BI 170 - General Biology: The Cell, Genetics,
and Development
Fall 2018 Syllabus
Instruction Team:
Geoffrey Church, Ph.D.
gchurch@fairfield.edu
Office: Bannow 207
Phone: Ext. 2485
Office Hrs: Wednesday 9:30-11:30 a.m.
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Anita Fernandez, Ph.D. afernandez@fairfield.edu
Office: Bannow 212A
Phone: Ext. 2116
Office Hrs: Thursday 11-1 p.m.
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Course Goals
BI 170 is the first semester of the three-semester introductory biology
course. (The syllabi of all three semesters of the series can be found
at www.faculty.fairfield.edu/genbio). Two professors will team-teach the
course, each from her or his own area of expertise. Dr. Phelan will be
leading the Cell Biology/Genetics portion of the course, and Dr. Church
will be leading the Molecular/Developmental portion of the course. We
will focus our attention on the unifying themes of biology using a variety
of teaching tools including lectures, group discussions, interactive computer
activities, and investigation-based laboratories.
Our specific goals are as follows:
* To build a knowledge base and acquire the intellectual tools necessary
to succeed as a biologist.
* To become comfortable with the scientific process that biologists use
(formulating and testing hypotheses) as they attempt to answer questions
about the natural world.
* To appreciate why evolution is the "core theme of biology."
Lectures
BI 170-01 or C01: Tues and Fri 9:30-10:45 a.m. - NHS 224
BI 170-02 or C02: Tues and Fri 12:30-1:45 p.m. - NHS 224
Labs
Students are assigned to a required three-hour laboratory period
that meets once per week. Attendance to your assigned lab section is REQUIRED,
and will be recorded at each meeting. You must pass
the laboratory section in order to pass the class.
Peer Learning Groups (PLGs)
Students have been assigned to one of 12 PLG sections. Each PLG section
is limited to 10-12 students and is led by an upper-division biology major.
These sessions are designed to be small learning communities in which
students can work together throughout the semester to become comfortable
with the lecture material through problem-solving and other activities.
Attendance to your assigned PLG section is REQUIRED, and will be recorded
at each meeting.
Required Material (available at bookstore):
• Biological
Science Sixth Edition (Scott Freeman) with Mastering Biology access
and Learning Catalytics access
• Lab Packet (Lab Manual/Custom Lab Notebook)
• Laptop, smartphone, or tablet with internet acces for in-class polling
responses
. Lab coat (required at all times in the laboratory; can be purchased in
bookstore or online)
Online Course Material:
All lecture slides and class announcements will be posted on Blackboard,
which can be accessed through my.fairfield.edu.
There will be an online homework assignment after every lecture, and it
will be due by midnight before the next class meeting time. All online
homeworks for the course will be available through the Mastering Biology
website http://www.masteringbio.com.
Access to this site is restricted to members of the course, and requires
an initial password that is provided in your textbook (or via your Mastering
with eBook purchase). This password, and the course ID # “phelanbio170”
will allow you to register for Mastering Biology. Our course site also
has many other helpful study aids. It is the student's responsibility
to check this site regularly between classes and take quizzes within the
allowable window of time.
Grading
- In-class exams (35%): The first exam will carry slightly
less weight (8%) than the other three (each worth 9%).
- Final Exam (25%): A cumulative final exam, prepared jointly
by the two professors. The final exam is required to pass the course.
- Laboratory (25%): This portion of your grade includes
laboratory notebook, lab report, lab quizzes and two lab practicals
(see Laboratory Syllabus).
- Mastering Biology (8%) Online Mastering Biology quizzes
will be assigned for each chapter, and will be due by midnight
before the next class period.
- Peer Learning Group Participation (5%): Perfect attendance
and active participation in the PLG sessions will earn students the
FULL 5%. Points will be lost for absences and/or non-participation.
- In-class Question Polling Responses (2%): attendance
and correct answers will be scored.
Course Policies
- Class Cancellation: In case of class cancellation, the
lecture material or exam scheduled for the missed day automatically
moves to the next class meeting.
- Attendance: You must attend your assigned lecture
section. Attendance at each exam is required. There will be NO MAKE-UP
EXAMS - INCLUDING THE FINAL! Pay attention to the date and time of the
final exam, since no exams will be administered early.
- Incompletes: The Biology Department strictly follows
the University regulations for giving a grade of incomplete (I). An
incomplete will be given only if the final exam cannot be taken for
good reason (e.g. illness or conflict with other exam) and only if arrangements
are made beforehand with the professor. IN NO CASE WILL AN INCOMPLETE
BE GIVEN TO AVOID AN UNSATISFACTORY GRADE.
- Mastering Biology quizzes: You are allowed to use your
books and notes for the online quizzes, but you are NOT permitted to
collaborate with your classmates.
- Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the appropriation of ideas,
data, work, or language of others and submitting them as one's own to
satisfy the requirements of a course. Plagiarism constitutes theft and
deceit and will not be tolerated. When the ideas or writings of others
are presented in assignments, these ideas or writings should be attributed
to that source. Do NOT cut and paste directly from a source, instead
all writing should be IN YOUR OWN WORDS. When using ideas and materials
from ANY source, appropriate documentation is always essential.
- Academic Honesty: Consistent with the policy of the university,
any form of cheating is a violation of academic honesty and integrity,
and will jeopardize your grade in this class and, possibly, your standing
at the university. Please see the university student handbook.
Resources
Resources such as the DiMenna-Nyselius Library (Ext. 2178) and the Writing
Center are available to assist you in your academic endeavors.
Peer Tutoring – The office of Academic Support and Retention offers
peer tutoring services for this introductory series of courses. The schedule
for peer tutoring is posted on OrgSync, where you can sign up. We strongly
encourage students to take advantage of this on a regular basis, as many
students wait until the session immediately before the exam, which is
often too late. If the scheduled peer tutoring sessions conflict with
your schedule, please contact the office for exploration of alternatives.
Student Disabilities – Fairfield University is committed to achieving
equal educational opportunities, providing students with documented disabilities
access to all University programs, services and activities. In order for
this course to be equally accessible to all students, different accommodations
or adjustments may need to be implemented. Accessibility Supports for
students with disabilities are available through the Academic and Career
Development Center located in the Kelley Center. Accessibility can be
reached at 203-254-4081. They are your primary resource on campus to help
you develop an accessibility plan to help you achieve equal access in
your courses this semester. Please make an appointment with them as early
as possible this semester to receive a letter to present to me so that
we can discuss how potential accommodations can be provided and implemented
for this course. If you have received an accommodation letter, please
provide us with that information privately so that we can review your
accommodations together and discuss how best to help you achieve equal
access in this course this semester.
Fall 2018 Lecture Syllabus
For ALL Lectures: You are expected to have
read the chapter being covered in class
BEFORE the day of each lecture.
Geoff Church's Lectures
Tue. 9/5 |
Introduction - Chapter 1 |
Fri. 9/7 |
Protein Structure and Function - Chapter
3 (but not section 3.5) |
Tue. 9/11 |
Nucleic Acids & the RNA World - Chapter
4 |
Fri. 9/14 |
Lipids, Membranes & the First Cells
- Chapter 6 |
Tue. 9/18 |
Inside the Cell - Chapter 7 |
Fri. 9/21 |
EXAM I (Chapters 1,3,4,6,7) |
Tue. 9/25 |
Mitosis - Chapter 12 (12.1-12.2) |
Fri. 9/28 |
Meiosis - Chapter 13 |
Tue. 10/2 |
Regulation of The Cell Cycle & Cancer
- Chapter 12 (12.3-12.4) |
Fri. 10/5 |
Mendel and The Gene - Chapter 14 |
Tue. 10/9 |
NO CLASS - Fall Break |
Fri. 10/12 |
Mendel and The Gene - Chapter 14 (cont.) |
Tue. 10/16 |
Cell-Cell Interactions - Chapter 11 |
Fri. 10/19 |
EXAM II (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14) |
Anita Fernandez's Lectures
Tue. 10/23 |
DNA and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair - Chapter 15 |
Fri. 10/26 |
DNA and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair- Chapter 16 |
Tue. 10/30 |
Chapter 16 cont. |
Fri. 11/2 |
Transcription, RNA Processing and Translation
- Chapter 17 |
Tue. 11/6 |
Chapter 17 cont.; Control of Gene Expression
in Bacteria - Chapter 18 (18.1-18.4) |
Fri. 11/9 |
EXAM III (Chapters 15-17) |
Tue. 11/13
|
Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria
- Chapter 18 cont. |
Tue. 11/13 |
WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE |
Fri. 11/16 |
Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes
- Chapter 19 (19.1-19.5) |
Tue. 11/20 |
Chapter 19 cont.; The Molecular Revolution
- Chapter 20 (10.1-20.4) pp 37-38 |
Fri. 11/23 |
NO CLASS - Thanksgiving Break |
Tue. 11/27 |
Chapter 20 cont.; Genes, Development and
Evolution - Chapter 21 (21.1-21.3) |
Fri. 11/30 |
Chapter 21 cont.; Embryonic Development - Chapter 47
(47.4) |
Tue. 12/4 |
Chapter 47 cont. |
Fri. 12/7 |
EXAM IV (Chapters 18-21, Chapter
47) |
Tue. 12/18 |
BI 170-01/C01: FINAL EXAM
- 8:00 a.m. |
Fri. 12/14 |
BI 170-02/C02: FINAL EXAM
- 11:30 a.m. |
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