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COMPONENTS OF THE COURSE
This course consists of 14, four-hour laboratory/tutorial sessions, and 14
two-hour class sessions. These sessions will include a combination of
experimental exercises, presentation of material, problem solving tasks,
analysis of writing and discussion groups related to the topics under study.
LABORATORY AND TUTORIAL SESSIONS
Laboratory and tutorial sessions are interleaved through the course. Tutorials
are problem-solving sessions that you prepare ahead of time and sometimes lead.
They cover topics that are included in lecture, reading and laboratories. They
give you an opportunity to learn the material in greater depth, practice
quantitative problems and review. At the beginning of each tutorial you are
expected to hand in a copy of the written answers to all of the questions. Keep
a second copy for your use in class discussion. When you are presenting, you
will receive up to 20 points for the quality of your work.
You can download the tutorial questions from the web site if you wish to write
the answers on a computer. You will also get a tutorial participation grade. At
the beginning of each laboratory exercise you will take a quiz that covers the
material from the preceding two weeks, including material covered in tutorials.
Because the weekly lab quizzes cover both the previous lab and the current lab
exercise, you are expected to come to lab having reviewed the background
material of the current day’s lab and having read the laboratory handout. These
quizzes will be graded and each quiz will contribute towards the final course
grade.
If you miss more than two laboratory/tutorial sessions you will be dropped
from the course.
The text for the course is Animal Physiology (2nd edition) by Hill, Wyse, & Anderson. There will also be
additional reading material put on reserve in the Biology Resource
Center (J502) and the Science Library throughout the term (for example Eckert Animal Physiology (5th edition) by Randall, Burggren & French), and
you will also need to consult an introductory level biology text
occasionally. Reading assignments will be given ahead of time
and you are expected to keep up with them so you are prepared
to actively participate in class sessions.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
Writing in a format typical of scientific papers is significant component of the
course. There will be six writing assignments in the term. In five of these
assignments you will be asked to write one of the major sections of a published
research report according to the current scientific writing style. A significant
amount of class time will be devoted to preparing for, discussing and analyzing
this writing. All assignments must be typed (use a computer).
Handwritten work will not be accepted. Papers in their first version must be
turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. There will
be an automatic five point deduction for late papers either when the first,
ungraded version is due or when the final, graded version is due. Revised papers
will be submitted via the web on the BlackBoard course site and are due by
midnight on the due date. Your instructors will use websites that check for
plagiarized material.Please do not plagiarize work, for we will be forced
to fail you or make you drop the course.
TEST AND EXAMS
There will be two tests and one
final exam that is comprehensive and integrates material from the entire term.
These exams will consist of multiple choice, matching and true/false questions.
A laboratory skills exams will be given in the lab; it will assess your ability
to use the computer and various sensors to make measurements and making
calculations like the ones performed in the laboratory. It is important that
every member of the class become competent in all of the skills required for
doing experiments, and therefore, the tasks performed within lab groups need to
be rotated among group members from week to week so everyone gains the needed
experience and is prepared for the practical exam.
How do you know what you are really supposed to learn?
You will learn material in reading, lecture, lab and out-of-class problem sets,
you are no doubt going to wonder what you are really expected to learn. To help
you answer that question, you will have a guide for every part of the course
that spells out clearly what you are expected to learn. You will be given a list
of Benchmarks for each unit that indicate specifically what level of
detail you should know and what you should be able to do to demonstrate that you
have mastered the material. The reading in particular contains a great deal of
detail, and you can use the Benchmarks to guide you in deciding which details to
devote your attention to when preparing for quizzes and exams. You will notice
that the laboratory exercises also have Benchmarks that will be covered in
laboratory quizzes.
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