Course Syllabus
BIOLOGY 100 – General Biology
We have an exciting semester planned for Biology 100. Along the way you’ll learn the fundamental biological ideas behind atopic range of topics so you can be more well informed about how and why behind the science of biology.
Course Description: This is an introductory course for non-majors emphasizing the scientific method in investigating the origins, physiology, ecological roles, and comparative characteristics of living organisms.
Diversity and Inclusion Statements: In an ideal world, science would be objective. However, much of science is subjective and is historically built on a small subset of privileged voices. I acknowledge that the readings for this course were authored by white men. Furthermore, the course often draws examples from investigations that were mostly conducted by white men. I acknowledge that there may be both overt and covert biases in the material due to the lens with which it was written, even though the material is primarily scientific. Integrating a diverse set of experiences is important for a more comprehensive understanding of science. Please contact me (in person or electronically) or submit anonymous feedback if you have any suggestions to improve the quality of the course materials.
Furthermore, I would like to create a learning environment for my students that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, and honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.) To help accomplish this:
-If you have a name and/or set of pronouns that differ from those that appear in your official SBVC records, please let me know!
-If you feel like your performance in the class is being impacted by your experiences outside of class, please don’t hesitate to come and talk with me. I want to be a resource for you. Science Division Interim Dean Dr. Stephanie Lewis is an excellent resource if you prefer to speak with someone outside of the course.
-I am still learning about diverse perspectives and identities. If something was said in class that made you feel uncomfortable, please talk to me about it.
This is a four-unit class. It consists of 48 - 54 contact hours per semester of lecture time and 48 - 54 contact hours per semester of lab time. This does not include study time outside of class time.
Associate Degree Applicable. Transfers to both UC/CSU.
Prerequisite Advisory: ENGL 101 or eligibility for ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H as determined by the SBVC assessment process.
This syllabus, its contents, and the appended schedule are subject to change based on circumstances. All changes will be clearly communicated to students.
This course has me, Professor Burnham, as your lecture instructor. Each section has as a different lab instructor. We are a team that works together to help you succeed.
- Consult the lab instructors syllabus and Schedule for Lab Component Information
You can locate me three ways:
Email: lburnham@valleycollege.edu Office Phone: (909) 384-8561 Office: HLS 210
I hold student hours (formerly office hours) in-person or via Zoom Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7am to 8am or via zoom as requested
Required Communication:
- Access to Canvas is required: by using your unique userID and unique password to access your campus email account and Canvas, you are affirming that you are the person registered for the course, the person doing the work for the course, and the person getting the credit for the course. It is a violation of the academic honesty and intellectual integrity policies of SBVC to log in to someone else's account and pretend to be that person.
- Course material, such as lecture PowerPoints, lab exercise presentations, and worksheets must be downloaded from Canvas.
- The best way to reach me is by emailing me directly at: lburnham@valleycollege.edu
- Emails can also be sent to me and your classmates through Canvas.
- I will reply within 24 hours or sooner to emails sent Monday - Thursday between 8am – 5pm and within 24 to 48 hours to any communication sent outside those times. If I do not reply within this time, please resend your email.
- Announcements that come to you by email do not have videos or images that may be in the Canvas version of the announcement. All course announcements are archived and can be accessed via the “Announcements” link in the course navigation menu.
- Participation in Canvas Discussion Boards will be required. Contribute regularly to discussion boards to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas. Some Discussion Boards will be assigned and others will count towards participation points.
- Customize your Canvas notification to how and when you would like to receive notifications from the course. Having announcements sent directly to your email or texts is strongly suggested.
- Chromebooks and hotspots may be checked out from the library.
Biology 100 Core Competencies, Course Objectives, and Student Learning Outcomes
Core Competencies
The college has identified a list of Core Competencies which are learning, cultural, and behavioral qualities or characteristics that are common to the educated person. The following is a list of Core Competencies appropriate to this Biology course:
Communication: 1.4 Employ the vocabulary of the subject studied
Information Competency: 2.1 Find and interpret information
Critical Thinking: 3.4 Apply learned knowledge to new situations
Critical Thinking: 3.5 Apply principles of scientific reasoning to solve problems
COURSE OBJECTIVES FOR STUDENTS:
Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
- Develop and apply reliable strategies of biological information literacy to evaluate scientific claims and situations requiring decision-making, problem-solving, and of acquiring knowledge.
- Integrate evolution in all aspects of biology, including at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels.
- Evaluate biodiversity at the evolutionary, molecular, cellular, organismal, and community levels and relate to modern society aspects.
- Practice scientific thinking, processes, and methodologies to explore nature and human issues, while recognizing evidence-based logic, scientific uncertainty, and the limits of science.
- Apply modern technology and biotechnology to build knowledge, inform policy, address societal issues, and provide culturally appropriate solutions.
- Perform laboratory and outdoor classroom (Living Lab Garden and Oak Garden) experiences to connect numerical and qualitative evidence with biological concepts and real-world applications.
- Recognize racial, ethnic, gender, cultural, environmental, and socioeconomic issues as they may intersect with biological concepts and impact our local, state, and global communities.
- Recognize Eurocentric views and practices of biological science while exploring modern equitable scientific efforts and multicultural contributors to biological research.
- Evaluate ecosystems, their dynamics and services, and ethical perspectives of the environment.
- Collaborate with peers and faculty to analyze and discuss biological concepts and their impacts.
- Identify and implement characteristics and strategies of a growth mindset through lecture and laboratory activities and assessments.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- LECTURE: Explain the relationship of a biological concept to inequities in our community in an exam essay question of higher-order Bloom’s taxonomy.
- LECTURE: Identify the interconnection of biology, everyday life, and information literacy using a metacognitive reading analysis worksheet on a contemporary secondary or tertiary science article of their choice.
- LAB: Employ scientific thinking and methodologies by creating a research proposal based on outdoor and/or laboratory animal observations.
Disclaimer:
This syllabus is subject to change.
Lecture:
- Read, discuss, and critically evaluate biological information based on principles of scientific methods and research design.
- Demonstrate an understanding of basic vocabulary and concepts of biology at the cellular, genetic, organismal, evolutionary, and ecosystem levels.
- Compare and contrast basic anatomical, physiological, and ecological features of living organisms.
- Illustrate how the application of basic biological concepts relates to human health and ecosystem issues.
- Describe how natural selection works and impacts biological systems.
Lab:
- Create simple scientific hypotheses and generate questions from biological observations.
- Collect qualitative and quantitative scientific data using basic biological measurement tools such as metric rulers, analytical balances, thermometers, and microscopes.
- Manipulate and interpret biological data by organizing data tables, calculating averages, preparing graphs, and evaluating results.
- Prepare laboratory reports in a scientific report format.
Course Materials and Resources:
The course will use various tools to help you learn. You are responsible for all items below:
Canvas: You must have access to Canvas. Canvas is a webpage where instructors place course materials, including assignments, reading materials, and announcements. There will also be some quizzes or assignments on Canvas.
Textbook: We will be using Biology by Raven as our course textbook. It is a free online textbook available through the “McGraw-HIll” link on Canvas. You are required to do all readings and assignments in each module.
Supplemental Lecture Packet: Readings found on Canvas.
Lab Packet: Please consult the lab section for information on your lab materials.
Assignments: there will be a combination of online and paper assignments. You must have internet access to complete online assignments.
If you have trouble accessing Canvas, contact: https://support.valleycollege.edu/
Attendance Policies:
It is important we hold ourselves accountable to the material. Attendance will be taken in lab and monitored on Canvas, and will be counted as an absence if you are late or leave early without a documented reason.
Behavioral Policies:
A good course is much like an ecosystem – we must all work together to ensure each other’s success. This means being attentive to our behavior, remembering to be respectful and courteous to students and professors.
Professors reserve the right to ask a student to leave the class for disruptive behavior.
Academic Integrity:
I place a high standard on academic integrity. Cheating on assignments, quizzes, and exams will result in a zero to all parties involved. Allowing someone else to copy your exams or classwork will get both parties zeros.
Every student will be held accountable for upholding SBVC’s Academic Standards and Policies: https://catalog.valleycollege.edu/academic-standards-policies/
Campus policy defines cheating as
- Obtaining information from another student during an examination.
- Communicating information to another student during an examination.
- Knowingly allowing another student to copy one’s work.
- Offering another person’s work as one’s own.
- Taking an examination for another student or having someone take an examination for oneself.
- Sharing answers for a take-home examination unless specifically authorized by the instructor.
- Using unauthorized material during an examination.
- Altering a graded examination or assignment and returning it for additional credit. ● Having another person or a company do the research and/or writing of an assigned paper or report.
- Misreporting or altering the data in laboratory or research projects.
- Collusion: when any student knowingly or intentionally helps another student perform an act of academic dishonesty.
Plagiarism is not allowed. Presenting someone else’s written material (your classmate’s work or text from a book or online) as your own is a form of cheating called “plagiarism.” Turning in a writing assignment copied from another source, or that is written by someone other than yourself, will result in a zero for that assignment. Copying even a portion of a sentence is considered plagiarism.
If you are caught cheating in any way, you will receive a zero on that work (assignment, quiz, or exam) and you will forfeit any chance to make up the lost points. When I have to lower a score due to cheating, an Academic Integrity report will be filed, and this could result in further disciplinary measures, such as academic probation or suspension.
What happens if someone violates these policies?
We must each strive to create and promote an authentic and honest community to pursue knowledge and aim to achieve academic excellence. If you believe that a member in our community has violated these academic integrity policies, please report concerns to me immediately by email. In your email - indicate the violation and include specific evidence. All concerns will be addressed promptly and appropriately. All reported concerns and individuals will be confidential.
Make-Up Quiz/Exam and Late Assignments:
Make up quizzes and exams are allowed ONLY with a documented excuse. The student must then take the exam at a time prior to the corrected and graded exam or quiz is returned to the class that is suitable for both the professor and the student requiring the make-up.
Assignments (online or on paper) submitted past the due date will be deducted 10% of the possible score for each day late. For example, if you would have received all ten points on a ten-point assignment that submitted late by two days, you can now only earn a maximum of eight points – each day was 10% off the total possible score.
There are no make-ups for labs. These are experiences we engage in with our class, and are thus not possible to recreate.
Should you miss lecture, you are responsible for the material.
Scoring Grievances and Rescoring:
If you feel you should have earned more points for a quiz, exam, or assignment you must do the following:
- On a separate piece of paper indicate what part of the quiz, exam, or assignment you would like the professor to rescore.
- Indicate your reasoning. If you feel the professor is incorrect, locate the portion of the book or lecture material that supports your reasoning.
- Submit this form along with the original quiz, exam, or assignment to the professor within the week of it being handed back to you.
Points and Grading:
This course gives students different types of opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge. Each of these opportunities will have a set of points assigned to them.
Lab Reports: Points to be determined by lab instructor
Lab Assignments: Type of assignment and points to be determined by lab instructor
There will be no extra credit unless the lecture instructor deems it necessary. Please do not ask – the instructor will indicate if and when it is available.
Grading follows a standard format, and the professors reserve the right to either curve or not.
Grading range (% based): 100 – 94 = A; 93.99 – 82= B; 82.99 – 70 = C; 69.99 – 58 = D; 7.99 and lower = F
Our wonderful campus has many resources to help you.
Tutoring and Academic Support:
Academic Success Center: Valley College Academic Success Center provides a variety of tutoring options for STEM courses. Remote tutoring is available! Please contact the Tutoring Center to find out more: https://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/tutoring-academic-support/student-success-center/
Library: The library provides access to online databases, as well as al great team of librarians and staff: https://library.valleycollege.edu/
Writing Center: The writing center offers many resources by staff to support and enhance student skills in reading writing in all disciplines: https://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/tutoring-academic-support/writing-center/
Student Accessibility Services: SAS coordinates all academic accommodations for students with disabilities. If this applies to you, be sure to contact SAS (located at Student Services Bldg, Rm 105 at (909) 384-4443 or https://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/specialized-counseling-services/student-accessibility-services/index.php
If you are already registered with DSPS and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can assist you in a timely manner. I do not make accommodations after an assignment or exam has been completed if you do not alert me beforehand.
Student Health Services: https://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/specialized-counseling-services/health-services/
Counseling Services: SBVC has many focused counseling services and programs available to assist and promote your success: https://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/counseling/
MESA-STEM Program: provide a series of resources and workshops for science and allied health majors https://stem.valleycollege.edu/mesa/
Student Well-being and Safety: Valley College is committed to supporting the physical and mental health of all our students. If you or another student you know needs support, please do not hesitate to use the following resources:
Campus Safety & Security (non-emergencies): (909)-384-4491
Title IX Information and Website: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs, including athletic programs, or activities that receive federal funding. For more information, please go to https://www.valleycollege.edu/contact-sbvc/.
| Tentative Lecture Schedule | |
| 2/13-3/3 | Getting a Great Start |
| 3/3-3/13 | Molecular Basics of Life |
| 3/13-3/30 | Biology of the Cell |
| 3/30-4/10 | Energy Sources and the Use and Role of DNA in Reproduction |
| 4/10-4/20 | Evolution |
| 4/20-4/30 | Diversity of Life on Earth |
| 4/30-5/10 | Animal Form and Function |
| 5/10-5/20 | Ecology and Behavior |
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|