Items of Importance:
1. The prerequisite for this course is Biology 230 (or its equivalent) with a grade of C- or better.
2. Biology 240 concentrates on evolution, ecology and diversity.
3. Please take advantage of the instructor’s office hours. We enjoy meeting with you on a one-to-one basis and we encourage you to keep on top of the course material so that you can come to us quickly with questions.
4. There will be no makeup exams. Do not schedule other activities or appointments at exam times.
5. Please complete the reading assignments before coming to class. Sometimes the lectures will follow the text closely, and other times lectures will emphasize material not covered in depth in your text. However, we regard the text readings as important background, and being familiar with the terms and concepts prior to attending lecture will help prepare you for lecture. All lecture presentations will be posted on ilearn as pdf files. We encourage you to download the appropriate lecture before coming to class.
6. Grades will be assigned on the basis of the percentage of points earned in the class. We will not grade on a curve. We guarantee that a final point total comprising 90% of the possible points will earn at least an A-, 80% at least a B-, 70% at least a C-, and 60% at least a D-. The instructors will set the cutoffs for plus and minus grades at their discretion. Your course grade will be based on 1000 possible points: 600 points from lecture and 400 points from laboratory, itemized as follows:
Lecture Exam I 100 pts.
Lecture Exam II 100 pts.
Lecture Final 250 pts.
Clicker Quizzes 150 pts.
Laboratory Exams 300 pts.
Laboratory Quizzes and Assignments 100 pts.
Course Total 1000 pts.
9. Lectures will begin promptly at 8:10 AM, so please be in your seat ready to go by that time.
Guidelines on how to approach Biology 240
1. Understand the philosophy of the course.
There are many goals for you in this course, among which is your learning of factual material about evolutionary biology and the diversity of organisms on earth. Another goal that is at least as important is to develop your skills in thinking about science in a critical fashion. Accordingly, you will be asked continually to synthesize material from different parts of the course. For example, on an exam you may be asked to draw on your knowledge of different topics from two or three separate lectures. At first this may come as a shock to students who have only been asked to memorize facts in science courses. Rest assured that we will guide you toward this approach to biology via exams. The product will be that you will enter your upper division courses far better prepared than if you were only to memorize a collection of facts.
2. Learn how to use data.
Scientists collect data to support or reject assumptions that they make. It is critical that we are careful about what the data tell us. For example, we often read or hear that the fossil record shows that "y" evolved from "x". This, however, is a misreading of the data. In fact, the fossil record can never provide this kind of analysis. The fossil record may suggest that "x" and "y" have a common ancestor, or may show levels of homology, but it cannot tell us about the actual step(s) by which "y" evolved. "x" and "y" are, after all, represented by individual organisms that existed long ago.
3. Take a positive approach to the course.
Everyone who takes this course should be in it because they enjoy biology. It follows that the material in the course should be fun to learn. We certainly enjoy presenting the material to you. If you’re not enjoying the course, you’re in the wrong course.
4. Give all of biology a chance.
Many students who enroll at a university as biology majors think that they already know what branch of biology they intend to follow for a career. That's fine, and we sincerely wish them well. It is important, however, that no one loses sight of the beauty of the integrated nature of biology, and the many levels at which we can understand how life works. The best biologists are those who appreciate all of these levels. If you feel at this time that you really are interested only in human biology, or you feel that the only critical level at which to work is the molecular level, or that you only are interested in whole furry organisms, or even that you are only here to prepare for medical school, we ask that you approach this course with the idea that every part of biology, and every level of approach is equal. You will have ample opportunity to specialize later. Besides, more than a few undergraduates in biology have changed their emphases after taking a course like Biology 240.
5. Always know where you are in the course.
Biology 240 is a rigorous, non-stop freshman-level course that requires your attention all of the time. It is not a course in which to fall behind— those who do commonly don't catch up easily. We all have the greatest of intentions when we start the course, i.e., keeping up with the reading, studying for lab quizzes, etc., but the work piles up as the semester goes along, and some of us have a tendency to let things slide. The message is that this course is not one where you can afford to lag too far behind. If you ever become concerned with your performance in the course or simply want to know where you stand at a particular time, you may visit us in office hours for a discussion (believe it or not, we actually enjoy talking with each of you one-to-one, and often the only way this happens is when you come to see us). Your visiting us is often the only way we have of knowing about your concerns or problems in a class of this size.
6. Take the labs seriously.
Labs are a very critical part of any biology course. Throughout your undergraduate major you will spend more time in lab than in lecture, and with good reason. In lecture you are a passive learner, while in lab you are an active learner. Some students often feel that because the lecture part of the course counts for more grade points, that the lab can slide by with less attention. Do not take this approach. Too often I have seen these students miss a letter grade due to a lax attitude in lab.
7. Take a positive approach toward the exams.
Exams are always the most perplexing part of a course to students. It might be useful at this time to reflect on a professor's philosophy of exams. They are, after all is said and done, the major tool that we have to evaluate your performance in learning the material. Forget all of the arguments about how exams don't really test your knowledge because you're so traumatized by them that you couldn't write a coherent answer. They may be good arguments, but unfortunately they don't change the need for exams. So how does one approach exams in this (and other courses) positively?
First, realize that the instructors have considerable experience in training biology students — they know what they are doing when preparing exams (yes, there may be minor flaws and oversights on occasion, but these are not important when the final grades are assigned).
Second, realize that no exam can cover all of the material in a course, especially a course as broad as Biology 240. Therefore, the exams that you will take will have representative questions from various parts of the course, but not necessarily from every facet of the course. It is a commonly made misinterpretation that an exam need cover all parts of the course – to do so would dilute the value of the exam. Realize that you should feel equally responsible for all of the material covered. Having studied accordingly, obviously you will be prepared for any question. A corollary to this is that you should not waste time with the following: a) second guessing what the instructor might ask; b) asking what is going to be on the exam (other than what material will be covered); and c) asking "is this important?" – we won't waste your time with unimportant items, and importance should not be equated with whether a topic is or is not on an exam.
Third, go into exams prepared. If you have done all of the work and studying, have cleared up all of your unanswered questions, and (most importantly) have really thought about the material and how it fits the theme of the course, you will be as prepared as you can be.
8. Memorization vs learning.
Learn, don't memorize — this isn't to say that you won't need to use your memory or that facts are not important (they are); but, if you "cram" information into you, it will leak out, and the whole point of being here is lost. You must find a way to assimilate for the long term.