A. Malcolm Campbell's Bio111 Syllabus

Bio 111: Molecules, Genes, & Cells <www.bio.davidson.edu/bio111>

Class Meets: MWF 12:30 Chambers 1006	Lab Meets: Thursday (8:30 am or 1 pm) Watson 147
Office Hours: M & W: 3:00-4:00; Tues: 11-noon; or by appointment any day
Office: Dana 221 (through my lab, door on left)	macampbell@davidson.edu_Phone: 704-894-2692

Note: I assume that everyone has had at least high school chemistry. If you have not, this course may be very difficult for you. You should talk to me if you have not had any chemistry.

Grades:

Source of Grade	Percentage of Final Grade
3.5 exams during the semester plus 1 during finals	70%
1 quiz via Blackboard	5%
lab participation and 3 lab reports	25%
(10% of exam questions drawn from labs)	N/A
Class Participation	+/- one grade level

Grading Scale:

Conversion of Percentage to Letter Grade

	A = 100 - 95	A- = 94 - 92
B+ = 91 - 89	B = 88 - 86	B- = 85 - 83
C+ = 82 - 80	C = 79 - 77	C - = 76 - 74
D+ = 73 - 71	D = 70 - 68
	F = < 67

Attendance policy:

I will take attendance to facilitate a more objective means for assigning the class participation grade. In order to receive a passing grade in this course, you cannot miss more than 5 classes without a legitimate reason. You may not miss any labs without a legitimate reason. Legitimate reasons include illness requiring physician’s care, family emergency, etc. Unacceptable reasons include over sleeping, exam in another class, social function, etc.

Previous Exams for Dr. Campbell's Bio111:

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General Information:

You are lucky for 2 reasons:
1) biology is very exciting and in the news every day; and
2) the format for this course is very different from most others.

Although we will cover the same material a more traditional class would, we will cover the material in a different order. We will learn information in the context of interesting questions and on a “need-to-know” basis. Although it takes a little time to adjust to this format, students have enjoyed this approach and I think you will too. This approach is the same way you normally learn in your “real” life. You don’t read an encyclopedia just to learn, you look up a particular topic about which you want to know more. Therefore, we will use "Life: The Science of Biology - eighth edition" as a reference source in conjunction with the Study Guide written by several faculty members. The Study Guide contains important information as well as points to sections in Life to be read.

There are four types of reading assignments:
1) Overview Readings are for you to skim very quickly to give you the context of the chapter; and
2) Focused Readings are very specific assignments from the text book for you to read carefully and learn the material presented;
3) WWW Readings which are links to pages on the world wide web (WWW) for you to read carefully;
4) News Items which are tidbits from recent publications to show you the relevance of what we study.

There are also Study Questions that you should answer in writing, but I do not collect or grade your answers. The 4.5 exams will be drawn from the Study Questions so it is wise to answer the study questions (in writing) before the exams. The exams will be half take home closed book exams, and half in-class closed book. The answers to the take home questions are to be typed, and are due at the next class time. Exams are not to be turned in late unless you have made prior arrangements with me. Acceptable reasons for delay include: death in the family, personal illness requiring physician’s care, etc. Unacceptable reasons include: intramurals, Homecoming, Patterson Court functions, other tests or exams, etc. The exams will be distributed in class. Sometimes we will have time for a review session which is optional. You can leave and begin taking the take home portion whenever you are ready. Once you open the take-home exam, you cannot use your book, notes, or any other source other than your personal memory. The take home portion will require more thinking and writing, and you MUST type these answers. You will take the in-class portion after you turn in your exam answers at the beginning of the class period. The in-class questions will be short definitions and similarly short responses. If you arrive late, your exam is considered late and will be docked one letter grade for each 24 hour period.

The format of each class will require each of you to read that day’s assignment BEFORE you come to class. Each class will begin with a period where you can ask specific questions related to the previous day’s material or specific areas you do not understand from the current day’s assignment. We will stick closely to the schedule because there is so much to learn and so little time. Therefore, if we do not cover a topic in class, but it is covered in your Life reading or in the Study Guide, you are responsible for it. We will discuss some topics as a group, I will call on you randomly to answer a question or lead a discussion, and I will present some information in the traditional lecture format. If I call on you to answer a question, it is OK to say, “I got this part but this other section lost me.” It is not OK to say, “I didn’t read it.” I understand that some days you might fall behind a day or two but do not make this a practice since class participation is also graded.

Davidson has a special benefit for science students because you pay the same amount for courses without labs as you do for science courses with labs. This means you actually get more for your money by taking science courses than non-science courses. Economically, this course is a real bargain. It comes with a 3 hour laboratory absolutely free! However, it is not acceptable to miss this “free” lab since 25% of your grade is based upon lab. Lab will be discussed further on Thursday (we meet the second week of classes).

Finally, I do not know everything. If you think I have said something that is incorrect, please point this out. The Study Guide is a “work in progress” so please draw my attention to typos and incorrect statements. If you ask me a question that I cannot answer, I will research it and get back to you. If you have tried to understand the material but just can’t get it, then come talk to me either during my office hours or make an appointment. I am happy to work with you as much as is necessary.

Bio111 written assignments use the name-year citation format (e.g., Campbell et al., 2007). You can learn more about this at Online, a great reference for proper scientific citation style (Chapter 8). You should also learn how to investigate the quality of a WWW page and to properly cite such references.

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Honor Code

All of your tests are closed book, closed notes, closed friend exams. You do not have a time limit for these tests other than the two days, and you can take them any place you want. This form of testing is only possible because of the Honor Code. If you violate my trust in you and the Honor Code, we will have to take the tests during the 50 minutes of class. You are required to not cheat on these tests, and to report to me or the Dean of Students any violations you observe or hear about second hand. This means that even your lab partners or best friends must be reported if you know they are cheating. The entire system will break down when individuals make exceptions to the rule in order to spare their friends.

The written lab reports are to be done by everyone in the group. It is considered an Honor Code violation if someone takes credit for work he or she does not deserve. I do not expect every person to contribute precisely equally to these reports, but I do expect every person to contribute substantially. Just showing up for the meeting and bringing the food does not constitute a contribution to the report. Therefore, when you pledge your lab reports, you are pledging that everyone has contributed substantially to the lab report. You should consult the Biology Department's plagiarism web site for additional help.

The quiz is to be conducted by you without any consultation with your notes, books, or other people. It is a violation of the Honor Code to print out or save in an electronic format the quiz and/or your answers to the quiz.

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Reading Schedule

The following reading assignments are from the Study Guide. Reading assignments in Life, eighth edition, by Purves et al., are embedded in the Study Guide. All reading assignments stop after the study questions. You should print out this schedule so you can see the schedule by itself.

Lab Schedule