/ Session:
Section:
Class Location:
Days / Time: Instructor: / Spring 2011
55244 3 Units
NVC 838
W 6:00 PM – 8:50 PM
RIDDELL
BIOL 112 – Course Overview
Contact
Office: 2044 NVC Main Campus
Lecture: NVC 838
Phone: 707 253 3190
eMail:
Course Overview / Objectives / Rational
Overview
An introductory course designed to provide the life sciences major and non-major students with:
§ an exploration of ecological principles and the role of humans in the environment. This course explores basic principles of ecology and environmental biology, including study of major biomes and habitat types, biological diversity, interactions of organisms with the physical environment, plant and animal interactions, nutrient cycling and energy flow in ecosystems, and the interdependence of organisms in biological communities.
This course will also introduce the students to:
§ a basic understanding of the biosphere, human, animal and plant interactions, the cellular and molecular basis of life and their respective interdependence
§ a gross understanding of the relationship of humans with the micro and macro “bio-world”
§ an appreciation for the levels of organization – chemical, cellular, organism, population and community and potential harm to individuals and populations form and resource mis-mangement
§ the basic vocabulary common to life sciences
§ a personal inspiration and basis for career selection to generalize or specialize in some area of life science, sustainability, and / or health care
§ a practice of cooperative and professional interaction with colleagues on gaining common career subject expertise
Objectives
Institutional Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of an organized program of study, students will be able to:
§ Communicate ideas clearly and concisely • in written, oral, and other forms, using a variety of complementary media.
§ Acquire and critically evaluate information, solve complex problems, and make informed decisions.
§ Demonstrate interpersonal skills by collaborating and working effectively with people from diverse backgrounds while respecting their viewpoints.
§ Set goals and develop a plan to achieve those goals.
§ Acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities that are specific to a discipline or career and adapt to an ever changing workforce by managing their own learning.
§ Act responsibly and ethically as community members, with an understanding of local, national, and global issues.
Course Objectives
The student will have exposure to the fundamentals of Ecology in order to describe, understand, analyze and demonstrate knowledge in the following areas:
§ Methods of science and scientific investigation
§ History of the discipline, including the science of ecology, conservation, environmentalism, and the development of environmental ethics
§ Basic principles of ecology and evolution
§ Basic climatic, physiographic, chemical and biotic processes of the biosphere and their relationship to the distribution of species.
§ Ecosystem structure and function including trophic structure
(eg. food webs), productivity, and mineral cycles
§ Community dynamics, including factors influencing the distribution of organisms, species diversity and dominance, vegetation ecology, niche, species interactions and ecological succession
§ Population dynamics, including patterns of distribution and
dispersal, age structure, and growth.
§ Apply quantitative models that describe population growth and dynamics
§ Describe and compare competitive interactions between two species
§ Apply scientific approaches to problems that take into account;
§ Environmental law
§ History of Ecology
§ U.S Environmental Legislation
§ Economics and ecology
§ Environmental ethics
§ Evolution - natural selection, plant and animal adaptations to the environment
§ Major Biomes
§ Biological communities including habitats and niches
§ Interactions between organisms
§ Energy flow through ecosystems including trophic levels
§ Cycling of material within ecosystems, including the carbon and the nitrogen cycles
§ Environmental health issues
§ Pollution
§ Principles of population ecology - logistic population growth, reproductive strategies, carrying capacity
§ Management of natural resources including energy and water
ENGL 100
MATH 94
CHEM 110
or Equivalents / Requisite for:
BA / BS Degree in Life Sciences (some)
Transfers to CSU and UC Systems
Texts, Materials and Resources:
§ Textbooks: Environment, RAVEN / BERG 6th or 7th (required)
§ Lab Manual: None
§ Memory Stick 1GB or more
§ Study Helps: www.napavalley.edu/Directory/RIDDELL/Home Page/Ecology
www.wiley.com/college/raven Environment 5th or 6th or Latest Ed.
Specimens and Materials: (provided)
§ Illustrations, Tables, Photographs, Charts
Web Resources
§ The instructor maintains a course website that includes the current course syllabus, outlines, and study guides. The site is updated regularly to provide links to current course materials. These resources are provided only for use by students enrolled in this section of this course. See above.
Policy
Attendance
§ Attendance is an important part of learning; therefore attendance will be monitored. Attendance may be taken and / or quizzes will be given at any time during the scheduled class period. If you miss a quiz you will not be allowed to make it up.
§ Note: The Napa Valley College Catalog states: “…a student who has been absent for as many times as a class meets each week will have exhausted this provision for unavoidable absences. Further absences may cause the instructor to drop the student from the class.”
§ Note: Doctors appointments and child care issues are considered absences.
Grades
§ Course requirements include regular attendance in lectures and laboratories, successful completion of the lecture and laboratory examinations, keeping a laboratory notebook, and participation in laboratory dissections. Regular attendance is essential; however, attendance alone does not earn a passing grade. History teaches that every student will need to spend a considerable amount of dedicated study time outside of class hours in order to earn a grade of C or better.
§ Note: Study, study, study! Study = memorizing and also means being able to think about the individual facts as they relate to one another and to other categories of related information. within ! Studying is like flossing your teeth, Early, daily and often are effective routines!
Scale: This is approximate and may vary per discretion of the instructor
Metric / Pts per Metric / Sub-Total / ≈% of Total Grade / Percentage / Letter Grade / Color Code / Achievement
Lecture Exams 2 / 100 / 200 / 25 / 100%+ / A / Platinum / Brilliant
Quizzes 4 / 25 / 100 / 13 / 90% + / A / Golden / Competitive
Project Write Ups / Reports 3 / 50-75 / 175 / 23 / 80 - 89% / B / Blue / Successful
Team Project / Presentation 3 / 25-45 / 105 / 13 / 70 – 79% / C / Green / Safe
60 – 69% / D / Red / Danger
1 Final Exam / 200 / 200 / 25 / < 60% / Fail / Purple / Ugh
TOTAL (approx) / ≈ 800 / 100
* Actual number of quizzes and lab participation totals are estimates
§ Your course grade will be based on your performance on lecture exams, quizzes, projects/write ups, research notebook and discussion participation (which includes regular attendance). Grading generally follows the point scale shown above. Number of assignments and values of assignments are subject to change Adjustments may be made for overall trends in performance (such as improvement during the course) when determining the students final grade.
Examinations and Other Assignments
§ Lecture exams consist of multiple choice, true/false, short answer and short essay questions. The four midterm lecture exams will emphasize the material covered since the previous exam. The final exam will be cumulative, with greater emphasis on the material covered since the previous exams. As a general rule, lecture exams test only material that is covered in the lectures. Reading assignments from the textbook are important to reinforce lecture material and fill in gaps. However, unless it is stated in class, assume that the material in the textbook that is not covered in lectures may be included on the lecture exams.
§ Short quizzes will be given from time to time during the class periods. The quizzes will generally cover the material of that day’s or the immediately preceding subject material. These quizzes may or may not be announced in advance. To prepare for the quizzes and for the class in general, read the current material, be familiar with the research assigned and be prepared to state what and why you believe regarding the current topics and issues. Practice quizzes are available on line.
§ You will not be required to keep a research notebook / journal but it is a good idea. One that that includes your drawings, notes, all assignments made in class, journal entries, raw data, raw analyses, survey notes, interview notes, pictures and graphics etc. Also jot down the names, eMail addresses, cell phone numbers and other and contact information of your team partners and study buddies.
§ Students will not be allowed to use cell phones or MP3 players during exams.
§ Make-up exams
In rare instances and for extraordinary circumstances, a makeup lecture exam may be required / allowed. You must call (253-3190) or e-mail me @ [] before the exam in order to be allowed to make-up the exam! You will NOT be allowed to make-up a lecture exam if you contact me after the exam. Make-up exams will be given within a reasonable period before or after the exact date of that exam as mutually agreed to by the instructor, the testing center and the student. It is your responsibility to make arrangements for scheduling a make-up exam. If you fail to do so, you will receive a zero for the missed exam. Reports and presentations will not be accepted for credit after the agreed upon time and date they are due. Computer crashes, software malfunctions, printer problems, car, or traffic problems, which can occur, and are very real and likely, are NOT excusable rational for turning your assignments in late! Plan ahead for likeliness of challenges which face everyone. Late assignments are penalized by 10% for each week, they are submitted past the due date.
Ethics
§ Professional Conduct and Communication are expected.
Formal and professional conduct is expected of you at all times in lecture, lab and on campus. Your practice of study, communication, politic, inter-personal and group interaction skills, generally accepted and expected of a science-professional, begins and / or continuously improves in this class. Pro-actively shared, cooperative assistance is highly valued in the professional setting because it is a critical factor in providing quality health care and quality science. Because unprofessional, disruptive, and / or rude behavior demonstrated by you is harmful to the quality of work product in the professional setting to which you aspire, its demonstration in this educational setting toward anyone, including me, is unacceptable and will result in your immediate discharge from the classroom / lab. Your grade will be negatively affected based upon the severity of the offense.
§ Cheating / Plagiarism - Cheating / Plagiarism are not tolerated in any form.
Cheating defined:
§ Copying, in part or in whole, from another’s test or other evaluation instrument or obtaining answers from another person during the test.
§ Submitting work previously presented in another course, if contrary to the rules of either course.
§ Using or consulting, sources or materials not authorized by the instructor during an examination
§ Altering or interfering with grading or grading instructions
§ Sitting for an examination by a surrogate, or as a surrogate
§ Any other act committed by a student in the course of his or her academic work, which defrauds or misrepresents, including aiding or abetting in any of the actions defined above
§ Talking or consulting during the test with another person
§ Giving other students information that allows the student an undeserved advantage on an exam, such as telling a peer what to expect on a make-up exam or prepping a student for a test in another section of the same class
§ Plagiarism defined:
§ The act of incorporating the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs or parts thereof, or the specific substance of another’s work, without giving appropriate credit, and representing the product as one’s own work
§ Representing another’s artistic/scholarly or similar works as one’s own
§ Plagiarism may either be deliberate or unintentional, but it must be avoided with all due diligence.
§ Consequences of academic dishonesty, un-acceptable behavior:
Upon the first infraction of academic dishonesty, the instructor may do one or more of the following:
§ Give a lower or failing grade on the assignment or exam
§ Give a lower or Fail grade in the course
§ Refer the student to the Vice President of Student Services for student disciplinary action.
In the event of a second infraction, upon consultation with the division chair, the instructor may do one or more of the following:
§ Fail the student from the course
§ Refer the student to the Vice President of Student Services for student disciplinary action
Important Dates:
§ FEB 5TH Last day to drop a class without receiving a “W”
§ FEB 19TH Last day to request Credit/No Credit grading
§ APR 30 TH Last day to drop a class with a “W”
§ Note: A letter grade must be assigned for any class not dropped by this date. It is the student’s responsibility to drop a class through the registration office.
§ NOTE: It is the student's responsibility to fill out the appropriate forms in order to be dropped from the course. Do not assume that the instructor will drop you from the course if you stop attending class. If you stop attending the class, and if you fail to officially drop the course by filing for drop within the appropriate period, and with the Records Office, you will receive a grade of Fail in the course.
Special Needs:
§ Students with learning disabilities, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact Diagnostic Learning Services in LLRC to schedule an appointment with a Learning Disabilities Specialist as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Authorization from Special Services is required before any accommodation can be made. Accommodations for physical or other types of disabilities should schedule a time to meet with the Counseling Department in the Administration building.