any other activity that is not directly related to our class, I will from that point forward prohibit EVERYONE from using a laptop in class.  Please don’t ruin it for everyone else.

DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAMS SERVICES

Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the DSPS office at 714-564-6295 (TTY 714-564-6264) in The Village (VL-203), to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to:

www.sac.edu/StudentServices/DSPS/Pages/default.aspx