Term

Summer 2009

Instructors

Dr. Stephen Burnett (24408, 24409) phone: 678-466-4774 fax: 678-466-4797 e-mail: sburnett@clayton.edu internet address: http://a-s.clayton.edu/burnett/ Office:  Administration Building, room A26A Office hours:  Mondays and Wednesdays 1:05 - 2:35 pm, some lab times, and by appointment. During office hours, I will be in one of three locations:  A26A (my office), the biology labs (C23, C29, or C32) or the research labs (C60 & C62).  If I am not in my office, I will leave a note on my office door indicating where I can be found.

Class meetings:

Required textbook information:

Van de Graaf and Crawley (2005).  A photographic atlas for the biology laboratory, 5th edition.  Morton Publishing Co.

Victoria E. McMillan.  Writing papers in the biological sciences, 4th edition.  Bedford/St. Martin's.  New York.

Simbiotic Software bundle.  Contains software CD and laboratory workbooks for the following experiments (bundle is available from the bookstore):

• Darwinian Snails
• Flowers and Trees
• Sickle-cell Alleles
• Keystone Predator

A lab notebook to record observations and experimental hypotheses, protocols, and results.

Recommended textbook information

BIOL 1108L DVD set - this will be available for purchase from the Clayton State Science Association.  Check with your instructor for more information.

Evaluation and grading:

Tentatively, the points will be distributed as follows:

Item	Points
3 practical exams	150
Lab reports/assignments/quizzes	100
Attendance & participation	20
TOTAL	270

Attendance/participation points will be given partly for attending lab on time and partly for taking part in the activities each week.  Allowing other students in your group to perform all the activities will result in you losing points, so it is in your best interest to remain involved in all laboratories.  Inappropriate behavior during lab may result in loss of these points for the offending student(s).

Your final grade will be determined as follows:

Grade	Points
A	243- 270 (90-100%)
B	216 - 242 (80-89%)
C	189 - 215 (70-79%)
D	162 - 188 (60-69%)
F	Below  points

The mid-term grade in this course which will be issued by June 22nd, reflects approximately 25% of the entire course grade.  Based on this grade, students may choose to withdraw from the course and receive a grade of "W."  Students pursuing this option must withdraw from the course using the DUCK or fill out an official withdrawal form, available in the Office of the Registrar, by mid-term, which occurs on June 26th.

Course schedule

The course schedule is listed on a separate page.  Be sure to check it often to keep track of any changes in the due dates of assignments and exams during the semester.  Due dates for assignments may be changed at the instructor's discretion.  You are responsible for keeping track of due dates and turning in your work when it is required.

Course policies:

General policies

Changes or additions to this syllabus, including readings, exam dates, grading, and course policies can be made at the discretion of the instructor at any time.  If such changes are made, they will be posted on the announcements section of the instructor's web page.

General data from this course may be used by the instructor for research on improved methods of teaching, leading to presentation or publication.  Data that would be used for this purpose would consist of anonymous data, with no identifying information from particular students (e.g., the overall average for the course, NOT grades from particular students).  If you do not wish for your instructor to include your data in such studies, fill out the withdrawal of consent form and bring it to your instructor.

Students must abide by policies in the Clayton State University Student Handbook.  Students are also expected to abide by the guidelines in the "Basic Student Responsibilities" document.  Of particular concern is any sort of disruptive behavior where a student is not showing proper respect to the instructor or other students in the class.  Such behavior will not be tolerated and a student engaged in such behavior will be required to leave the class, forfeiting any points that are associated with that day's activity.  The ability of the student to return to class is determined by the instructor, based on the severity of the disruption, and can range from missing the current class period up to administrative withdrawal from the course.  In addition, charges may be filed with the Office of Judicial Affairs.

Grades will not be communicated by phone or email - graded materials can only be picked up by the individual to whom they belong.

Visitors (friends, children, etc.) are strictly prohibited from attending lab - there are no exceptions to this rule.

No smoking, eating or drinking is permitted at any time in the classroom.

Academic integrity

Cheating in any form will not be tolerated; all work that you turn in must be in your own words and must be your own work.  If your brainpower did not generate what you turn in, it is considered cheating.  Cheating includes, but is not limited to: falsifying any information submitted on course assignments, copying the work of another person, allowing another person to do your assignment, allowing another student to copy your work, working in a group on a graded item that is not intended as group work, copying or closely paraphrasing referenced sources, using anything but your brainpower on an exam, etc.  Misconduct in any form will result in a zero on the assignment for all involved students and academic misconduct forms may be filed with the Office of Student Conduct for any violation.  Judicial procedures are described on the webpage of the Office of Student Conduct.

Disruption of the Learning Environment

Behavior which disrupts the teaching–learning process during class activities will not tolerated. This includes belligerent, abusive, profane, and/or threatening behavior. A student who fails to respond to reasonable faculty direction regarding classroom behavior and/or behavior while participating in classroom activities may be dismissed from class.

    Examples of disruptive behavior:

    Common examples of behaviors that may be disruptive include, but are not limited to:

• Refusal to comply with faculty direction
• Monopolizing classroom discussions
• Talking when the instructor or others are speaking
• Failing to respect the rights of other students to express their viewpoints
• Constant questions or interruptions that interfere with the instructor’s presentation
• Creating excessive noise
• Use of electronic devices (pagers, iPods, MP3 players, or cell phones) in the classroom without the instructor’s approval
• Overt inattentiveness (e.g., sleeping or reading the paper in class)
• Inordinate or inappropriate demands for time or attention
• Routinely entering the class late or leaving early without instructor permission.
• Leaving and re-entering the class during lecture.
• Verbally abusing an instructor or student (i.e. cursing or extremely loud talking directed at a particular person)
• Threatening to physically harm an instructor or student through verbal or body gestures.
• Intimidating through body gestures and/or posture.

Students exhibiting these types of behaviors can expect a warning from the instructor or dismissal for the class period in which the behavior occurred.  Failure to correct such behaviors can result in dismissal from the course.

     More extreme examples of disruptive behavior include, but are not limited to:

• Use of profanity or pejorative language
• Intoxication
• Verbal abuse (e.g., taunting, badgering, intimidation)
• Harassment
• Threats to harm oneself or others
• Physical violence

A student who is dismissed from a course for unacceptable and/or disruptive behavior is entitled to due process and will be afforded such rights within 3 class days following dismissal. If found in violation after the review process, the student’s dismissal will be upheld and a grade of WF may be issued for the course.

Conditions attributed to physical or psychological disabilities are not considered as a legitimate excuse for disruptive behavior.

Attendance

You are expected to attend all class meetings and be on time.  Attendance of all of the labs is REQUIRED and will be checked at each lab period. Unexcused absences from laboratory result in a grade of zero (0) for any graded work that was assigned that week as well as a loss of attendance points for that week's lab.  You cannot turn in assignments from a lab you missed.  Late arrivals will result in loss of attendance points for that week's lab.  There are NO exceptions to this rule.  Due to the nature of the laboratory exercises in this course, attendance at all lab meetings is vital to learn the material - any student who misses more than 50% of the lab periods (whether excused or unexcused) will be automatically withdrawn from the course.  Attendance will be taken at each class meeting by signing the class roll, so it is vital that you sign the roll sheet even if you are late!  Attendance and participation in class activities will be considered as part of your class grade.  You are expected to remain in lab for the full time, so do not schedule other appointments during this time.   

If you have a written excuse from a competent authority (doctor, judge, etc.), the missed points for the laboratory will not count against you.  Excuses will not be accepted for routine procedures (checkups, teeth cleanings, eye exams, etc).  Students should not schedule such appointments for lab times.  If you miss lab, you are still responsible for the lab material on the lab practical.  Be aware that being delayed due to traffic will NOT be accepted as a valid excuse for missing labs (including lab practicals).

There are NO makeups for lab practical exams.  If you have a VALID excuse and you miss a practical your total points in the lab will be adjusted accordingly (meaning that all the other assignments will make up a greater part of your final grade).  YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO MISS MORE THAN 1 PRACTICAL REGARDLESS OF THE EXCUSE.  MISSING MORE THAN ONE PRACTICAL IS CONSIDERED UNREASONABLE SINCE THE PRACTICALS ACCOUNT FOR THE MAJORITY OF YOUR GRADE.  FOR THE SECOND MISSED EXAM, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE A GRADE OF ZERO (0).

NOTE: Excuses for graded assignments can only be applied if you were NOT present to take the assignment.  If you take the exam/quiz, you cannot come to me and ask not to count that assignment in your grade after the fact.  In such situations, you will receive the score you earned on the assignment.  If you know of an extenuating circumstance, it is in your best interest to discuss it with your instructor ASAP.

Electronic devices

Students are REQUIRED to turn off all unnecessary electronic devices during class.  Unauthorized use of cell phones, MP3 players, etc. during class may result in confiscation of the device and loss of any points that are awarded on that day, as well as loss of additional points from your final grade, at the discretion of the instructor.  All electronic devices including cell phones, palm pilots, pagers, calculators, MP3 players, etc. are not allowed during exams or quizzes, unless specifically permitted by the instructor.  During such activities, these devices are not permitted to be in your possession at all (which means they cannot be clipped to your belt, in your pocket, etc.).  Possession and/or use of these items during an exam or quiz will result in an automatic zero on the graded activity. 

If a cell phone or other electronic device makes noise (by ringing, buzzing, etc.) and disrupts the testing environment, the instructor reserves the right to penalize the responsible student(s) by taking points from their score.

Lab exercises

You are expected to prepare for the current week's lab topic prior to lab so that you will already be familiar with the subject matter. This will enable to you to work through the lab on your own, asking the instructor when you have questions.  This process will involve reading the required sections of the lab manual, checking the web page for identification sheets or other handouts, viewing the review pages, DVDs, etc.  You are responsible for printing handouts and bringing them to lab.

Late assignments

Unless otherwise stated by your instructor, lab reports and other assignments are due at the beginning of lab on the assigned days.  Assignments that are not turned in at the beginning of lab lose 20% of their points.  They lose an additional 20% per school day.  If your instructor assigns any bonus work, then these assignments cannot be turned in late.  Electronic submission of assignments is only permitted if the instructor specifically says it is acceptable.  If it was not permitted, electronic submissions will not be accepted and your work will be considered late, losing points until I receive a printed copy of the assignment.  Printing problems are not an acceptable reason for submitting work late.  Under NO circumstances will lab reports be accepted more than one week after they are due or after I have returned the graded material to the class, whichever comes first. Turn in all of your lab materials together. No supplemental materials may be added once you have turned in you lab report or assignment.

Practical exams

The lab practicals will start at the beginning of the class period. If you come in late and the practical is still in progress, you may take the practical, but you will NOT be given any additional time to work. You must turn in your work when time is called.  If you miss the assigned lab practical time, then you must have a valid excuse or you will receive a zero for the practical.

E-mail

Each student must activate his/her e-mail account at Clayton State University. The class list serve will be the only method for communicating with the class by email.  Important announcements will be sent to the class on the class list serve.  You should also check my web page regularly for new postings. Handouts given in class and other important items will be posted on the web page for this class.

Communication from personal email accounts (e.g., Yahoo, gmail, etc.) is acceptable, as long as the following requirements are met:

1. You clearly identify yourself in the body of the email
2. You clearly identify which class you are writing to me about
3. The subject line of your email is suitably descriptive that I can tell it isn't Spam or a virus (e.g., do not send emails with a subject of "Hello", etc.)
4. You do not ask me specific questions concerning grades, as they cannot be discussed by email.

Emails that do not meet these requirements will not receive a response.

Website

Check the lab web page regularly for new postings. Handouts required for class and other important items will be posted on the web page.  Your instructor may also use WebCT for some course activities, so you should make sure you have access to your WebCT account.

This page last updated May 26, 2009