Syllabus Bio 1001 – General Biology I Lab

Course Requirements and Policies

Open Access Laboratory Book

Grading:  Lecture and lab are 50% each of your final grade.

Lab point distribution			Important Dates:
Quizzes (3.5% each)	14		Quiz 1:	Feb 23
Cumulative Lab Practical:	10		Quiz 2:	Mar 9
Lab Reports (2 – 5% each):	10		Quiz 3:	Apr 13
Final Project/Presentation:	5		Quiz 4:	May 11
Participation:	4		Cumulative Lab Practical:	May 11
Homework:	4		In-class presentation:	May 4
Scientific Illustration Notebook:	3
(Tardiness, Mid-Lab Absence	-1)
(Leaving Early/Day Absence	-3.6)
Total:	50

There are no make-up exams.  If you miss one quiz or practical it will be entered as a 0.  Failure to take 2 quizzes or a quiz and the practical constitutes an F for the course.

 

Online Instruction:                  

• Lab will be held synchronously via zoom during the assigned lab time, you must be present.
• You must have access to a camera (via computer, cell phone, etc.) You will be expected to have the camera on the entire time of the lab unless directed otherwise.
• Be sure to have good internet connectivity before lab begins.
• You will need to have a functioning email address to receive announcements and information from the course 

Blackboard

• Submission of assignments and homework will be on blackboard for this class.
• You need to check your Blackboard account multiple times a week to make sure you are keeping up with the course
• If you are not receiving messages via Blackboard, make sure that your email is updated on the website.

Technology/Blackboard Help:

• If you have any questions on how to use blackboard or if you are having technical issues, email: helpdesk@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Attendance and Policies

• Students are expected to attend every lab. Failure to do so results in a reduction of your lab grade as explained in Laboratory Rules and Regulations. Missing one lab constitutes to a loss of 3.6% of total lab grade. Three missed labs, even if made up will result in an F for the course.
• Tardiness is not acceptable. Students should be online and ready before the instructor begins. Tardiness results in a deduction of 1% of your lab grade.
• You are required to be present and working during the duration of the lab, if you leave early or leave your computer during lab time, it is considered a mid-lab break absence and -1% off your grade.
• Consult Laboratory Rules and Regulations regarding attendance and other lab policies.

Reading

• Students are responsible for all readings assigned prior to class. This information is available on the syllabus and on the Commons website for ease of access.
• Pre-lab, pop quizzes, quiz questions, and exam material will come from the readings. 

Participation

• Students are expected to actively participate in class.
• Participation includes asking questions, making valuable comments during discussion, and appropriate behavior.
• Every day there will be 10 possible points that will add up to the final participation grade.
• Five points will be for active participation.
• Five points will be given for pre-lab grade. (Notes summarizing the lab along with vocabulary words in preparation for that day’s lab.)
• While participation is subjective, you may lose points for certain lab violations:
  • Leaving the session before class time is over
  • Not participating in group work
  • Turning off your camera/getting distracted doing other activities during lab class.

 

Homework

• Each homework assignment will be submitted via Blackboard and checked for plagiarism
• Assignments not submitted through Blackboard and Turnitin, will not be graded.
• There are NO late assignments accepted. Assignments not turned in on time result in a zero grade.

Quizzes/Lab Practical

• Four quizzes will be given on the dates listed above. Each quiz will be 30 minutes and will be given at the beginning of class via Blackboard.
• You MUST be logged into Zoom with your camera on for attendance and to take the quiz.
• Late arrivals (up to 10 minutes late) will be permitted to take the quiz but will only be allowed the remaining time allotted. If you start your quiz more than 10 minutes late it will result in a zero grade.
• The cumulative practical will cover the entire semester of labs. All labs will be represented.

Journal/Scientific Illustrations Notebook

• Each student is responsible for keeping a laboratory notebook. Drawings and notes of observations are expected in each lab protocol. Drawings need to be accurately labeled, see Doing Scientific Drawings on Blackboard.
• Journal entries should be insightful and careful. These notes demonstrate the student’s depth of interest and thought during lab.
• Drawings and notes are useful when studying for final exam.
• Notebooks/images will be compiled and collected as a PDF and graded after Lab 7. 

Lab Report/Presentation

• There will be two lab reports in class.
  • Report on an original research article.
  • Plant growth or seed germination experiment.
• Students are required to have an abstract, introduction, methods, results (with figures and data analysis) and discussion. More details on these projects will be discussed in class. Rubrics and expectations are posted in Blackboard.
• Presentation: Groups will need to conduct an ecological based experiment. The project may be an experiment involving organisms that are NOT vertebrate animals (bacteria, fungi, plants, protists, and invertebrate animals are all acceptable choices), or a project involving field observations (typically ecological), in which case vertebrate animals can be used (so long that they are being only observed and no harm comes to them).
• Ideas and outlines need to be approved by the instructor and backed by scientific literature. The project can be done individually or in a group. Group projects need to be done Students who don’t contribute equally will receive a lower grade than their group members.

 

Inappropriate Classroom Behavior

• Class Disruption: Anyone disrupting the class will be asked to leave or kicked out of session, which in turn will lead to a 5-point reduction in your final lab grade per infraction and will be reported to the college disciplinary committee.
• Bullying/Aggressive/Disrespectful Behavior in Person or by Email: Bullying, aggressive or disrespectful behavior toward professors, the adjunct professors or class members will result in a 5-point reduction in your final lab grade per infraction and you may be reported to the appropriate college committee and to Campus Security.   This includes aggressive emails, aggressive or disrespectful behavior during an appointment with the instructor or during class and/or willfully refusing to use the correct title when talking the professor or adjunct professor.

Email Protocol:  Emails to your professor or lab instructor must have a subject line and be addressed properly as Dear Ms. or Professor.  Emails that do not follow the appropriate protocol will not be answered.  It is unacceptable to send aggressive or rude emails to any of your instructors or to classmates.

 

Remember

• If confused or in need of help, consult a classmate first. If not sure, then ask me.
• Start projects early. The later you begin, the harder it will become.
• Read all lab manuals before class. Unpreparedness results in poor performance and loss in participation points.

Students will be notified in advance if a change is made.

 

University Policy on Academic Integrity

The CUNY Policy on plagiarism says the following about plagiarism:

“Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writings as your own.”

The following are some examples of plagiarism, but by no means is it an exhaustive list:

1. Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes attributing the words to their source.
2. Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the source.
3. Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the source.
4. Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignments.
5. Internet plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the internet without citing the source, and cutting and pasting from various sources without proper attribution.

 

Be aware that if we suspect plagiarism, we will report your conduct to the College’s Academic Integrity Official. Disciplinary sanctions range from failing the class to expulsion from the college. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies

 

Note regarding Student Disability Services:

• In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services(CSDS).

Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the CSDS please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with him/her as soon as possible and at an appropriate time.