BSC 2011L Biodiversity Lab

Spring 2012 Syllabus (3 hrs sections)

TAs name: ______________________ E-mail: ______________________

Office location: ______________________ Office hours: ______________________

Lab Supervisor: Irmgard Lukanik (for problems that cannot be resolved with the TA) E-mail: ilukanik@usf.edu Office: ISA 3004 Introduction and Objectives This course is a hands-on introduction to biodiversity. You will become familiar with evolutionary theory, many groups of organisms and the scientific classification scheme and accumulate practice in identifying and classifying organisms. It is imperative that you keep up with the work on a weekly basis and be prepared for class. Make sure you read the lab handouts and recommended sections of text every week. This lab is SELF-DIRECTED. Your teaching assistant (TA) is here to guide you through a discovery process, not tell you what to memorize. You will only earn an A if you take the initiative to understand the concepts by seeking information outside of the scheduled lab time. Your TA will hold regular office hours in order to answer any questions that you may have. Attendance and Make-Up Policy You are required to attend every lab exercise and to arrive on time. Absences will be excused for documented emergencies ONLY. Documentation may include a doctors note (for an illness, not routine care), summons for jury duty, funeral record or similar personalized documentation. Lab absences due to inclement weather, unless classes are canceled as a result of University closure, do not represent extenuating circumstances. Note: Documentation for illness may be obtained on campus at Student Health Services. Visits are free of charge, although there may be charges for lab tests, medications, etc. The Billing and Fee Schedule can be accessed at http://www.shs.usf.edu/services/fee-schedule.aspx. Make-ups must be arranged with your TA and must be completed during the same week as the missed lab because materials are removed at the end of each week. If you miss your normal lab session but make it up later in the week with a DOCUMENTED excuse, you will not be penalized; however, you will have to complete the quiz given in the lab section you attend. If you anticipate missing a lab as a result of a religious holiday, you must inform your TA in writing by the second week of class and provide documentation of your religious obligation. IMPORTANT: Because of the hands-on nature of labs, more than two absences without makeups, whether excused or unexcused will result in a grade of F for this course. Laboratory Participation Policy Several courses in the Department of Integrative Biology (including this one) require the use, manipulation, or euthanasia of live animals or the use of preserved animals as an indispensable part of the laboratory exercises. By enrolling in these courses, a student agrees to participate in the laboratory experiments that utilize live or dead animals. Although a student who objects on the basis of religious or moral grounds need not 1

participate directly in the euthanasia or dissection of tissues, the student is expected to participate in data collection, write lab reports, and take quizzes and exams using dissected animals. Failure to participate will have a negative impact on the final grade in the course. It is the students responsibility to bring up any concerns to the faculty member in charge by the completion of the first laboratory session. All protocols for the use of animals in the Department of Integrative Biology have been approved by the USF IACUC and adhere to State and Federal regulations. Materials Required regular internet access from home or on campus access to a printer at home or on campus biology textbook (for reference) safety goggles calculator Note: Students are required to access Blackboard via the USF portal https://learn.usf.edu. You must check BB and your USF email on a weekly basis for information posted by your TA. Grading Grades will be updated weekly in the course Grade Center on Blackboard. It is each students own responsibility to keep track of his/her grades and to contact the TA within two weeks of receiving a grade if there are any discrepancies or questions. After this time, grades will not be open for review. Your lab grade will be calculated as follows: Quizzes 240 pts (at the start of each lab except during the weeks of the midterm and final, 20 pts each) Homework 260 pts (2 assignments, 130 pts each) Midterm Exam 150 pts Final Exam 200 pts Participation 110 pts (10 pts per week except for first week and weeks of the midterm and final - attendance, preparedness, cleaning up, etc.) ____________________________________________________________________________ Total 960 pts possible The standard college scale will be used (A=89.5-100%; B=79.5-89.4%; C=69.5-79.4%; D=59.569.4%; F=59.4% and below). We will not use the plus/minus system. There is NO CURVE and NO EXTRA CREDIT. Your TA will post specific grading guidelines before each assignment is due. Make sure you understand and follow directions! Note: the lab supervisor reserves the right to make adjustments to the final course grades to standardize among lab sections. Any such adjustment would be determined at the end of the semester after all grading has been completed. Exams You will have a midterm exam and a final exam. They will be given during your regular lab period and will be cumulative. Exams may include short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice questions, may require calculations with shown work, and may include demonstration of lab skills. 2

Quizzes You are responsible for reading and preparing for lab BEFORE you arrive. You should also review the concepts learned in the previous weeks lab before arriving. Pre-lab quizzes will test your preparation for the upcoming lab as well as your comprehension of the previous weeks exercise. If you are late, you will forfeit your opportunity to take the pre-lab quiz and you will lose all points. Homework Two homework assignments will be given over the course of the semester. Homework must be submitted via Blackboard BEFORE the beginning of lab. Make sure you know how to submit and view assignments through Blackboard before the first assignment is due. Assignments may be submitted as .doc, .docx, .odt, .rtf or .txt file formats. Your TA may or may not require a paper copy of your homework assignment. If you hand in a paper copy, it will not replace the electronic submission of the assignment. Your TA will only grade your homework if it has been submitted electronically. Missing an exercise with a homework assignment: If a student misses a lab on which a homework assignment is based as a result of a documented emergency, he or she may complete the homework for full credit. The student should acquire experimental data from the TA (or from another student, with the TAs consent). If deemed appropriate by the TA, the student will then have a period of time from that point equivalent to the other students in which to complete the report. If a student is too ill to attend class, the window of time to complete the report may begin from the point that he or she has sufficiently recovered to do so. If a student misses a lab on which an assignment is based for non-documented or non-emergency reasons, he or she may turn in the homework using experimental data obtained from the TA; however, the student will be penalized 50% of the grade earned. Late assignments: Assignments handed in beyond the time when they were due will be penalized 10% per day. No assignments will be accepted more than three days after the due date! Plagiarism Check Notification The University of South Florida has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service called Safe Assignment, which allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. The instructor of this course requires that each student submit files electronically via the course webpage. Assignments are compared automatically with a large database of journal articles, web articles, lab handouts and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report showing if a students paper was plagiarized and exactly how it was plagiarized. For more information, visit http://www.cte.usf.edu/plagiarism/sa/index.html and http://www.cte.usf.edu/plagiarism/sa.pdf.
In order to comply with federal (FERPA) and state privacy laws, students are not required to include personal identifying information such as name, SSN, and/or U# in the body of the work (text) or use such information in the file naming convention prior to submitting to Safe Assignment. Your submission will be placed in the course grade center in your account that can be accessed by the instructor and attributed to you.

Academic Dishonesty Lab exercises may be performed individually, in pairs, or in larger groups of students. Sharing data with a partner, comparing results with others, and discussing conclusions is permitted and even encouraged. However, students must complete quizzes, exams and lab reports INDIVIDUALLY. Copying and/or verifying answers from another students quiz or exam are prohibited. Likewise, permitting another student to view your answers is prohibited. If you suspect that your work has been copied, notify your TA immediately. Lab reports must be written INDIVIDUALLY by each student. Students may not show their work to another student, accept another students work for review, work together on a lab report, copy the words of another student or modify another students work, irrespective of whether the student is in the same section, in a different section, or is a former student. Assisting a student by sharing your own work, either in the current semester or at a future time, constitutes academic dishonesty. This applies to all sections of the report and to the creation of all figures, graphs and tables. Writing lab reports over topics unfamiliar to you requires library research. Do not use direct quotes. When using the published thoughts and ideas of another in your paper, it is essential that the words be paraphrased, or rewritten in your own words, AND the source be cited. Do not cut and paste! Passages that have been cut and pasted, then re-worded, are rarely sufficiently paraphrased. Plagiarism, or using anothers words or ideas without crediting the source, is a form of academic dishonesty. Students may not plagiarize a published source or posting on the Web. This applies to all sections of the report (abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references). Academic dishonesty will be prosecuted to the full extent of university policy. Possible penalties include a grade of zero on an assignment, an F for the course, or an FF for the course (failure for academic dishonesty). Although a first offense may not result in an FF, a second offense is guaranteed to. This includes the potential case in which a student plagiarizes but by chance is not caught initially, then commits a second offense which is caught and leads to the discovery of the first offense. IGNORANCE OF THE RULES WILL NOT ABSOLVE OR REDUCE CONSEQUENCES. See pages 45-46 of the current undergraduate catalogue for a description of academic dishonesty and its consequences (http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0708/adadap.htm). Copying from yourself - Students who are retaking the lab course MAY NOT submit the lab reports that they submitted previously. However, they may draw from their previous report to complete the new report. Graphs and tables must be new, containing the data obtained in the current semester. The Results section must likewise describe the current set of data. The Discussion section may include content from a previous report so long as it is consistent with the new data. It should also contain any new conclusions or observations. Students may submit the same Introduction they wrote for a previous report. The Methods section should describe precisely what was done in the current exercise. Plagiarism Tutorial: To ensure an understanding of plagiarism by all students, each student is required to 1) complete the tutorial located at http://www.cte.usf.edu/plagiarism/plagindex.html, and 4

to 2) complete the quiz that follows. Print the score page, write your name on it, and submit it to your TA at the beginning of the second class meeting (week of January 23rd). This assignment will count as the quiz for week 1. This is a USF Learning Outcomes Assessment course. Your written work may be evaluated after the course is completed to assess how well the IB Department prepares its students in the areas of discipline-specific knowledge and skills, critical thinking skills, and communication skills. Assessments will not affect your grade in any way. Conduct/dismissal from the lab - Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that encourages learning in the laboratory. Disruptive, distracting or dangerous behavior will result in dismissal from a lab exercise or the course. Reasons for dismissal also include the use of cell phones during class, failure to meet lab dress code and lack of safety goggles. Cellular phones - The use of cell phones for any reason - making or receiving phone calls, text messaging, performing calculations, keeping time, taking photos (unless expressly permitted by the TA), etc. - is prohibited in the laboratory. If you bring a cell phone to the lab, make sure it is turned completely off and put away before class begins. Headphones or earpieces of any kind are likewise prohibited for use in the lab. Violation may result in a reduced participation score for that exercise or dismissal from the laboratory. Notification regarding students registered with the SDS office All memos of accommodation must be presented to your TA no later than the second lab meeting (a copy must be provided to the Lab Supervisor as well). Lab quizzes and practical exams are necessary testing experiences for which double-time accommodation is difficult. Please meet with the Lab Supervisor to discuss accommodations. Emergency Preparedness In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor the Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication and the main USF website and email for important general information. Safety These are general guidelines. Your TA will thoroughly cover safety in class on the first day of lab. The following rules are strictly enforced: 1) No eating, drinking, or smoking in labs. 2) Backpacks and coats should be stored in shelving units provided. 3) Goggles are to be worn when any chemical, in any amount, is used including preservatives and stains. You will be asked to leave and will be counted absent without them. 4) Appropriate footwear must be worn at all times. The feet must be adequately covered (the foot must be totally covered up to the ankle). Therefore sandals, backless and opentoed shoes are not acceptable. You will be counted absent and asked to leave if footwear is inappropriate. 5

5) No tank tops, halter tops, or midriff shirts are allowed. Your clothing must cover your skin to your ankles. You will be asked to leave and counted absent without proper clothing. 6) When using flames, roll up sleeves and tie back hair. Keep alcohol away from flames. Turn off the burner when finished. 7) Keep your jewelry minimal. 8) Report accidents (no matter how minor) and emergencies to the TA immediately. 9) Follow your TAs instructions. The Department of Integrative Biology has policies and instructional guidelines in addition to those found in this syllabus which may relate to specific circumstances. These policies may be found at http://biology.usf.edu/ib/instructors/2009-2010InstructionalGuidelinesSVERSION.pdf

BSC 2011L Lab Schedule Spring 2012

Week of: 1/9-13 Exercise*: Syllabus and safety rules; Plagiarism and Scientific Method Martin Luther King Holiday No labs this week Phylogeny and Evolution; inoculate fern cultures; Homework 1 assigned Population Genetics; observe fern cultures Origins of Life; Prokaryotes Introduction to Eukaryotes; Protists Plants I Seedless Plants Plants II Seed Plants; Homework 2 assigned Midterm Exam Spring Break No labs this week Opisthokonta: Fungi and Intro to Animals (Parazoa and Radiata); Opisthokonta: Bilateria: Protostomia I Opisthokonta: Bilateria: Protostomia II Opisthokonta: Bilateria: Deuterostomia Introduction to Ecology Final Exam Homework 2 due Homework 1 due Plagiarism Tutorial Assignments due

1/16-20 1/23-27

1/30-2/3 2/6-10 2/13-17 2/20-24 2/27-3/2 3/5-9 3/12-16 3/19-23**

3/26-30 4/2-6 4/9-13 4/16-20 4/23-27

* Lab Exercises are subject to changes or modification. Your TA will notify you of any changes. ** The last day to withdraw from a course without academic penalty is Saturday, March 24th. Students who drop BSC 2011L will automatically be dropped from BSC 2011. Students who drop BSC 2011 may remain enrolled in BSC 2011L by submitting a petition form the week prior to the drop date.

Teaching Laboratory Safety Guidelines (student copy) The following Safety Guidelines are to be strictly adhered to in all teaching laboratories. These rules apply to students, teaching assistants, and instructors. The signed document should be turned into the TA, and the TA should give this document to the Teaching Lab Manager. No food, drinks, or smoking in labs. Goggles are to be worn when any chemical, in any amount, is used including preservatives and stains. Goggles also need to be worn when there is the possibility of an object impacting the eye. Appropriate footwear must be worn at all times. The feet must be adequately covered (the foot must be totally covered up to the ankle). Therefore sandals, backless and open-toed shoes are not acceptable. Clothing appropriate for laboratory safety must be worn. Clothing (pants or skirt) must be worn which completely covers the entire leg from the waist to the ankle. Clothing (shirt, blouse, etc.) must be worn which completely covers the torso from the waist to the neck. Shoulders must be completely covered and sleeves must be worn that cover the arm from the shoulder to at least halfway to the elbow. Therefore, tank tops, halters, shorts, cutoffs, etc. are not acceptable. Some labs may require the use of a lab coat and/or gloves. Long hair should be tied back when using a Bunsen burner. Jewelry, particularly dangling necklaces or earrings with the potential to interfere with or be contaminated by an experiment should not be worn. Backpacks should be placed in the shelving units provided. Safety Suggestions Materials are to be disposed of immediately after use and in the proper containers. All bottles, flasks etc. are to be labeled completely with full chemical names. Never leave an experiment unattended. Never leave a solution on a hot plate unattended. Hotplates that have been turned off, but are still hot, should have a warning note in front of them. IF THERE IS A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. OTHERWISE CONTACT THE TEACHING LAB MANAGER. I have read the safety guidelines listed above and understand that non-compliance will result in my dismissal from the laboratory until I do comply, and I will not be allowed to make-up missed work resulting from that dismissal. Sign___________________________________________ Print Name______________________________________ Course #_______________ Section #_______________

Teaching Laboratory Safety Guidelines (TA copy) The following Safety Guidelines are to be strictly adhered to in all teaching laboratories. These rules apply to students, teaching assistants, and instructors. The signed document should be turned into the TA, and the TA should give this document to the Teaching Lab Manager. No food, drinks, or smoking in labs. Goggles are to be worn when any chemical, in any amount, is used including preservatives and stains. Goggles also need to be worn when there is the possibility of an object impacting the eye. Appropriate footwear must be worn at all times. The feet must be adequately covered (the foot must be totally covered up to the ankle). Therefore sandals, backless and open-toed shoes are not acceptable. Clothing appropriate for laboratory safety must be worn. Clothing (pants or skirt) must be worn which completely covers the entire leg from the waist to the ankle. Clothing (shirt, blouse, etc.) must be worn which completely covers the torso from the waist to the neck. Shoulders must be completely covered and sleeves must be worn that cover the arm from the shoulder to at least halfway to the elbow. Therefore, tank tops, halters, shorts, cutoffs, etc. are not acceptable. Some labs may require the use of a lab coat and/or gloves. Long hair should be tied back when using a Bunsen burner. Jewelry, particularly dangling necklaces or earrings with the potential to interfere with or be contaminated by an experiment should not be worn. Backpacks should be placed in the shelving units provided. Safety Suggestions Materials are to be disposed of immediately after use and in the proper containers. All bottles, flasks etc. are to be labeled completely with full chemical names. Never leave an experiment unattended. Never leave a solution on a hot plate unattended. Hotplates that have been turned off, but are still hot, should have a warning note in front of them. IF THERE IS A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. OTHERWISE CONTACT THE TEACHING LAB MANAGER. I have read the safety guidelines listed above and understand that non-compliance will result in my dismissal from the laboratory until I do comply, and I will not be allowed to make-up missed work resulting from that dismissal. Sign___________________________________________ Print Name______________________________________ Course #_______________ Section #_______________