Instructor: Prof. M. Montes-Matias
E-mail: MMontes-Matias@citytech.cuny.edu; marie.c.montes@gmail.com
Phone: 718-260-5129
Office Hours: Tuesdays 10-11am; 1-2pm (In person)
***Additional office hours by special arrangement****
Office Location: P313 (3rd floor of the Pearl building)
Textbook: Biology, by Sylvia Mader, 10th Ed., McGraw-Hill Publisher
COURSE OUTLINE:
This is a hybrid course, where 30-40% of the meetings will be held on line. This syllabus will provide detailed information of meeting dates and location. The course is divided into three parts; following each part there will be a written examination on the material covered in class. In addition, there will be 3 online quizzes and a term paper (details will be posted later in the semester). Specifically, students will be tested on the basis on their scores of 2 midterms, a final, 3 online quizzes and a term paper. The outline below indicates the chapters that will be covered in each part, to be used as a studying material. Further studying material may be posted on Blackboard and OpenLab by the Professor.
GRADING POLICY:
This is the lecture component of the BIO1201 course, and its final grade will account for 60% towards the overall BIO1201 grade. The remaining 40% of the final grade will be determined according to the student’s performance in the laboratory component of the course. As already mentioned, the lecture score will be calculated on the basis of a total three exams in class, three online quizzes and a term paper.
Quiz 1: 5% Midterm 1: 25%
Quiz 2: 5% Midterm 2: 25%
Quiz 3: 5% Final Exam: 30%
Term Paper: 5%
Total 100%
Make-Up Exams: Make-ups for the online quizzes and Midterms MAY be given ONLY ONCE, provided the student has a valid excuse (medical or death with written proof) for having missed the given deadline. Notably, there won’t be any make-ups for the Final exam. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Bonus/Penalty Points: Finally, note that in-class participation will be accounted for each student’s evaluation at the end of the semester. Bonus points will be given to students that show high and meaningful participation in class and that comply with the attendance policies (see next section). Also, the professor may assign bonus points in other circumstances that will be described in class (discussion board, presentations, writing assignments). On the other hand, penalty points will be assigned to students with disruptive behavior, who don’t comply with the attendance rules and who don’t behave properly in class (examples of improper behavior include listening to music, text-messaging and in general playing with cell phones, talking, napping). Note that bonus/penalty points are the equivalent to one point of the total score.
ATTENDANCE POLICIES:
Absences: According to college and departmental policies, students are entitled to a maximum number of absences equal to 10% of the number of lectures in a given course. This means that BIO1201 students will be entitled to a maximum of 3 absences. If a student misses more than 3 classes, he/she will receive a WU (for Unofficial Withdrawal) grade at the end of the semester, corresponding to a failing grade. Note that no exceptions will be made.
Lateness: Students coming in late are very disruptive. Your instructor will give you a “late grace period” of 5 minutes from the moment that class starts. After that, a student will be marked as “late”. Moreover, three late marks will be counted as one absent mark. Finally, a student that is more than 20’ late will be marked as absent for that lecture and students won’t be allowed in the classroom. Since this is a hybrid course, your instructor will track your participation on blackboard. Online meetings are schedule for some Thursdays. You will have until midnight of the Sunday after to do your work online. In case you fail to do so, you will be marked as absent. Since this course provides you a lot of flexibility, there will be no concessions. You must log-in at least three times a week. This will also accounts for your attendance and failure to login will result in an absence mark.
Absences without excuses will be penalized.
1 absence- -2 exam points
2 absences- -5 exam points
3 absences- -8 exam points
Attendance Sheet: The Professor will pass around an attendance sheet at the beginning of class. Students will need to sign next to their names and pass the sheet along. After the 5′ grace period, the sheet will be collected by the Professor, and students who come late to class will need to sign the sheet at the end of the lecture. Failure to sign the sheet will cause students to be marked absent.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Academic dishonesty occurs when individuals plagiarize or cheat in the course of their academic work.
Plagiarism is the presenting of someone else’s ideas without proper credit or attribution. These ideas could come from:
1. Information obtained from books, journals or other printed sources.
2. The work of other students or of faculty.
3. Information from the Internet.
4. Software programs or other electronic material.
5. Designs produced by other students or faculty.
Cheating is the unauthorized use or attempted use of material, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise. Examples of cheating include:
1. Copying from another student during an examination or allowing another to copy your work.
2. Unauthorized collaboration on a take-home assignment or examination.
3. Using notes during a closed-book examination.
4. Taking an examination for another student, or asking or allowing another student to take an examination for you.
5. Changing a graded exam and returning it for more credit.
6. Submitting substantial portions of the same paper to more than one course without consulting each instructor.
7. Preparing answers or writing notes in an exam manual before an examination.
8. Allowing others to research and write assigned papers or do assigned projects, including the use of commercial term paper services.
9. Giving assistance to acts of academic misconduct/dishonesty.
10.Fabricating data (in whole or in part).
11.Falsifying data (in whole or in part).
12.Unauthorized use during an examination of electronic or wireless, handheld devices, including computers or other technologies to retrieve or send information during an exam.
LAB INSTRUCTOR’S NAME:
It is EXTREMELY important that each student communicates the name of his/her lab instructor to the lecture professor and vice-versa. Students that will communicate the name of their lab professor by the second lecture will earn a bonus point. Students that will fail to communicate the name of their lab professor by the fifth lecture will receive one penalty point for every day that will pass without the professor knowing the name of their lab instructor.
BLACKBOARD and OPENLAB:
Since this is a hybrid course, the use of Blackboard, OpenLab and their components is essential. Blackboard will be used on a regular basis by the lecture professor for lecturing, to post course materials, comments and various announcements. Each student is required to log in at least twice a week and your professor will monitor this information often. Not logging in as specified, will result in an absent mark and will follow its penalties. Participation is essential and your instructor will track your participation constantly. It is important to have an OpenLab account and join the course group.
(If you are not familiar with Blackboard and/or OpenLab or if you have technical problems with the log-in process, notify your instructor IMMEDIATELY).
Also, students are required to have an e-mail address registered on the Blackboard website. An updated email is necessary for students to be reachable by the Professor at all times for various announcements.
DETAILED CLASS SCHEDULE:
Lecture |
Meeting Date |
Meeting Place |
Class Material |
1 |
Jan 31 |
N402 |
Overview of the course General characteristics of living organisms Taxonomy and Systematics |
2 |
Feb 2 |
N402 |
Reproduction strategies Cellularity: uni– vs. multicellular Feeding habits: heterotrophs and autotrophs |
3 |
Feb 7 |
N402 |
Viruses, non-cellular organisms Virus structure and organization Viral life cycles (phages, retroviruses) |
4 |
Feb 9 |
Online |
Prokaryotes: general characteristics Bacteria vs. Archaea Prokaryotes reproduction, methods of recombination |
5 |
Feb 14 |
N402 |
The kingdom Protista: general characteristics Algae, Protozoans, Slime and Water Molds |
Online Quiz 1 |
|||
6 |
Feb 16 |
N402 |
The kingdom Fungi: general characteristics Fungal sexual reproduction stages Zygospore, Ascospore and Basidiospore fungi |
7 |
Feb 23 |
Online |
The kingdom Plantae: general characteristics Alternation of generation: how plants reproduce Main steps in plants evolution: vascular tissue, seed, flower Mosses, Ferns |
8 |
Feb 28 |
N402 |
Gymnosperm vs. Angiosperms (Mono- and Eudicots) Plants tissues and vegetative organs |
9 |
March 1 |
Online |
Structure of roots, stems and leaves |
10 |
March 6 |
N402 |
Plant Nutrition and Soil Composition |
11 |
March 8 |
N402 |
Midterm 1 |
12 |
March 13 |
N402 |
The kingdom Animalia: general characteristics Criteria for animal classification |
13 |
March 15 |
Online |
Phylum Porifera, Cnidaria and Platyhelmintes |
14 |
March 20 |
N402 |
Phylum Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda and Echinodermata |
Online Quiz 2 |
|||
15 |
March 22 |
Online |
Vertebrates, General Characteristics and Introduction to Tissues |
16 |
March 27 |
N402 |
Epidermal, Connective, Muscular and Nervous Tissue |
17 |
March 29 |
Online |
Organs, organs systems and homeostasis Maintenance of Internal Balance |
18 |
April 3 |
N402 |
Midterm 2 |
19 |
April 5 |
Online |
The cardiovascular system: general characteristics Blood vessels: structure and function |
20 |
April 17 |
N402 |
The heart: structure and function Mechanisms of heartbeat generation Diseases of the circulatory system |
21 |
April 19 |
Online |
The lymphatic system: general characteristics Lymphatic Vessels and Organs |
Term Paper is due!!! |
|||
22 |
April 24 |
N402 |
The concept of immunity (innate vs. acquired) |
23 |
April 26 |
Online |
The digestive system: general characteristics Main and Accessory organs of the digestive system The process of digestion: proteins, carbohydrates and Lipids |
24 |
May 1 |
N402 |
The nervous system: general characteristics Central nervous system |
25 |
May 3 |
Online |
The nervous system: Peripheral nervous system The senses |
Online Quiz 3 |
|||
26 |
May 8 |
N402 |
The respiratory system: general characteristics The path of air. |
27 |
May 10 |
N402 |
The Respiratory System: External and internal Respiration |
28 |
May 15 |
N402 |
The endocrine system: general characteristics Hormones as chemical signals, main glands Positive and negative feedback systems |
29 |
May 17 |
Online |
The urinary system: general characteristics The process of excretion, How urine is formed |
30 |
May 22 |
Classroom |
Final Exam |
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