Biology 55: Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology

Professor Westover holds a sign reading "Science is Awesome!"

Dear Student,

Welcome to Bio 55! I'm your instructor for Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology, Marie Westover. This website should help you prepare for our semester together. I look forward to having you in my class and helping you reach your goals!

Sincerely,

Professor Westover

About This Class

Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology

Anatomy and physiology is exciting! In this course, we are going to learn about how the human body works from our cells, to our tissues and organ systems. We will study how the body copes with environmental stress, internal imbalances, and diseases. As we are all humans, learning about ourselves from the inside out is fascinating!

What to do in the first week of class

Please log in to Canvas and access the Introduction Module, as well as the first content module Anatomical orientation & Homeostasis. Your first assignment is a syllabus quiz due at midnight on the first Thursday of class. You must do this assignment on time, or risk being dropped from the class to make room for students on the waitlist. If you have a concern about finishing the first assignment by the due date, please let me know!

How this course works

This class is asynchronous online, which means that there are no scheduled or required meetings. Each Sunday a new content module will open, and you will have assignments to guide your learning each week. Most Quizzes, Labs and Homework assignments are due on Mondays at midnight, unless otherwise posted. Each Discussion assignment has two due dates: the topic post is due on Thursday at midnight and two replies to other students are due on Monday at midnight. These discussions are important for communicating and sharing with other students, so please remember to complete them on time! Please note that "asynchronous" does not mean self-paced. It is important to stay on top of your weekly assignments. If you cannot complete an assignment on time, please let me know as soon as possible so we can make a plan to keep you on track.

Communication

How to contact me

My email is mwestover@sierracollege.edu.

The best way to contact me is through Canvas messages; I check these more often than email because I know they are all from students.

During the semester, you can expect a reply from me within 24-48 hours, and often sooner. Before the beginning of the semester I may have limited internet access, please be patient and I will reply when I can.

If you have a question that might interest other students, I encourage you to ask in the Canvas class Q and A discussion board and give your classmates the chance to respond as well!

Week 1 Success

Due Dates

Your first assignment is due Thursday at midnight during week 1! The rest of the assignments are due the following Monday at midnight. I encourage you to work on the materials and assignments throughout the week. If you try to do it all on Monday it will probably feel overwhelming!

Due Thursday:

Syllabus Quiz

Introduction discussion topic post

The remaining assignments are due the following Monday:

Lab: Activity 1A and 1B – Language of Anatomy AND Organ Systems, Body planes, and Body Cavities

Quiz: Ch 1

Discussion: Introduction responses to two students

Materials

You will need reliable internet access and to log in to Canvas regularly. You do not need to purchase a textbook! We will use a free, open educational resource incorporated directly into our class Canvas site, Human Biology by Wakim and Grewal.

Are you ready? Let's begin!

Expectations

What you can expect from me

I will create and support a positive and supportive learning environment where every student is valued.
As your instructor, I will be present and facilitate your learning experience.
I will respond to your questions within 24-48 hours and provide individualized support in response to your needs.
I will provide feedback on your assignments within a week of the due date.
I will provide organized lectures, assignments, and lab materials that support your learning.

What I will expect of you

You will familiarize yourself with our class Canvas site, the syllabus, and weekly expectations and due dates.
You will log into our course each week no later than Monday evening to evaluate the work and due dates in the current module.
Each week, you will expect to invest about 15 hours of time to the coursework, studying, and assignments.
You will aim to submit all assignments on time. If you identify a concern with meeting a due date, you will contact me as soon as possible before the due date to discuss your concern and come to an agreement about an extension if needed.
You will be thoughtful in your interactions with myself and your peers while taking extra care to respect diverse perspectives and support the learning environment of your peers.
You will submit your own honest work on quizzes, exams, and all assignments. If you need help or have questions, please ask me!

My Teaching Philosophy

As your instructor, I am here to guide and facilitate your learning journey, and establish a welcoming classroom environment. I hope you leave my classroom not just with knowledge, but also with a deeper appreciation for the human body, biology, and science in general. I will do my best to present material in an interesting and accessible way, that helps you connect class material to your lives. We all will have to make decisions about our bodies, our family’s health, maybe a future patient’s health, and we need to be able to make educated choices as citizens, consumers, and voters.

Our classroom is a learning community, where diverse backgrounds and perspectives are valued. I expect you to respect and support one another and create an environment where all students feel welcome. I’m looking forward to getting to know each of you, and helping you reach your goals!

Sincerely, Professor Westover

My Advice For Success

Many students find parts of this class to be challenging. The good news is that I'm here to help! With patience and repetition, I know each of you is capable of success. Some tips that worked for me as a student was to take notes by hand, draw and label figures, make flashcards, and repeat. I would also form small study groups, and practice explaining concepts I learned to other people. Let's find out what works best for you. I always suggest you get to know your classmates, study, collaborate and learn together.

Course Goals

1. Describe and categorize the key structural features of different human cells, major tissue types and subtypes, and identify locations in the body where each is located.

2. Identify, describe and compare the anatomical location, histology and gross anatomical structure of all human body systems in appropriate detail for a non-majors anatomy and physiology course.

3. Describe and compare the physiology of all human body systems in appropriate detail for a non-majors anatomy and physiology course.

4. Compare structure and function of all human body systems from the cellular through system levels of organization.

5. Demonstrate proper lab safety, dissecting techniques, and handling of models and physiology lab equipment.

Support for Students like You

Sierra College and I as your instructor are here to provide you with support both within the classroom and outside of the classroom. Here are some of the resources available to you. If you need anything else, just ask me and I'll do my best to point you in the right direction.

Sierra College student tech support can help you with all sorts of campus and classroom technology, from Canvas, to Microsoft Office, to troubleshooting personal devices. They are available through live chat, email, Zoom, and SierraConnect.
Need help navigating Canvas? Canvas Technical Support offers suggestions and resources.
Sierra College Health Center Services provides free or low-cost medical services, including athletic physicals, birth control, vision and hearing screening, immunizations, free mental health services through TimelyCare AND MORE!
Student Accessibility Services provides equitable access to education and accommodations such as individualized learning plans, assistive technology, captioning and interpreter services, and more.
Tutoring Resources are available both in person and online for Biology and other subjects. This is a great resource! Many students have found not only the tutors to be helpful, but connected and met other students to study with at the tutoring center on Zoom sessions.
Learn how you and your family can access free and discounted food from the Food Pantry and more.
Find a community on campus through the Student Engagement Center!

Grading and Details

I use a standard grade schedule to determine your course letter grade:

100-90.0%=A, 89.9-80%=B, 79.9-70=C, 69.9-60%=D, 59.9-below=F

There are four lecture exams each worth 100 points. Lecture exams consist of multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and short answer type questions. Topics are from the lecture, reading, and homework.

There are four lab exams each worth 100 points. Exam questions include recognition of pictures of human anatomy and diagrams. In addition, you may be asked to explain the functions of organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.

There are two deadlines for each Discussion.

o Thursday at 11:59 PM: answer the topic question

o The following Monday at 11:59 PM: complete at least one response post and any requested updates to topic post.

Discussions are an important part of developing and maintaining our online learning community, so it is very important that you participate at the same time your classmates are contributing to the Discussion. For these reasons, I do not allow late submissions for discussions.

Exams, discussions, quizzes, labs, and homework are included in your course grade.

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