Biol 1201A – Fall 2014 Page 1 of 8

Biology 1201A (General Biology I) Fall 2014 Course Syllabus

Course Description This course provides an understanding of fundamental biological concepts with emphasis on function in and relevance to humans. Topics include inheritance, evolution, ecology, behavior, ecosystem health. This course is not available to students enrolled in the Faculty of Science (students registered in the Faculty of Science should select Biology 1001A). Course Information Lectures: Mon and Wed 10:30–11:30 am in NCB 101 Skill Development: All Skill Development sessions occur during your scheduled ‘Lab’ period (see the tables below for section numbers). Skill Development sessions are composed of ‘practical skills’ sessions, and ‘literacy skills’ sessions that alternate weeks (i.e. students attend practical sessions one week, then literacy sessions the following week, or vice versa). The Skill Development sessions start for all students during the week of September 15th and will follow the schedule shown on the last page of this syllabus (note that some weeks have no Skill Development sessions). Refer to the ‘Skill Development’ page on OWL to determine whether you start with a practical skills session or a literacy skills session during the week of September 15th, and to find out what room you should attend.

Section Day Time Section Day Time 010 Tu 9:30 am–12:30 pm 041 W 2:30–5:30 pm 015 Tu 9:30 am–12:30 pm 042 Th 2:30–5:30 pm 018 F 9:30 am–12:30 pm 043 F 2:30–5:30 pm 025 Tu 9:30 am–12:30 pm 048 F 2:30–5:30 pm 028 F 9:30 am–12:30 pm 050 Tu 2:30–5:30 pm 032 Th 9:30 am–12:30 pm 051 W 2:30–5:30 pm 035 Tu 2:30–5:30 pm 055 Tu 2:30–5:30 pm 036 W 2:30–5:30 pm 056 W 2:30–5:30 pm 037 Th 2:30–5:30 pm 074 M 6:00–9:00 pm 038 F 2:30–5:30 pm 089 M 6:00–9:00 pm 040 Tu 2:30–5:30 pm

Instructor Information

Name Jennifer Waugh Department Biology and Statistical & Actuarial Sciences Drop-in hours* (No appointment necessary)

Mondays, 12 noon – 2:00 pm in NCB 301L I will also be available virtually during these times through the Elluminate Live! Bridge

tool on OWL (instructions for use are posted on OWL under ‘Administration’). Email Use OWL messages only (contact ‘Instructor Role’) - not UWO email

*Check OWL announcements regularly. Additional help sessions before exams, as well as any change to regular drop-in hours (these will be rescheduled from time to time), will be posted to OWL announcements. Please note that I will not be available for appointments outside my drop-in hours unless you have direct course conflicts with the drop-in hour time slot.

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Course Communication

Who do I ask if… Biology 1201A has a very specific ‘triage’ system for questions. Please refer to the Administration page (and look for ‘Who do I contact?’) on our OWL course website to identify who you should contact for various course-related queries. Following this ‘triage’ will help us answer your question more efficiently and accurately. When contacting your instructor, you can expect a response to an OWL message or a posting to the discussion forum within 48 hours during the work week. Note that I will not answer messages or forum questions within the 24-hour period before the quizzes or exams. It is my expectation that you check your OWL messages and announcements on a regular basis.

Course Materials

1. Website: https://owl.uwo.ca/. Log in with your UWO username and password. 2. Textbook: Russell et al. 2010. Biology: Exploring the diversity of life. 2nd Canadian Ed. Nelson

Education, Ltd: Toronto. You will need to have access to a copy of the textbook for required readings. The textbook is available for purchase at the campus bookstore (for approximately $160 new); used books may also be available. There are also multiple copies of the textbook on 2-h course reserve (search for Biology 1201A) at Taylor library.

3. Required Materials: 2014/2015 lab manual, safety glasses, and lab coat. These items are all available for purchase in the campus bookstore. Note that the lab manual must be new (i.e. used manuals are not suitable).

Important Information

1. If you would like to make an audio recording of the lectures/tutorials in this course, you MUST ask permission first (through OWL messages). According to intellectual property laws, not asking permission constitutes stealing. I will NOT permit videotaping or photographing lectures.

2. Course material (i.e. lecture slides, videos, and other supplementary material posted on OWL) is the intellectual property of your instructor and is made available to you for your personal use in this course. Sharing, posting or using this material outside of your personal use in this course is considered an infringement of intellectual property rights.

3. The course website (http://owl.uwo.ca) will be my primary method of communication with students. It is your responsibility to check the website frequently. All important documents (syllabus, lecture material, literacy/lab schedules, assigned readings, quiz/exam details, announcements, etc.) will be posted on the website. Outline lecture slides will be posted in .pdf format, 1 slide per page only. Note that complete PowerPoint slides used in class will NOT be posted or distributed.

4. The Forum tool is enabled on the OWL website. Please use this forum to post and respond to questions about course content (e.g., lecture, readings, practice questions, etc). The forum will be monitored on a regular basis and I will interject with corrections or responses as necessary. If you message me with a course content question, I will direct you to look/post on the forums. As this is an open forum, please be respectful of one another. Derogatory, discriminatory, or otherwise inappropriate language or topics will be removed and dealt with at the instructor’s discretion.

5. It is the responsibility of students who are repeating the course to ensure that all proper documentation is filed in situations in which the Skill Development component has been previously completed (i.e. ‘999’ students). See information on 999 students below.

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Assessment

Your final ‘course grade’ (/100%) will be calculated to automatically give you the highest mark possible at the end of the course, based on the following two schemes:

Course Component* Scheme 1 Scheme 2 ‘Due Date’ Course Structure Quiz 1% 1% Available until 11:59 pm, Sunday, Sept. 21st Skill Development

20% 20%

Starting the week of September 15th (see course schedule at the end of this syllabus)

Pre-lecture Quizzes 4% 4% Throughout the course; see schedule on OWL Online Assessments 6% total 6% total #1: Available 9:00 am Thurs, Oct 2 to 11:59 pm Sun, Oct 5

#2: Available 9:00 am Thurs, Oct 16 to 11:59 pm Sun, Oct 19 #3 Available 9:00 am Thurs, Nov 6 to 11:59 pm Sun, Nov 9

Midterm Exam 24% 14% 6:00–8:30 pm, Saturday, October 25th

Final Exam 45% 55% During December exam period (Dec 6–17) (do not book travel during the exam period)

*No special rounding rules (e.g. to meet GPA cut-offs, minimal requirements for programs, etc.) are applied in this course when calculating final course grades. Course components will not be re-weighted, nor will additional assignments be accepted, to accommodate perceived poor performance on any assessment, or for any unaccommodated absence during a graded component of this course.

Course Structure Quiz (CSQ) This online multiple-choice quiz covering details from this course syllabus and features of our OWL course website will be available from the first day of biology classes (Monday, September 8th) until 11:59 pm, on Sunday, September 21st. No credit will be given for quizzes that are not submitted by this due date. No accommodation will be made after the deadline for any reason (e.g., technical problems); attempt the quiz early during the availability period so that any problems that arise can be dealt with before the deadline. If you encounter a technical difficulty, report the problem immediately through OWL messages to the “Instructor

Role” and submit a problem report to ITS through https://servlet.uwo.ca/helpdesk/index.jsp.

Pre-Lecture Quizzes (PSQ) Short, multiple-choice quizzes (composed of approximately 3 questions each) will be available through ‘Tests & Quizzes’ on the OWL course site before lectures each week (some weeks may have one quiz, some may have two quizzes). All PSQ will have a specific deadline for completion and you will have a limited amount of time to complete the quiz once you begin (e.g. 10 min); no late submissions will be accepted and no make-up quizzes will be provided. The PSQ cover specific material from the textbook, internet, or from an assigned activity; details on what you should cover for each PSQ will be provided on OWL. The material tested by these quizzes tends to be introductory material (e.g. key definitions or concepts) which you must understand as a foundation for more complex concepts in the course. The purpose of these PSQ, consequently, is to prepare you for lectures; the material tested on the PSQ will not be explicitly taught during lecture, therefore, you are responsible for covering it on your own. The PSQ questions are not intended to represent the level of difficulty or comprehension involved in online assessments or exams. Each PSQ presented will be assigned a specific number of points (based on the number of questions in the quiz). Students collect these points based on correct answers to the PSQ questions. At the end of the course, the total number of PSQ points a student has accumulated will be calculated, and expressed as a percentage out of the total number of points ‘offered’ across all PSQ presented during the course. This percentage of points collected by the

Points collected (% total presented)

Final PSQ Mark (/4%)

0 0

0 < % collected < 25 1

25 ≤ % collected < 50 2

50 ≤ % collected < 75 3

75 ≤ % collected ≤ 100 4

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student will be used to determine the student’s final PSQ mark for the course, using the conversion scheme presented in the table above. Note that this scheme allows you to accidently miss a quiz (or two), experience some kind of technical difficulty, get some answers wrong, or skip a quiz because of a holiday, etc. without any penalty. Consequently, no extensions or make-up quizzes will be provided under any circumstance. Online Assessments Three (3) online, multiple-choice, summative (i.e. marked for correct answers) Assessments will occur during the course. These Online Assessments will test students on course material (i.e. covered through assigned independent study and/or lecture material). The Online Assessments will be composed of approximately eight multiple choice questions each that approach exam-style difficulty. Students will have a limited amount of time (e.g. 25 minutes) to complete the assessment during a specified multi-day period of availability. More information about the content covered by each Online Assessment will be posted on OWL in advance of the Assessment. Note that there are no extensions to Assessment submission deadlines, and no make-up Online Assessments will be offered under any circumstances. Skill Development The Skill Development component of this course (which includes both practical and literacy skills) will help students enhance their literacy, practical, and critical thinking skills in collaborative settings with graduate teaching assistants as facilitators. These sessions will start the week of September 15th; see the ‘Skill Development’ page on the OWL course website to determine which component you start with and your section’s room assignment. More information on how to prepare for each session will be provided on OWL. Midterm There is one 3-hour ‘two-stage’ Midterm Exam (Saturday, October 25, 6:00–8:30 pm). This ‘two-stage’ exam involves an individual stage in which the student independently completes an exam composed of approximately 30 multiple-choice questions. Then, immediately following the individual stage, students collaboratively redo a subset of the individual exam questions (e.g. approximately 12-15 questions, which may also include a few new questions) with a small group of peers. Each student’s total grade (/100%) on the midterm exam will be calculated as 85% individual score and 15% group score. However, if an individual scores higher on the individual stage of the exam than the group stage, then their total midterm grade will be kept at 100% of their individual score (the reverse, however, will not occur; i.e. no individual student’s final midterm grade will reflect 100% of the group mark). Some of the Skill Development sessions will incorporate activities and information that explain in more detail the nature and structure of the two-stage exams, and you will have an opportunity to ‘practice’ taking a two-stage exam so that you are prepared for the structure and logistics of two-stage exams. More detailed instructions about the coverage, structure, and locations of the Midterm Exam will be posted on OWL under ‘Assessments & Exams’ prior to the Midterm. If you miss the Midterm Exam, you must obtain recommendation for academic accommodation from an Academic Counselor in your Faculty’s Dean’s Office. If we receive recommendation for academic accommodation for missing the Midterm Exam, you will be eligible to write the Make-up Midterm Exam.

The Make-up Midterm Exam will occur early during the week of October 27th. There is only one Make-up Midterm Exam so if you miss the make-up as well and we receive recommendation for academic accommodation for both your missed Midterm AND Make-up Midterm Exams, your Midterm Exam weighting will be shifted to the Final Exam (i.e., your Final Exam will be worth 69% of your course grade.

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Final Exam: The Final Exam is a cumulative 3-hour exam. The Final Exam will consist of approximately 35 multiple choice questions plus several short answer questions. The exam will be held during the December exam period (Dec 6–17) and will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office. Do not book travel during this time period until the exam schedule is finalized. More details on the coverage, structure, and locations of the Final Exam will be posted on OWL under ‘Assessments & Exams’ prior to the Final Exam.

Comments on Assessments Students should expect the Assessments (e.g. quizzes, exams, online assessments, etc.) to include questions derived from content discussed or taught during lectures, skill development sessions, assigned readings/independent study tasks, and any assigned material posted by the Instructor to the course website. A more detailed breakdown on coverage for each Assessment will be posted to OWL prior to the Assessment. Non-programmable calculators are permitted for use during the course assessments. No other aids are allowed. Cellular phones, iPods, and other similar technology are not permitted in the exam rooms. This means that cellular phones, iPods, and other similar technology cannot be used as a timekeeper/clock, calculator, or for any other purpose. Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

‘999 Students’ repeating the course Students who are repeating Biology 1201A should have registered in lab section 999 and are referred to (for course administration purposes) as ‘999 students’. Students who are repeating the course have the option of using their ‘lab’ and ‘tutorial’ marks (combined) from the previous term they took Biology 1201A as their mark for the ‘Skill Development’ component for this term. Choosing to use the previous term’s lab/tutorial marks is referred to as a Skill Development ‘exemption’. If you have previously taken and completed Biology 1201A (or 1001A), and are consequently repeating the course, you must read the information titled, “Skill Development exemption for 999 students”, posted on the OWL course website on the Administration page. 999 students who choose to be exempt from Skill Development sessions are responsible for ensuring that they understand the Skill Development material, as they will be held accountable for this material on Online Assessments and/or exams. Exemption from Skill Development sessions will not be accepted as an excuse for poor performance on, and/or failure to answer course components that relate (either directly or indirectly) to that component of the course. Advice for Success in this Course

Read this course syllabus in its entirety and understand the policies; Attend class regularly (and participate with a Clicker and during discussions) and take notes; Complete the independent study tasks and associated pre-lecture quizzes; Prepare in advance for and attend Skill Development sessions; work through the associated

assignments thoughtfully; Review your notes on a regular basis; Take advantage of the help available & ask questions (lectures, drop-in hours, forums).

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Scholastic offences Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specific-ally, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, and the University’s procedure for handling scholastic offenses, in the Academic Calendar. Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offense (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar). All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com.

Prerequisites The prerequisite for this course is Grade 12U (SB14U) Biology or Grade 11U (SB13UA) Biology and permission of the Department. Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from the Department to enroll in it, you will be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

Accommodation for Medical Illness If you are unable to meet a course requirement due to illness or other serious circumstances, you must (i) notify the instructor by OWL message immediately of your absence (details of why are unnecessary) AND (ii) provide valid medical or other supporting documentation to an Academic Counselor in the Dean’s office of YOUR Faculty as soon as possible. Your instructor should not see your documentation; this documentation is confidential and should only be seen by the Counselor. If accommodation is approved by your Dean’s office, your instructor will be notified, then it is your responsibility to make alternative arrangements (as necessary/appropriate) with the instructor. As part of university policy, students who have been granted permission by the Dean’s Office to write the make-up examination will write the exam at a time scheduled by the instructor. There will be one written make-up examination given within two weeks of the originally scheduled exam. The format of the make-up exam is at the discretion of the instructor. Arrangements will be made for students that have valid reasons for missing this make-up. Students who miss an assessment/exam and do not receive appropriate accommodation from their Dean’s Office will be awarded a ‘0’ for the missed examination. There are no exceptions to this policy. In the event of a missed final exam, a “Recommendation of Special Examination” form must be obtained from your Dean’s Office immediately. For further information, please see: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf A student requiring academic accommodation due to illness, should use the Student Medical Certificate when visiting an off-campus medical facility or request a Records Release Form (located in the Dean’s Office) for visits to Student Health Services. The form can be found here: https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/medical_document.pdf

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Academic Accommodations for Religious Holidays Effective September 1, 1997, the Faculty of Science strictly adheres to the University policy on accommodation for students based upon conflicts with religious holidays (see the appropriate section in the current UWO Academic Calendar). Accommodation will only be granted for the specified date of the religious holiday. Only holidays appearing on the University-approved list of dates will be accommodated. See the Office of the Dean for the list of approved dates. Students requesting accommodation must do so, in writing, to the Office of the Dean at least a month before the scheduled exams.

Emotional/Mental Distress Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health at Western University http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

Accessibility Statement Please contact the course instructors if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 661-2111 x 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

Student Development Centre’s Learning Skills Services

Learning Skills counsellors are ready to help you improve your learning skills. They offer presentations on strategies for improving time management, multiple-choice exam preparation/writing, textbook reading, and more. Individual support is offered throughout the Fall/Winter terms in the drop-in Learning Help Centre, and year-round through individual counselling. See www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning or WSS room 4100 for more information.

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Course Schedule This is the tentative schedule for course topics. Some adjustments may be made as the course progresses, depending on the rate at which individual topics are covered. At certain points during the term, you may be responsible for covering some course material on your own time.

Week Tentative Topics Important Reminders Sept 1–5 No Biology 1201A lectures or Skill Development

sessions Sept 8-12 Introduction to course

Inheritance of sameness (mitosis, cell cycle regulation, basics of DNA replication)

No Skill Development sessions

Sept 15-19

Generating diversity (meiosis, recombination, mutation)

Skill Development sessions 1 Course Structure Quiz due: 11:59 pm on Sept 21st

Sept 22-26

Inheritance and genetics (Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics, linkage)

Skill Development sessions 1 (cont’d)

Sept 29-Oct 3

Inheritance and genetics, cont’d. Skill Development sessions 2 Online Assessment 1 due: 11:59 pm Sunday, Oct. 5

Oct 6-10 Population genetics (Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium)

Skill Development sessions 2 (cont’d)

Oct 13-17 History of evolutionary thought No class Monday, Oct 13 (001); Thanksgiving Skill Development sessions 3 (Students with a

Monday section are postponed to October 27)

Online Assessment 2 due: 11:59 pm Sunday, Oct. 19 Oct 20-24 Mechanisms of Evolution (natural

selection, mutation, sampling drift, non-random mating, gene flow)

Skill Development sessions 3 (cont’d) Midterm Exam: 6:00-8:30 pm, Saturday, Oct 25

Oct 27-31 Sexual Selection (evolution of sex, inter- and intra-sexual selection, parental investment)

Students with a Monday Skill Development section complete Skill Development session 3; all other sections have no Skill Development session

Nov 3-7 Speciation (species concepts, reproductive isolation, modes of speciation)

Skill Development sessions 4

Online Assessment 3 due: 11:59 pm Sunday, Nov. 9

Nov 10-14 Phylogenetics (reading a tree, monophylly, outgroups)

Skill Development sessions 4 (cont’d)

Nov 17-21 Evolutionary and Population Ecology Skill Development sessions 5 Nov 24-28 Community Ecology Skill Development sessions 5 (cont’d) Dec 1-5 To be announced No Skill Development sessions

Dec 6-17 December Exam Period (do not book travel during this time)