Instructor: Bob Remedi
Office: C-145
Phone: (847) 543-2326
E-mail: Remedi@clcillinois.edu
This course focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment. Topics include ecology, population biology, modification of our environment, resource use, land use planning, pollution and energy. The goal is to better understand the biological and social problems that human use and misuse of the environment cause. NOTE: Local field trips will be held during some scheduled lab periods. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the field sites. Recommended for non-science majors who need a one-semester lab science course. IAI: L1 905L
Prerequisite:
Language and math proficiency.
Texts and Required Materials:
- Miller, G. Tyler, Jr. Environmental Science, Working with the Earth . 11 th edition.
Thomson, Brooks/Cole, 2006.
- Cartwright, Kelly et al. Environmental Biology, 7 th Edition . Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009.
- #2 pencils (preferably mechanical pencils), good erasers and/or liquid correction fluid
Suggested Materials
- Various study materials (3x5 cards, highlighters, etc.)
Suggested Materials
- Various study materials (3x5 cards, highlighters, etc.)
Grading:
Points in this class are earned from a number of exercises including; three lecture tests (each worth between 75-100 pts.), a comprehensive final exam (worth around 100 points), occasional lecture quizzes, research papers, class projects, lab exercises and lab quizzes every week. Students can also earn up to 5 points of extra credit by completing one article review summary with a classroom presentation with no more than 1 presentation given per day and no presentations the last week of the semester. Lecture tests and quizzes will be in the form of multiple choice, fill-in and short answer / essay questions, and will be announced in class at least one class period before the quiz or test. However, pop quizzes may be required if students are not consistently prepared. Lab quizzes will be made up of fill-in or essay questions and may not be taken if a student missed the lab. As a rule, quizzes and tests are not curved so it is up to the student to do well throughout the semester. In addition, the two lowest regular lab quizes will be dropped.
Grading Scale :
A = 100% to 90% B = 89% to 80% C = 79% to 70% D = 69% to 60% F = < 60% Percentage is calculated by dividing the number of points that were received by the number of points possible, and multiplying that number by 100. For example, if a student has 256 points out of 300 points possible: 256/300 = .85 then .85 x 100 = 85%
** You are responsible for keeping track of your own point total **
Attendance:
Biology 120, Environmental Biology, is designed as a class to prepare people from a variety of backgrounds to understand some important concepts of environmental biology and prepare those who successfully complete to course to be intelligent, responsible members of society. Therefore, this class will require dedication in order to master. Because of this, the student should make every effort to attend class and BE ON TIME, every time. Any student who misses class is responsible for obtaining all information that was presented during the class(es), or portion of the class missed. In addition, attendance will be collected during each class, including lab classes. Students are allowed two unexcused absences. For each absence after this, the student's grade will drop by 10 points and the student will be ineligible for extra credit. In addition, being late and unexcused by more than 10 minutes or leaving class early (unexcused) by more than 10 minutes, will result in the recording of ½ an absence. Excused absences and excused reasons for being late or leaving early do not count against attendance (illness, family emergency, court, etc.) but in order to be excused, the instructor must be informed as soon as possible and may require proof. The final decision concerning whether an absence is excused or not is at the discretion of the instructor.
Addendum: With the elevation of the H1N1 Influenza virus to pandemic status, it is possible that students may become ill with the disease. Students are strongly encouraged to stay home if they have flu-like symptoms and asked to contact me ASAP. I will do everything possible to help you to stay up with the class.
Labs:
Most of the labs will be conducted at one of a number of field sites and students are responsible for providing their own transportation. Most types of foul weather will not stop us so dress for the conditions and be prepared for conditions to change. In addition, boots aren't a requirement, but walking shoes that you don't mind getting muddy or dirty are recommended. A quiz covering material learned on the labs will be given during the lecture period immediately following the lab and the lab questions may also be collected at that time, so students are expected to bring their completed labs to class every day. Students are also expected to adhere to the code of student conduct while away on field trips and are not allowed to smoke, even when outside.
Withdrawal from Class:
Students who are having difficulty in the class are encouraged to talk with the instructor, in order to work together to identify the problem and come up with a solution. However, it is the student's responsibility to officially withdraw if they do not wish to receive a grade for the course . The benefit of withdrawing is that if a student is doing poorly, the grade from that class will not be factored into their GPA. Instead, a “W” will be placed next to the class on their transcript. Unfortunately, a student will not receive a refund if he/she withdraws after the 14th day of the semester (7 th day of summer school) and financial aid may be lost. In order to withdraw, call the automated student information system at (847) 223-1111, go to http://www.clcillinois.edu/selfserv.asp , or go to the office of Admissions and Records (B-101). If the student does not officially withdraw from class and they just stop showing up, their final grade will be calculated using the points that have accumulated, divided by the same number of possible points as the rest of the class. Please don't just stop showing up for class! The last day to withdraw from class and receive a refund will be September 09, 2009, while the absolute last day to withdraw will be November 10, 2009. Attempts to withdraw after this date will automatically result in an “F”.
Make-up exams:
Students are expected to be on time and in class every day, especially test or quiz days. Exceptions only involve excused absences, which may require proof. Students are allowed one make-up lecture quiz or test, which will be allowed only for excused absences. In addition, make-ups will usually contain significantly more (potentially half or more) fill-in and essay questions. For all lecture quizzes and tests, students have 1 week from the day they return to make up a missed exam (unless the instructor agrees to other arrangements before the deadline). Lab quizzes can't be made up and may not be taken if the student missed the lab, so please make every effort to be there for the quiz. However, the two lowest regular lab quizzes will be dropped, so if a student misses a lab quiz due to an excused absence , the quiz that was missed will be dropped.
Late Policy :
Students who do not turn in work on the day scheduled, must turn it in by the next class period in order to receive partial credit. After this, work will not be accepted unless the instructor agrees to other arrangements before the deadline. In the case of an excused absence, students have one week from the day they return to turn in late work without a penalty. Work will not be accepted after this time unless other arrangements are agreed to before the deadline. In addition, late or makeup work will not be accepted after the final exam.
Cheating and Plagiarism Policy :
The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, the College of Lake County has adopted the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy (#403) and a Statement of Student Academic Integrity. These may be found in the Student Handbook and it is the responsibility of the student to be aware of this policy. Students are expected to maintain a culture of academic integrity and as a result, cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated! The first appearance of cheating will result in a "0" for the assignment/examination and the forwarding of the name and information from the individual to the Student Disciplinary Committee with the recommendation that the student either fails the course or be suspended from school completely. In addition, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Development. Plagiarism is cheating by using the ideas, concepts or words of someone else as your own. This includes work done for homework or in lab . Plagiarism will be treated the same way as cheating. Please don't put your instructor in the position to enforce these rules!
Special needs:
It is estimated that 10% of college students have a disability of some kind. Students with documented
disabilities are encouraged to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities. Accommodations such as extended time for exams and/or an in-class note taker, “Level the playing field,” and give students with disabilities an equal opportunity to be successful. However, accommodations are much more effective if they are pursued at the beginning of the semester . If you are a student with a documented disability, please present documentation to the Office for Students with Disabilities in L112 at the Grayslake campus as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment with them, please call: voice (847) 543-2055 and TTY 223-0134. If you have already contacted the Office for Students with Disabilities and have completed the Instructor Notification Form, I would like to review the INF form with you and talk about the class. Please make an appointment to talk with me as soon as possible. I promise to be discrete!
Student E-mail Accounts:
All CLC students are issued a CLC e-mail account. Federal law dictates that only e-mails sent to or from this account may contain personal school or grade-related information. To set up or modify your E-mail account, go to: http://www.clcillinois.edu/clcemail.asp?from=homesec2 and follow the instructions. If you are a new CLC student, all you'll need to start the process is your CLC student ID number. If you are a continuing student, you will need the user name and password you have been using to register on mystudentcenter.
Additional comments:
- Be prepared for and dressed for the weather.
- Children will not be allowed in the classroom, the lab or on field trips.
- Be prepared for and dressed for the weather.
- Always assume that labs will be held, unless you are contacted directly by the instructor, the college or
saw a notice on the instructor's web site.
- Be prepared for and dressed for the weather.
- Multiple layers with the top being a waterproof, will work best
- Please turn off all cell phones before walking into class, especially on quiz/test days.
- Be prepared for and dressed for the weather.
- Stay on the path, many sites are very picky about this and you can be fined for being off the path. This
also damages the habitat when you get multiple groups going off on their own.
- Obey traffic regulations, no speeding within the sites. Students should turn off music (or play it at a
reasonable level) in parking lots.
- Be prepared for and dressed for the weather.
- No smoking, drinking or rude conduct, treat the field trip sites as class.
- Be respectful of any organisms, that includes not yelling during the hike, not collecting/keeping
organisms, not killing any organisms. If you are comfortable handling animals, insects, etc. that is your
choice, however respect should always be paid so that the organism in not negatively affected.
- Be respectful of your classmates and your instructor.
-Leave no trace, pick up after yourself.
- Be prepared for and dressed for the weather.
Teaching Philosophy :
I believe that Environmental Biology is extremely interesting, and I will try to keep it from being dry or dull. The material will be set up in a way that will challenge you to think critically and not just "parrot" back answers. This class is not designed as a "blow-off", it is designed to prepare well educated members of society, and therefore it will be challenging! In order to be successful in this class, students must have good reading skills and must be able to commit time to regular reading and studying. Students are especially encouraged to find a group of people with which to study. A general rule of thumb is that for every hour spent in the classroom, at least two hours should be spent reading the text and studying. Will you make this commitment to a class that meets 5 hours per week? This class is set up so that a student who doesn't miss class and sets up an effective, consistent study program should do well. To make sure that this is the case, please feel free to talk to me if you have any questions or would like some extra help . I will always make time to assist a student who is having some difficulty, just ask me!
Semester Schedule
I currently have the tentative semester schedule posted in BlackBoard, which is a computer program which allows students password protected access to selected information. If you have not yet set up a blackboard account, please click here: http://clc.blackboard.com/
Points to Remember
- show up for class early, stay late and sit near the front
- learn scientific words by learning the definitions of the root words or prefixes/suffixes
- this will help in learning future words
- listen to verbal or visual cues from the instructor
- read the text before coming to class
- don't expect to have everything memorized
- have an understanding of the major points
- be prepared to ask questions about what you didn't understand
- studying should be done on a continual basis
- daily reviews are very effective
- cramming is not effective (long-term)
- use flow charts or concept maps to show relationships between things
- don't use “Self-fulfilling Prophecies”
- give yourself positive messages, not negative ones
- plan on using multiple study methods
- asking questions is a sign of intelligence, not weakness
- repetition, repetition, repetition
- read it, write it, speak it!
- study as if the whole test is an essay test
- don't just “read over” the notes
- DON'T PANIC! J If the proper study methods were used, then a student should have a solid
understanding of the material, and will do well.
- there is help for “testing anxiety” if you think you have it
Justification for the Development of Good Writing Skills
Students attending College of Lake County are not just being trained to be nurses, teachers, business people or accountants, they are receiving a college education. A college education is supposed to be more rigorous than high school and should prepare people to be intelligent, productive citizens. Therefore, college-educated adults in our society are expected to be able to write well regardless of their career and it is my philosophy to encourage students to do this through the assignment of essay questions on quizzes and tests.
In addition, being able to write the answer to an essay question demonstrates a thorough understanding of material that is often difficult and indicates that the student is organized enough to be able to demonstrate that understanding in writing. As a result, students in this class will be required to write the answers to essay questions as well as complete several written assignments.
How to Answer a Short-answer or Essay Question
(or information for any writing assignment)
General Rules
1. Use formal written English.
2. Write in sentence and paragraph form unless told to do otherwise. This includes giving your essay an introduction that states the question. This also means that if you are writing an essay that identifies a list, you write out the word "first", "second", "third", instead of just numbering the sentences.
3. When writing an essay, write out a rough draft on scratch paper to get an idea of what you are going to write and how you are going to write it. This is especially helpful with longer essays or those worth a lot of points. In addition, rough drafts can be done in outline form since they aren't turned in.
4. Read the question carefully. The body of the question will tell you what to write, as well as how to organize and write it. For instance, if the question says to compare and contrast two things, you must explain both how they are similar AND how they are different. If the question says to define and list something, make sure that you define the word AND list whatever is being asked for. Key words to look for in these types of questions include: Explain - Put a topic or process in your own words. This term is often used interchangeably with the word describe. Define - Give the correct meaning of a word in the context that it is being used. For example, the word syndrome literally means, “running with.” The medical definition of refers to a disease with several symptoms occurring together. List - Discuss the individual components of a process or topic. Lists are often meant to be in a particular order so make sure that order is also correct.
Summarize - Take the main topics or results and re-write them in a brief form.
Compare - Examine the similarities that two or more things have.
Contrast - Examine the differences that two or more things have.
5. Follow a thought all the way through to its completion. Don't leave an idea or process hanging partway through your answer.
6. Spell everything correctly.
7. Drawings and concept maps sometimes help visualize a structure or a concept but they must not be used instead of a written answer.
8. Read through the short answer / essay questions before you begin the test and budget time for each question. Although there will not usually be more than 1 or 2 essay questions (unless it is a makeup exam), it isn't a good idea to save a 15 point essay for the last 5 minutes of the test.
9. Questions worth 15 points should be longer and include more information than those worth 5 points.
10. Silently read your essay back to yourself when you are done to make sure that what you wrote makes sense and completely answers the question.