Laboratory Syllabus and Exercise Schedule BIOB 101, Sec 1Fall 2015

Laboratory meets in NS202,details below. Lab Manual: Discovering Biology: aSymbiosisLaboratory Guide.

Office hours: NS (BOT) 115 by appointment – but please come by ANYTIME

Email:

Laboratory Course Content: BIOB 101 lab exercises are designed to accomplish 3 primary objectives: 1) help you understand more completely, in an on-hands fashion, fundamental principles of biology, 2) cultivate your self-directed, inquisitive, and experiment-based learning abilities, and 3) experience a collaborative and communication-based learning/work environment. In most cases the lab exercises will overlap completely with lecture material. Sometimes, however, lab investigations parallel or expand further on lecture topics. In both cases you will be provided with background information during the “Introduction” period of a lab session and materials distributed outside labs.

Student Expectations: BIOB 101 laboratory students are expected to follow some basic course conditions:

  • Arrive on time for lab
  • Come to lab prepared for the investigation by reading over the lab beforehand. You will likely do better on quizzes if you’ve read that day’s material before coming to lab.
  • Work in self-motivated but collaborative fashion with other individuals in your investigation group.
  • Attend the full 2-hour session, as your instructor may present summary statements at the close of lab. Further, each student is expected to help in lab clean-up and reorganization at the close of lab.
  • LABS CANNOT BE MADE-UP BEFORE OR AFTER THEIR SCHEDULED WEEK. If you must miss your scheduled lab, contact me ASAP so that I can arrange for you to attend another TA’s lab. Do not simply show up to another section.

Grading: Your grade in BIOB 101 Laboratory will be determined as follows.

  • Weekly quizzes. A quiz will be given at the start of each lab that covers the previous week’s activities and maytouch on the current week’s material. Each quiz is worth 10 points.
  • Completion of 2 lab reports that summarize a specific lab investigation. Labs eligible for reports are denoted by an asterisk (*) in the schedule below. Please note that only 3 labs are eligible! Each report is worth 15 points. Lab reports are due the week after they are performed.
  • Completion of 1 research paper on a topic of your choice related to and complementary to any of the lab exercises scheduled for this semester. I will provide guidance on research paper format and library/internet research tools. 20 points.
  • Bioethics presentation. Up to 30 points can be accrued by the quality of your (with partner) Bioethics Presentation at end of semester. I will describe this assignment in class.
  • Additional points (up to 15) can be obtained by adherence to the above-listed Student Expectations.

Note: the grade you earn in lab is based on points accrued as described above; this numerical value is factored into (33%) your overall grade for BIOB 101.

Personal Notes: I can’t speak for other TAs, but there are a few things you can do to help your grade in my sections.

  1. First and foremost I want you all to have FUN and do WELL in the course. I will do everything I can to provide the tools necessary for each of you to enjoy yourselves andearn an A.
  2. I will give out and collect quizzes during the first 10ish minutes of class. If you arrive late, I’ll still give you a quiz, but I collect all quizzes at the same time, which means you may not have time to finish the quiz if you arrive late. Remember, there are no make-up quizzes (see above).
  3. If you have any problems with the course’s subject matter (e.g., concepts, writing, performance of quizzes, etc.) or if you know in advance that you will miss a lab (e.g., wedding, funeral, surgery, etc.), see me sooner rather than later. I am very reasonable about conflicts discussed BEFOREHAND, but much less so after the fact.
  4. I expect your lab reports and research papers to be of high quality – maybe even higher than you’re accustomed to. Professional quality clarity, sentence structure, spelling, handwriting, and grammar are required. Translation: your grades on writing assignments could be lower than you’re used to. Need help writing? Turn in a rough draft or two and we’ll work through revisions together! I WANT YOU TO EARN AN A!
  5. Make sure your email is current on Moodle/Cyberbear!! I often use email and/or Moodle to provide additional materials that will help explain concepts and make labs run more efficiently. It is your responsibility to make sure you receive these materials.
  6. Regularly monitor your grades on Moodle. It is YOUR responsibility to alert me of issues with grades. I readily own up to grading mistakes and will be very accommodating if you convincingly demonstrate that I’ve made one.
  7. Cheating: pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease don’t do it. I have to file reports, you fail assignments, and it’s just a nightmare for everyone. In addition, cheating robs you of honor and integrity. It isn’t worth it.

Lab Schedule

Date / Title
31 Aug / First week of classes (No Labs)
07 Sep / Lab introduction
14 Sep / Microscope lab
21 Sep / Study of pond water
28 Sep / Eukaryotic cells
5 Oct / Diffusion, osmosis, tonicity*
12 Oct / Mitosis: cell reproduction, cloning, cancer
19 Oct / Digestion, respiration*
26 Oct / Photosynthesis*
02 Oct / Microbes in the environment
09 Nov / Veterans Day (No Labs)
16 Nov / Microbes in the environment cont.
23 Nov / Thanksgiving(No Labs; work on Bioethics Presentations)
30 Nov / Bioethics presentations
07 Dec / Bioethics presentationscont.