GENERAL BIOLOGY

GENERAL BIOLOGY
Biology 101

Fall 1999

COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: David P. Kreps

        Office in S-101
        Office hours are posted on the office door
        Office phone number is 5310
        Post Office Box is 150

        Class Meetings: Lecture room is in S-100
        Lecture time is 1:00 - 1:50
        Class meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

Required Readings: The Text: Human Biology: Health, Homeostasis, and the
                                                     Environment, 3^rd Ed., by Daniel D. Chiras
                                                    Handouts will be provided for selected topics.
Grading
        300 points - Three one-hour exams, including the final.
          50 points - MEDIA REVIEWS
          70 points - Seven BEST quizzes
        200 points - Two class research projects, 100 pts/ project

Grading Scale
A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, C = 70-79 %, D = 60-69%, F= < 60%

Class Assignments: Assigned reading, short writes, concept mapping, group discussions

Class Policies: Attendance is required. Be sure to sign in when entering the classroom at the beginning of each class session. Get to class on time. A late arrival is disturbing to the class and the instructor and it puts you at an disadvantage when you have missed part of the work that is in progress. Examinations are scheduled. I must be notified if you are unable to be present because of illness. You must arrange a time for a make-up examination since I will not be contacting you. Class policy on plagiarism is outlined in the Spartan Que. Be sure that you are familiar with this statement because it will be enforced in this class.

Hints: My goals in teaching this course include: (1) introducing you to a few areas biology and science that will help you to become better informed and (2) to help you become a active participant in the learning process by emphasizing the importance of reading, note taking, and by having you become a "critical thinker" as we explore the topics covered in class.

Specific suggestions:

Reading: Check for a reading assignment. Look at the headings, figures, graphs, tables, and charts; you can get a good idea of what the topic is by scanning before you actually start to read. Stop and think about what you already know about the area(s) that you will be covering as you read. As you read, use the Text's glossary or a dictionary to look up terms that you don't understand. It may be helpful to jot down comments when you have completed a particular section. For example, what was the key point or argument that was presented? What were the functions, structures, or phenomena that were introduced? Are there any specific concepts that appear to be especially important to remember? Look at the summaries at the end of each chapter before or after you have finished reading. Try to answer the questions that are listed; they will help you to review key points of the reading assignment.

Note Taking: Have an idea of what is to be covered in class before you come to class. Think about what you already know about the area(s) listed in the syllabus. Don't try to write everything down that is mentioned by the instructor but try to pick out terms and ideas that appear to significant. Listen for signals from the instructor that indicate he or she feels a particular point has special significance, e.g. "this is a key factor", or "note the relationship that exists between." After each lecture, review your notes. Flesh in points that you may have missed. This can be accomplished by checking with other members of the class to find out what they have in their notes.

Concept mapping: Most students will try to memorize pieces of information without knowing how the parts or concepts are related to each other. Organizing topics, terms, and other bits of information into a "map will help you see how subject matter can be tied together. You may already be very familiar with the idea of concept mapping and know how it can help you understand material presented in class. For those of you not familiar with this process, we will spend some time showing you how to arrange terms taken from the text or lectures into groups and explain how each is related to other members of the group. At first, you will be given sets of terms which you are to map using guidelines provided by the instructor. Your initial efforts can be done as a part of a group with group maps being presented to the class. Eventually, you should be able to produce concept maps on your own which will be evaluated by the instructor.

Critical Thinking Skills: Many students measure the success in a particular class by how successful they are in guessing what to memorize for the next test. I will attempt to have you become an active participant in the learning process in this class. That does not mean that you can get by with learning a bunch of facts" and then regurgitate them onto paper on the next exam. I am looking for more than recall in this course; I want you to learn how to evaluate a body of evidence, to be able differentiate between assumptions and observations, and to be able to reach some type of conclusion based on the evidence, not on preconceived bias or misinformation. The following list of expectations for a critical thinker was compiled by Daniel Charas, Human Biology - Health, Homeostasis, 2^nd Ed. (page 15)

Gather complete information

Understand and define all terms.

Question the methods by which data and information were derived. Were the facts derived from experiments? Did the experiment include a control group? Did the experiment(s) include a sufficient number of subjects? Have the experiments been repeated?

Question the conclusions. Are the conclusions appropriate? Was there enough information on which to base the conclusions?

Uncover assumptions and biases. Was the experimental design biased? Are there underlying assumptions that affect the conclusions?

Question the source of the information. Is the source reliable? Is the source an expert or supposed expert?

Don't expect all of the answers or complete information.

Examine the big picture.

Look for multiple causes and effects.

Watch for thought stoppers.

Understand your own biases and values.

Note: Review sessions will be available at 7:00pm on selected Wednesdays in S-100.

ASSIGNMENTS
Regular Assignments

Group Research Project Assignments

PROJECTS
Writing Projects

SCHEDULE
Fall 1999

OTHER WEB SITES
Chairas' Web Site
Histology

(Back to Kreps Web Page)