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I. TITLE: Biological Concepts

II. CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Biological principles are examined in an active learning mode. This course relates the significance of biology to individuals and society and establishes that this body of knowledge underpins agriculture, medicine, and environmental management. Laboratory required. No prerequisite (each semester).

III. PURPOSE: The course is designed to promote learning of the principles of biology through an active process. Lectures and especially labs will emphasize critical thinking and active learning (Criteria 1 and 3). Student projects or teamwork in solving problems will promote student engagement in and responsibility for learning (Criteria 1 and 3). Projects will be assigned in lab. An example would be monitoring bacterial growth over time and analyzing data which will be in a formal report (Criteria 6 and 7). The principles of biology are those facts and concepts that are common to the understanding of living things. Students will understand that science is a method of achieving new knowledge and that biology is a body of knowledge. Students will understand the scientific method used to discover knowledge. The fundamental concepts and ways of learning in many disciplines are related to an interdisciplinary approach (Criterion 5). Observations can be extended by technology and can be confirmed by experimentation to reveal facts and lead to new questions. Laboratory exercises will promote criteria 3, 6 and 7. This course also emphasizes the significance of biology to society and individuals by stressing that biology is the basic science that underpins: (1) the production of our food and most of our fiber, (2) our understanding of the environment and its degradation, and (3) that it is the basis of our understanding of disease and its treatments (Criterion 8).

IV. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
A. learn the principles of biology,
B. understand the scientific method,
C. apply the concepts of biology to everyday life and socioeconomic issues,
D. gain an understanding of biology as a global discipline.

V. CONTENT OUTLINE:
Introduction and Course Design
Ecology: The Biosphere
Population Dynamics
Communities and Ecosystems
The Chemical Basis of Life
The Molecules of Cells
A Tour of the Cell
The Working Cell
How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy(Respiration)
Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food
Genetics: The Cellular Basis
Genetics: Patterns of Inheritance
Genetics: The Molecular Biology
Evolution
Animal Systems
Plant Systems

VI. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: Students will be assigned reading material in both lecture and lab throughout the semester. Criterion 5 is fulfilled as students have significant amounts of reading to prepare for discussion groups in lecture. Writing and critical thinking is required for exams, quizzes and lab reports. High academic standards are maintained by experienced professors teaching the course (Criterion 2). Individual and team projects will be assigned during laboratory. The results of these projects will be presented in written format. Experimentation during lab will be ongoing through the semester. Some laboratory exercises will require computer literacy. Students must be able to use computer technology for these exercises (Criterion 6)

VII. FIELD AND CLINICAL EXPERIENCES: Emphasis will be placed on the student actively pursuing hands-on approach to problem solving and experimentation during the lab period. After completing the required task, a quiz to determine the extent of the students’ understanding of material covered will be given the following week during the lab period.

VIII. RESOURCES:
a. printed material
b. teaching assistants
c. videotapes
d. microscopes
e. projectors
f. VCRs
g. computer programs
h. computers
i. videodiscs

IX. GRADING PROCEDURES:
Tests and quizzes will be administered in both lecture and lab. Lecture exams will account for 75% of the grade and lab quizzes and exercises will account for 25% of the grade. 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; below 60% = E

X. ATTENDANCE POLICY: Each student is expected to be prompt and regular in class attendance. A student may be excused who has failed to attend class on any particular day provided work is made up satisfactorily (modified excerpt from catalog).

XI. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY: Cheating, plagiarism (submitting another person’s work as one’s own, or doing work for another person which will receive academic credit) are all impermissible. This includes the use of unauthorized books, notebooks or other sources in order to secure or give help during an assignment, the unauthorized copying of examinations, assignments, reports or term papers, or the presentation of unacknowledged material as if it were your own work. If substantial evidence exists for violation of this policy, the student(s) involved will receive a grade of ‘E’ for the course and a written explanation of the violation will be included in their academic file and a copy sent to the Chair of your major department. Disciplinary action may be taken beyond the academic discipline that the instructor administers in the course itself.

XII. TEXTS AND REFERENCES:
Lecture text: Campbell, N.A., L.G. Mitchell, and JB. Reece. 2000. Biology: Concepts and Connections.
Laboratory text: Timmons, T. and L. Duobinis-Gray. Laboratory Manual. Biology, the Science of Life. 2001.