Course Details

Lecture Format

This class is fully in-person. So, lectures will be live. 

You will be provided with Powerpoint versions of the lecture ahead of time, so that you can use them for studying/note-taking. You may record the audio of lectures for your own use (see Other Classroom Policies for information about sharing recordings and other course materials), but will need to fill out a recording agreement form. I will provide you with these the first day.

Assignments, Exams, and Grading

Introduction Survey: 

During the first week of the semester you will be asked to complete an introduction survey. This is a short assignment on Canvas, just designed to help me get to know you better. There are no right or wrong answers! So, you get 5 points if you answer all of the questions as fully as possible!

Weekly Quizzes: 

At the end of each week, there will be a 5 point quiz on Canvas. These quizzes will give you an opportunity to see the types of questions that I ask on the exams, and help you better identify areas of weakness. The questions will all come from lectures from that week. Quizzes will open at 8 am on Thursday and remain open until 11:59 pm on Monday. You will have unlimited time to complete each quiz, and can use any materials that you like, including working with others. You will only have one attempt, though. So, make sure that you hit submit!!! Your one lowest quiz score will be dropped. 

Literature Quizzes: 

Reading and understanding the scientific literature is important for having a complete education in biology.  For this course, you will read three scientific articles throughout the semester that tie into the topics we have been covering in lecture.  

Before the quizzes begin, you will have an Anatomy of a Scientific Paper assignment to complete. This will ask you questions about a scientific article/articles, instruct you on how to actually find scientific papers, and help you to understand what these papers are in general. 

You will be assigned a paper to read, which will be available in Canvas at least one week ahead of the quiz. This will give you time to read the paper before you take the quiz. Each quiz will be done in Canvas. The quiz will open at 4:00 pm on the day of the quiz (see schedule), and be open until 11:59 pm the following day.  The quiz is open paper, but you should work independently.  Evidence to the contrary will result in a zero. Answers to questions should be written IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Answers copied directly from the text, even if in quotes, will result in a zero. These quizzes will ask questions that apply to the findings in the article.  For example, you may be asked to briefly explain what the authors concluded, explain part of the methodology, interpret a figure or their results, or to explain something about the background information. Each quiz will be timed, and needs to be completed within 30-60 minutes (depending on the quiz, so reading the article ahead of time is advised. There will be NO makeups for these quizzes, so make sure you participate!!!

Pop Quizzes: 

A series of pop quizzes will be given throughout the semester. These will be at random and at my discretion. They are worth a total of 50 points regardless of how many you take. One quiz (your lowest score) will be dropped from the final scores.

Exams: 

Exams will be on Canvas and consist primarily of a mix of multiple choice, short answer, matching, and essay.  Your final exam will be all multiple choice and cumulative. You will take the exam IN PERSON in our classroom. As such, you will need to bring your own device to take the exam on. If you don't have one, please let me know the first week of classes so that I can help you figure out a solution. I will give you a piece of scratch paper to use as you please during the exam. In some cases, I will print a couple of questions on the scratch paper so that you can work them out on paper first. You must write your name on the scratch paper (whether you use it or not) and turn it in at the end of the exam.

Advance notice of missed exams must be given except in the case of a documented emergency. Without notice in advance or a true emergency, you will not be permitted to make up the exam.

Exam Rules: 

Grading:

Your grade will be based on the number of points you earn divided by the total points for the course.  Your final grade will be percentage based. Grade appeals can only be made on the basis of miscalculation of your average and must be made to me within at least one week of grades being posted.  There will NOT be any extra credit or curving in this course.  Whatever grade you receive on exams is the grade that you get for that assignment.  Final grades are rounded (79.5%-79.9% rounds to 80%, 79.4% -79.0% rounds to 79%). 

Grades are based on the following percentage scale: