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BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
SYLLABUS, SPRING 2017
COURSE INFORMATION
Number: BSC 2011
Section: 001
Title: Biological Diversity
Meeting times: Monday &Wednesday, 11 am - 12:15 pm, FAH 101
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Name: Dr. Chris Osovitz
Office: SCA 327
Office Hours: TBA, and by appointment
Email: osovitz@usf.edu
Phone: 813-974-9109
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to introduce students to the diversity of life. We will start by reviewing
evolutionary theory and then conduct an overview of the major groups of living organisms. We
will finish by looking at how organisms interact with each other and their environment and how
populations grow and interact with one another.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completing this course, students will have a better understanding of several major
concepts:
1. mechanisms of evolution and how evolutionary relationships are inferred
2. development of biological diversity, and relationships among the major taxa
3. basic aspects of form and function for representative members of the major taxa
4. general interactions between organisms and the environment
CLASS COMMUNICATION:
Students are required to check the course Canvas site on a regular basis to keep track of
announcements, messages and upcoming assignments. You may elect to set up alerts (email,
text message or other) so that you are notified when assignments are due or when there is
relevant activity in the Canvas site. Even if you choose not to receive these notifications, you
are responsible for the information presented on Canvas.
GRADING:
The course will consist of 100 total points, consisting of lecture exams, online homework
assignments, and lecture attendance and participation.
Exams (75%): There will be four non-cumulative lecture-period exams as well as a cumulative
final exam. Your lowest of the lecture exams grade will be dropped, and each remaining exam
will be worth 18.75% of your grade. The final exam will not be dropped, and is also worth
18.75% of your grade. If you arrive late for an exam, and any students have already
completed and left the exam, you will not be allowed to take the exam. Only exams missed for
excused and documented absences will be eligible for a make-up. You must request the
make-up ahead of time if possible, and at the latest on the day of the missed exam, unless you
are physically unable to do so (e.g. due to grave illness and hospitalization). You will be asked
to present your student ID during exams.
Homework (15%): Homework will be accessed through the Canvas site for the course. Some
assignments will be assigned as Canvas quizzes, others with Mastering Biology via Canvas.
There will be two types of assignments: 1. Pre-class assignments (Dynamic Study Modules or
Canvas quizzes; 5%) due at 11:59pm the day before we are scheduled to cover a topic in
class and 2. Post-class homework (Mastering Homework; 10%) due at 11:59pm a few days
(exact number variable) after we have covered a topic in class.
To sign in later:
1. Go to www.masteringbiology.com and select Sign In.
2. Enter your Pearson account username and password from registration, and select Sign In.
If you forgot your username or password, select Forgot your username or password?
Please note that there will be one dropped homework grade, but there will be no other
extensions granted, except for documented university-excused reasons that cover a
significant portion of the time that the assignment was available. Due dates for all Mastering
assignments for the entire semester is available on the MasteringBiology website, and on
Canvas. We highly recommend that you set up reminders to ensure that you dont miss
assignments.
Extra credit homework assignment (up to 1%): Homework assignments will be set up in
Canvas, which can earn students up to 1% extra credit. Each assignment will be open for one
week and will not be reopened once it closes. Each assignments worth is proportional to the
points associated with it. Students must complete all assignments to get the full 1% extra
credit. Note that the extra credit points will NOT be automatically calculated in Canvas and
instead will be added manually at the very end of the semester.
Attendance & Participation (10%): Attendance and participation in the lecture are required,
and will be assessed using i<Clicker 2 response pads (clickers). These can be purchased
from the bookstore. Your clicker should then be registered by clicking on the iclicker button
on the left panel of our Canvas page, then selecting iclicker registration, and following the
instructions. Clickers will be used to take attendance and to record your answers to questions
during class. Questions will be asked throughout the lecture and may 1) cover material from
the previous lecture and/or reading assignment; 2) aim to assess your comprehension of the
material just discussed or 3) make you reflect on concepts before we fully cover them in class.
Calculating your clicker grade: A single clicker point will be awarded for a recorded response to
each question on a quiz and a correct response will earn an additional clicker point. Therefore,
an incorrect answer on a quiz will earn a total of one clicker point; while a correct answer will
earn two clicker points. The attendance for each lecture meeting will be worth 5 clicker points;
to earn attendance points, you must have answered at least 75% of the questions asked on
that day. The 2 lectures in which you earned the lowest score of the semester (i.e. those that
are most detrimental to your grade) will be dropped from your overall attendance and
participation grade. There will therefore not be further opportunities to make-up attendance
and participation points if you miss class, forget your clicker or if it does not work during a
given class. It is your responsibility to make sure your clicker is working properly. The
professor or lecture TA cannot fix it for you. If you miss class meetings for a university-
accepted reason (see below) and deliver the proper documentation to Dr. Bgin before or
immediately after the missed classes, you may receive attendance points for those lectures by
providing Dr. Bgin with a set of detailed notes about the material covered on that day (to be
developed based on the textbook). We will work out the make-up points on a case by case
basis. Your total attendance/participation score will be taken as a percentage of all available
clicker points to make up the 10% of the clicker grades.
You should obtain your clicker and have it registered by Tuesday, January 17th. We will use
clickers prior to this date as practice and I strongly encourage you to start using it on these
earlier dates. We will not modify grades on the 17th because of any technical difficulties that
stem from not understanding how to use the clicker.
Cheating policy:
The use of someone elses clicker is academic dishonesty. If we find anyone doing this, all
students involved will be penalized a course letter grade! A second offense will result in an F
for the class and possible further sanctions.
iClicker Go
iClicker makes an app that can be used on a smart device as an alternative to physical clickers
and that use wireless signals to send responses. USF IT cannot guarantee that we have
enough bandwidth to support iClicker Go. Should you prefer to use this rather than the
physical iClicker 2, you do so at your own risk and with no expectation of USF support.
Duplicate clickers
Each student is allowed to use only one clicker (including both physical and iClicker go) during
the semester (unless we change your clicker ID because a lost/broken remote). Any answers
associated with a clicker ID that is NOT your main one will not be taken into consideration.
Absences
If you miss a class meeting for any reason, you will be held responsible for all material covered
and announcements made in your absence. Electronic slides for most (but not necessarily all)
lectures will be posted on Canvas. It will be your responsibility to consult with students in the
class concerning what you missed.
Excused absences, which are acceptable reasons for requesting a make-up, are medical
(individual or immediate family only; documented), legal (accident or court case; individual
only; documented), funerary (immediate family only; documented), military (call to active duty;
documented), religious (customarily-observed holidays; absence pre-arranged with instructor),
and special requirements of other courses and University-sponsored events (absence pre-
arranged with instructor). You must provide documentation for excused absence for all
missed lectures or exams in order to be allowed a make-up. The reason for requesting a
make-up must relate specifically to the time periods of the missed coursework and must be
documented in writing by an involved professional, when documentation is required. The
instructor retains the right to make additional inquiries concerning the documentation. If you
are sick, you MUST contact the instructor in advance of the exam or class and then you have
one week to present a doctors note for ALL excused absences and still get your attendance
points or be allowed a make-up. The same holds true for other university excused absences.
Within reason, the Department accommodates students religious beliefs. The University
compiles a list of established religious days when classes may need to be missed for religious
observances, and only these established religious days are addressed by University policy
(http://generalcounsel.usf.edu/policies-and-procedures/pdfs/policy-10-045.pdf). Students who
anticipate the necessity of being absent from class because of the observation of an
established religious day must provide notice of the date(s) to the Instructor, in writing, by the
second class meeting.
Finally, tardiness is disruptive and unacceptable. Please do not arrive late to lecture. Points
may be deducted for tardiness, and the student may be asked to leave.
Final grades:
A+ 97% & above
A 90 to 96.9%
B+ 87 to 89.9%
B 83 to 86.9%
B- 80 to 82.9%
C+ 77 to 79.9%
C 70 to 76.9%
D+ 67 to 69.9%
D 63 to 66.9%
D- 60 to 62.9%
F below 60% *
There is no curve in this course and students WILL NOT be awarded a higher letter grade simply
because they are close to the next highest grade. However, if the exams turn out to be more
difficult than anticipated, the individual exam grades may be adjusted upwards. The absence of a
curve guarantees that students who earn 933 points will receive an A regardless of the grade
distribution
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Assigned readings: assigned chapters should be read before attending class this will
help you follow what we cover. After reading the assigned chapters you can complete the
Sapling pre-assignment.
2. Monitor the course Canvas site and your USF email regularly for communications from
instructional staff pertaining to the course.
DISHONESTY POLICY:
USF expects all members to behave with academic integrity. Should we find evidence of
academic misconduct (cheating, or complicity in academic dishonesty) by a student, we will
inform the student of the action to be taken. Cheating on an exam, including looking at another
students exam, will result in a grade of FF for the course. If the offense is extremely serious,
charges against the student will be brought before the Dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences.
BSC 2011L LABORATORY:
Note: The laboratory for BSC 2011 is operated separately from the lecture. However, you must
be enrolled in the lecture part of this class to take the laboratory. If you withdraw from the
lecture, you must also withdraw from the laboratory.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
Recording of lectures is permitted for personal use only. Sale of such items is forbidden.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES:
Personal computers may be used during lectures for taking notes and other class related
activities only. Use of cell phones, including texting, is prohibited at all times during the class.