BIOL-244-02-4208 syllabus PDF

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THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION AS THE SEMESTER PROGRESSES. YOU WILL RECEIVE A NEW SYLLABUS AS NEEDED. Biology 244-01, Principles of Biology Laboratory, Fall 2020 Course Director: Dr. Joseph Steffen, Professor, 210 Life Sciences Email: [email protected], Office Hours: by appointment. CARDINAL CORE NATURAL SCIENCES STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Natural Sciences are concerned with understanding the laws of nature and the physical world. Students who satisfy this requirement will be able to do all of the following: Outcome Assessment 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the Understanding will be assessed on tests and nature and methods of science inquiry. assignments. 2. Apply scientific principles: to interpret Homework assignments and required in-class assignments will assess your understanding of evidence, to make predictions, and/or to explain cross-cutting concepts in one or principles and the ability to make predictions and explain results. more of the sciences. 3. Explain how scientific principles relate to Some homework assignments will cover these particular topics of importance in society. issues of personal and/or societal importance. 4. Communicate effectively an understanding You will demonstrate that understanding with of scientific concepts and experimental practical tests of your knowledge and your outcomes in speech or writing, using sound written lab homework. scientific terminology and citation appropriate to the discipline.

See your laboratory graduate teaching assistant (lab GTA) for more details concerning the course objectives and their office hours. Your lab GTA will provide further details concerning her/his office location, office hours, e-mail addresses, etc. Course description and organization: This two credit-hour course, designed for biology majors (but counts as a general education requirement), will acquaint you with the basic unifying principles common to all living organisms. 1) Your lab section meets twice a week for two hours each time, in room 329 or 332 of the Belknap Academic Building. In the Fall of 2020 this course will be offered in a HYBRID format, meaning that some of the coursework will be face-to-face in the lab and some proportion will be online only. You can see the Laboratory Schedule at the end of this syllabus. Ech section of 24 students will be divided into 2 groups of 12 students (Groups A and B for Monday/Wednesday sections and C and D for Tuesday/Thursday Lab sections). Your section GTA will contact you individually to tell you which Group within your section you have been assigned to and which of the two laboratory rooms you will meet in when having face-to-face classes. As you can see from the schedule, the Groups will take turns meeting face to face and completing online activities. For example, Group A of the Monday/Wednesday lab sections will meet face-to-face on Monday of the first week of class while Group B will have an online activity that day. The Groups will switch on Wednesday of the first week, with Group B meeting face-to-face and Group A doing the online activity. We anticipate a pivot to a fully online version of the course at some point in the semester. You will be provided with a revised syllabus should this occur. Course objectives: upon successful completion of this course, the student should have a basic understanding of: 1) how to examine and analyze phenomena of the natural world in a systematic, logical manner consistent with the scientific method; 2) the quantitative and analytical methods common to the diverse disciplines in biology; 3) cell structure and function, including cell transport, pH, and enzymes; 4) cell replication (mitosis and meiosis), and classical genetics; 5) an introduction to the concepts of gene replication and protein synthesis; 6) the principal features and forces of evolution: natural selection and adaptation, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium; 7) basic concepts in population ecology, community ecology and ecosystem ecology;

8) prokaryotic and eukaryotic diversity; 9) plant, fungal and animal life cycles; 10) plant and animal form / function; 11) the principles of taxonomy and classification; and12) microscopes and spectrophotometers. Course prerequisites: successful completion (with a grade of C or better) of either or both of the freshman introductory biology lecture courses: Biology 240 (Unity of Life) or Biology 242 (Diversity of Life). You must have passed at least one of the lecture courses prior to taking this course. In addition, if you have not completed both lecture courses, you must be concurrently enrolled in the course you lack (either 240 or 242). Required materials/ textbooks: there is a laboratory book required for this course (Alexander, James E. Jr. and Joseph M. Steffen. Principles of Quantitative Biology Laboratory. 2020-2021, Van-Griner Publishing, Cincinnati, OH, ISBN: 978-1-61740-918-9) that is available at the bookstores. This manual has been approved as appropriate for use in this course by the Biology Department’s Undergraduate Committee. Efforts were made to make the manual as cost effective as possible. You must buy the most recent edition because modifications have been made and the older versions are out of date and you will have to tear out and hand in pages from the manual. The last date to withdraw from this course without academic penalty is October 16. General Education Guidelines for learning outcomes and assessment: 1) Relate everyday observations of the world to physical and biological principles. The biological principles coveredin this course are basic to life. These objectives are listed in the ‘key words’ and ‘learning objectives’ sections of each unit in the lab manual, and the students’ understanding of these principles will be assessed primarily through examinations, but short quizzes and problem sets also will be used. Students will be encouraged to read reports and articles from different media sources and apply their understanding of the relevant principles to these specific examples. 2) Apply scientific principles to construct explanations of biological phenomena. The scientific principles of logicalreasoning, hypothesis formation and testing, data collection and analysis, and the formulation of valid scientific conclusions are all used and the students’ knowledge of these principles will be assessed primarily through examinations, but short quizzes and problem sets also will be used. 3) Communicate an understanding of scientific explanation of biological phenomena. Through discussions and examinations, students will be given an opportunity to communicate an understanding of biological concepts. In addition to learning about the scientific method and introductory biological concepts and terminology, this course allows students to apply critical thinking skills to the life sciences. Problem sets will be used to assess analysis and critical thinking. As a Community of Care, all students are expected to abide by public health guidelines and regulations as published by the University. For Fall 2020, this includes: 1) Wearing of cloth/paper masks (covering nose and mouth) when in shared indoor spaces like classrooms, or when appropriate physical distancing cannot be maintained. (Per the code of student conduct-- revised July 2020--a student who refuses to follow these guidelines may be asked to leave a classroom); 2) Staying home when sick—any UofL community member experiencing fever, consistent dry cough, or other symptoms of contagious disease should remain at home until symptoms subside or advised that it is safe to return by a medical professional; 3) Practicing good hygiene and responsibility for one’s own surroundings; a. Cover sneezes and coughs; b. Wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible; use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available; c. Wipe down frequently touched surfaces; and d. Maintain six feet physical distancing when possible. Faculty contribute to their responsibility by: 1)Allowing for remote participation in class when necessary and practicable (this primarilyrefers to the recitations in this course since the lecture portion of the course is already remote);

2)Allowing students absent for reason of illness to make up missed work and not to penalize students for these absences; and 3)Not requiring doctors notes for absences of less than the equivalent of two weeks of classes, unless the absence occurs on the day of a scheduled assessment, when the student may be asked to provide documentation. Course evaluation: your understanding of these objectives will be evaluated primarily through the use of practical examinations, but will also include assignments, worksheets and potentially quizzes. Evaluation of your performance in the first section of the course will be based on the following criteria: Examination 1 Simulations 7 @ 4 points each Worksheets and Homework

106 points 28 points 26 points

Total for Section 1

160 points

Examination 2 Simulations 2 @ 4 points each Worksheets and Homework

110 points 8 points 42 points

Total for Section 2

160 points

Information on evaluation for Section 3 of the schedule will be updated in a new copy of the syllabus. Exams and Quizzes The course has been divided into three sections, each of which will culminate in an online exam which will require the Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor. This must be downloaded to the computer you will utilize for the exam. There will be one or more quizzes given prior to the first exam which must be taken using this Lockdown Browser. This will allow you to test your system for use with the browser . Quizzes will not require the use of the monitor, but will require the use of the Lockdown browser. Any issues must be reported to your Graduate Teaching Assistant as soon as possible so that any issues can be taken care of in advance of the first exam. Failure to take the quiz and determine any issues will not be an excuse for a makeup exam. Keep in mind that Google Chromebooks are incompatible with this browser and monitor, so if this is what you have, you will need to make arrangements to utilize a different computer for any quizzes and exams. If you have technical issues during the exam or need a scheduling accommodation, please contact your GTA as soon as possible. Instructions for Exams: 1. A calculator will be provided in the Lockdown browser. You may not utilize anything else. 2. You must take the exam utilizing the Respondus Lockdown Browser tool. It must be installed on your computer, and is available for free through Blackboard. 3. Each exam will be available at the beginning of start time of your section. To access the exam, open the downloaded LockDown Browser, sign in with your Blackboard credentials, choose your course, go to the appropriate folder and click on the appropriate exam . Do your environment check – see below. 4. Once the test is started, you must complete it in one sitting. Do not leave test before clicking Save and Submit.

5. The total time for each test is 75 minutes. The test will be automatically saved and submitted past this time even if you are not finished. 6. You will see one question at a time in a screen. You can spend as much time as you want to per question (up to the 75 minute limit). Once you answer a question and submit your answer, you cannot return to that question. Respondus Browser and Monitor – It is your responsibility to ensure you have strong internet access and a computer with the Respondus Browser. Google Chromebook will not work. If you are sharing internet access make certain your connection is sufficient. You may want to ask others to avoid using the internet while you take exams/quizzes. Poor internet connections or other technology issues will not be accepted as excuses for not completing exams. Please contact your GTA if you have technical issues during the exam or if you need a scheduling accomation as soon as possible. You must download Rspondus Browser and the Monitor to your computer. The Respondus Browser with Monitor will record you while taking exams and quizzes. It will “flag” behavior it deems suspicious. Make sure your entire face is visible to your camera as this is one of the features often “flagged” by the monitor. Dr. Steffen will review these recordings. If you are flagged and have not completed an Environment Check as defined below – you will lose points. Even if you have completed the Environment Check and appear to be involved in academic dishonesty, you could receive “zero” score and your name will be forwarded to the dean’s office. If appropriate, you could face further and more severe academic discipline that will be part of your permanent record. Each exam is only 100-120 points out of the 415 total points. This course is only 2 credits out of around 120 credits needed to earn your degree. Academic dishonesty to do better on one exam or in one course is not worth the long-term risk of ruining your academic record. Exam Environment Check – You must follow these instructions for a successful environment check when prompted in Respondus Browser and Monitor.

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When recording your environment, you must slowly move the camera around showing your work area (including to the left, to the right and the area above the computer) as well as a panoramic view of the room. Narrate the video – “this is the area to the left of my computer, this is the area to the right of my computer and……” You must show that you do not have anything in your lap or on your chair/sitting area. Before completing your environment check and taking your exam, you must stand in front of your work area (facing your computer screen) and use your cell phone to take a picture of your computer and work area and send that picture to your GTA by email BEFORE completing your environment check. After taking the picture and emailing it, with the environment check still running, you must place your phone in an inaccessible area behind where you are sitting. This will complete your pre-exam environment check.

How do I get help if Respondus does not work on my computer? Students can get help with blackboard and Respondus here: http://louisville.edu/delphi/blackboard/help/student-help and also by contacting the Delphi Center blackboard help desk at (502) 852-8833 or [email protected] What happens if I have computer or internet problems during the exam? It is your responsibility to make sure ahead of time that your exam environment is functioning. Contact your Teaching Assistant about issues that occur during the exam.

Simulations and Other Online Activities Simulation activities are scheduled during the semester. These are produced by Labster and will be done through the Blackboard site for this course. You must complete each simulation to receive the full points for each simulation. Each simulation will be available for one week, from midnight on the day they are in the schedule until 11:59pm one week from that day. Online assignments, activities, and worksheets will also be utilized. Typically, these will be available from midnight the day they are in the schedule until 11:59pm one week from that day. You will find three folders under the “Course Content/Schedule” tab on the Blackboard site for the course that contain information for each day of the course. Some of the materials for each course day are located within these folders, contained within a separate folder labelled with the date that corresponds to the activities scheduled (see the Schedule of the Course at the end of this syllabus). Within these daily folders are the Powerpoint presentation of the material for the day, and any simulations (if any) to be done for that day. There are also activity worksheets for some of the individual days that can be found located under the “Assignments” tab on the Blackboard site for the course. Completion of the simulations (if any) and activity worksheets (if any) are required to earn points for these activities. Completed Activity Sheets must be returned to your Teaching Assistant through Blackboard by the assigned date associated with each activity. Late submissions will be given a score of “0”. An announcement on the Blackboard site for the course will also indicate all the required activities for each week. There will also be a recorded version of the Powerpoint for each day’s lab under the “Panopto Recording” tab on the Blackboard site for this course. Additional course policies This course is very large, so all students will be held the following guidelines: 2) The grading scale for this course is 90-80-70-60 % of the total points (this means points, points, points and points) for an A-B-C-D, respectively, possibly subject to change by the course director at the end of the semester. There are no plus/minus grades. (A change in the grading scale will occur only if the aggregate average of all students from all sections that have taken all exams is below 75% at the end of the semester. There is no guarantee that each section will have one or more ‘As’ at the end of the semester). 3) Do not rely upon a curve. There will be no rounding up of scores or final percentages. No extra credit will be given in this course for any reason. At the end of the class, a student with points will have earned an A; a student with points will have earned a B. 4) You cannot miss or prorate a laboratory exam, except for extreme circumstances, so make every effort to be here on exam days. If a student misses an exam due to a serious verifiable reason, they must contact their lab GTA (not the Lab Coordinator) directly by phone (or via e-mail) either before or within 24 hours after the missed practical exam. The lab GTA will inform the course director; the course director will make all final decisions on whether or not you are allowed to take a makeup exam. We may be able to provide a makeup laboratory practical examination after the exam period, but this makeup practical will only be for students who have legitimate reasons for missing their exam. For those rare circumstances where the student cannot be present for a makeup test within a reasonable time (in the course director’s opinion, not yours; generally, this means no later than before the third lab period after the missed exam), the course director will prorate the laboratory practical exam, based solely on the student’s scores of the other two exams. If a second practical exam is missed without a makeup being taken, the course diretor will assign a score of 0 (zero) for that exam. 5) All students are expected to attend every lab class in their assigned section. No student will be allowed to attend another section for any extended period of time. If you miss more than several lab days, you should petition to withdraw from the class. No petition to drop the course after the drop date has passed will be supported solely on the basis of poor performance. Lab GTAs cannot sign drop/add or withdrawal forms; you are to see the course director. You are not automatically dropped because you stopped attending. 6) You are to dress appropriately for face-to-face classes (shorts and open-toed shoes are not appropriate and masks are required).

7) If there is no class on a practical exam day because of bad weather and the university officially calls off classes, the exam will be given the next class period. Check the university’s web site (louisville.edu) for official cancellation notices. You will be held responsible for certain information of the missed lab, as described by your lab GTA. On the next period, be prepared to cover all missed material, as well as the day’s material. If the University is on a delayed class schedule, classes will be cancelled up until a certain time that day. Classes that begin at or after the delayed time will meet at their regular time and include the full instruction period. This will not apply if we have to pivot to online only meetings. 8) The course director reserves the right to change anything on this syllabus if the circumstances (where the university officially closes or locks down the campus) force him to do so. Changes will be in writing and made as an announcement on the Blackboard site fo...