Welcome to Biology 3 Your Instructor is Dr. Jacki Houghton

Are You Afraid?

Let Me Help It’s only Biology What do you think Biology is?

It’s Life! Take a look… Now that we know what creates life… pjGZzLk pjGZzLk Once we had the first cell, it multiplied! It then created all of the millions of life forms on this planet

Life So the study of Biology is how life was formed from chemicals, how the first cell (hypothetically) divided and then those two cells divided ad nauseum to create the gazillions of life forms on this planet AND how they interact with the non-living World and other life-forms. Simple!

So What Are The Principles of Biology? Biology is the study of life…therefore… 1.What is life? How do we define it? 2.Where did it come from? How did it begin? 3.When did it occur? 4.What is DNA? What is inheritance? 5.What is a cell and what are it’s parts and how does it work? 6.What is the scope of life? 7.How did so many different types of living things come from a non- living planet? 8.How do we classify all of the life forms? 9.What is evolution? 10.What are the parts of an ecosystem and what are their significance? 11.And lastly, the process of science. How do we study Biology?

Oh Man, I’m Bored Already OK, but it’s your grade! Here’s the truth about biology: It’s the study of everything! Oh now I feel worse! Think about everything around you, you, the food you eat, the house you live in, your pets, your friends…all living things or made from living things…Biology!

So What? So now, the other part of the class covers how we study all of the above and that is called the scientific method. There are skills which need to be honed to be a good scientist. One of them is to learn critical thinking skills, good observational skills, bookkeeping skills, graphing skills and the ability to use the scientific method.

How to Proceed You have a website especially made for you It is: ology_3.htm ology_3.htm Everything you need is located there

What Now? “Jacki’s Theory of Life” Life as an alien

Learning Styles Everyone learns a slightly different way and I honor that and will work with you in anyway that I can to assist you in learning in your style, be it visual, written, photographic, video, aural or whatever, just let me know how I may assist you.

Active Learning I believe in active learning. Question: Would a child learn more from being screamed at not to put his finger in a candle flame OR, let him put his finger in the candle flame to learn for himself?

Get Acquainted I would like to take some time now to help you get to know your classmates and fellow scientists. Please find a partner and ask him/her, how they got their name and what they want to do as a job in the future Upon completion, you will introduce your new friend to the class

Teams Since this class is about working with others, we will be forming teams of 4 students each. It will be the same group for lecture as well as lab so choose your teammates carefully. Please do that now.

Be Sure To Pick Up Your Supplies On the syllabus is a list of supplies that you will need for this class. Please have them by the next class so that you will be prepared to do all exercises You may also want to get Play Doh and pipe cleaners as well but it is your choice

Google+ Here’s my home survey assignment /albums/ ? utm_source=embedded&utm_medium=go ogleabout&utm_campaign=link /albums/ ? utm_source=embedded&utm_medium=go ogleabout&utm_campaign=link This was a blast to do! Even though it’s not complete 

This is Your Class! I want you to decide how to learn in this class. I like to vary the learning modalities to suit various learning styles like lecture, discussion, short tasks like drawing a molecule, short quizzes, acting out etc. This can be a lot of fun and I hope that you will willing to engage in this method

Composting Composting is a great way to get acquainted with the microscopic World! As a Bank Point assignment, you will start a compost “jug” using a one gallon milk carton at least. If you have a larger container and wish to build a larger compost pile, feel free. The directions are on the HOME page of your website There are many methods to making compost, research it and make it work. We’ll discuss it in lab

Change to Syllabus I will calculate your grade in the following manner: 50% based on activities - work 50% based on quizzes and exams - understanding All points will be given as a percentage. At the end of the semester, I will apply your banked points in the following way: 5 points will be deducted for every class hour missed You may use points for any activity in which you did not receive full credit (homework, etc) EXCEPT Group and Individual Projects You may use points for improving quiz grades if you earned at least 50% on the quiz. If you miss a quiz, it may NOT be made up. I will offer extra credit for missed quizzes Exams are very important because this shows me your understanding of the principles of biology and the scientific methods.

Homework I will offer you a variety of activities for you to earn your homework points. All homework must be turned in on time. If it is late, 10% will be deducted automatically Only extra credit can make up lost points for homework

Discussions The four online discussions will be accomplished on the Wiki Site The four in-class discussions will be held in class and you will need time to prepare. I will give you a full explanation later

Individual Projects Your four individual projects will be of your choosing within limits. I will give you the goals and you will find projects which will fulfill those goals You may not make up Individual Project points. If you are absent on your appointed day, you may do it on a different day.

Labs Labs are worth 15 points You may earn your 10 points by contributing to the video There will be a 5 point quiz at the BEGINNING of the lab to ensure that you pre-read the lab.