BIOSC 015*96018, Human Heredity & Disease Online Course Syllabus, Spring 2011

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1 BIOSC 015*96018, Human Heredity & Disease Online Course Syllabus, Spring 2011 Instructor: Thaïs Winsome, Ph.D. Office: SCI 119, Office Hours: MW 8:35-9:00pm; TH 11am 1:30pm; by appt. 1. Course Description & Learning Objectives BIOSC 15 is a survey of human genetics. Topics include the role of genetics in human health and the ethical issues surrounding modern genetic technologies. By the end of this course, you should be able to: Diagram a cell and describe the structure and functions of its organelles Describe the cell cycle and the processes of mitosis and meiosis Describe the structure and function of nucleic acids, genes, and chromosomes Analyze basic and complex patterns of inheritance, and describe various sources of genetic variation Describe in general terms the molecular processes governing gene expression Describe in general terms the modern molecular techniques used in human genetics Critically examine ethical issues surrounding the role of genetics in modern society 2. Textbooks & Supplies Required: Human Heredity: Principles & Issues, Cummings, 8 th Edition o ISBN (also available as ebook through Supplies: o Scantrons (#882E; the long green ones) 3. Grading & Evaluation There are a total of 600 points available, allocated as follows: Activity Number Points Total Quizzes (mandatory; online) Exams (mandatory; 2 midterms and 1 final) Online assignments The final grade is a percentage of the total points possible and grades are assigned as follows: A = 90%; B = 79-89%; C = 68-78%; D = 57-67%; F = <57%. This course also has a pass/no pass option. In order to take this option, you must inform me in writing by MARCH 4, I cannot retroactively change letter grades to pass/no pass grades. In-class meetings: There are three, mandatory meetings on campus to take exams: o EXAM ONE: Friday, March 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m., SCI 230. o EXAM TWO: Friday, April 22, 5:30-7:30 p.m., SCI 230. o FINAL EXAM: Friday, May 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m., SCI 230.

2 Exams: multiple-choice, matching-syle questions plus a few short essays or genetic problems. A WORD ABOUT EXAM DATES: In the event that you cannot make an exam date, you must let me know well in advance so we can arrange an alternative day/time. If you become ill the day of the exam, contact me within 24 hours. If you just fail to show up and then contact me days afterwards it is not likely that I will be able to make an alternative arrangement for you, and you will receive an F on the exam. Study Guides: I provide a study guide for the material covered in each exam, but you ll see your best results if you make the effort to write up your own study guides and flashcards. Please see the Grading Policy on page 5 of this syllabus. This should give you a clear idea of how I grade essays on exams and the web assignments. Quizzes: These are online, with multiple-choice or matching-style questions that are automatically graded and are designed to test your knowledge and prepare you for the exams. There are a total of 6 quizzes, of which I drop the two lowest from your final score. There are no make-ups on quizzes. See page 4 for more details on the quizzes. Online Web Assignments: These are assignments in which you visit a particular website and work your way through a series of questions about the material. These assignments generally include an online discussion forum with other students in the class. Please see the grading policy on page 5 for web assignment essays and forum postings. o IMPORTANT NOTE: Like Vegas, what happens in cyberspace stays in cyberspace. Unlike Vegas, whatever you post is out there for all to see. Observe common courtesy and rules of netiquette when posting to the discussion forums. It s perfectly fine to disagree in a respectful manner with another student s views, but I have a zero-tolerance policy toward any posting that is rude or disrespectful. This includes even well-intended kidding or sarcasm remember that your fellow students may not be able to interpret your remarks as you intend them. Any posting that includes remarks that are disrespectful or discriminatory will be assigned 0 points and may be subject to referral to the Dean of Student Services. Homework: Each chapter carries with it a homework assignment that is not graded but which consists of questions very similar to those you ll see on the exams. Answers to many of the homework problems are available in the back of the textbook; answers to those problems that are not in the textbook will be posted to Angel the week before the exam. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT DROPPING: To comply with state attendance regulations I ll have to drop you by the census date, FEBRUARY 11, if you haven t logged on to Angel and completed the first online assignment. If you decide to drop after that date, please note that it will be your responsibility to drop the course. 4. Course Format (refer to page 4 for the schedule of topics & due dates) The course is designed to cover one or two topics per week. My experience with online science courses has shown that students do best when they pace their learning over the course of the semester. If you try to do the reading all at once at the beginning of the unit or worse, right before the exams, you ll have a very hard time indeed making sense of it all. There is a lot of material to cover in this course. Your textbook is your primary source of information, so it is essential that you have a copy. There are copies on Reserve under my name in the Library, but past experience has shown that it is extremely difficult to do well in this course without having ready access to the textbook. Before going without, consider purchasing the ebook. You can even rent the book, although be careful to use a reputable service not all of them are! In addition to the textbook, Powerpoint lectures are available on Angel that are designed to supplement the textbook readings (but not replace them!). These lectures are available as Flash presentations in a folder under the Lessons tab, and they are also available as downloadable.pdf files at 6 slides/page. Most of the Flash presentations come with an audio lecture, or lecture notes that you can read. 2

3 5. The Angel Course Management System All course materials, grades, and communication are handled via Angel, our course management system. To log onto Angel: For Support: A note about s: I can you and you can me from within Angel. I have things set up such that my s are automatically sent to the student s external account so you don t have to log on to Angel to receive messages. You can also me directly (thais.winsome@wvm.edu). 6. Mission College Policy on Disability Support Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. The College makes every effort to accommodate students with disabilities. If you require arrangements for seating, lab access, assistance with taking notes and/or exams, please see me at once and/or contact DISC (Disability Instructional Support Center) located in S2-201 ( or TTY) to coordinate accommodation. 7. Mission College Policy on Cheating Students who cheat on the in-class exams by bringing in extra notes or peeking at another student s paper will earn an F on that exam. Any student who helps another cheat by showing them their paper, trading papers with them, or providing them with answers by any means will also receive an F on that exam. Occasionally, students will submit essay assignments that are so similar as to be essentially identical. This is cheating, and students who do so will split the earned points between them. Sometimes students will submit essays in which they ve simply cut and pasted several paragraphs of material from the internet. In an essay, apart from a direct quotation (usually 50 words or less), it is considered plagiarism to cut and paste, or hand copy, any material from the internet into your own document, even if you cite the URL as a source. Changing a word or two here and there doesn t make it any better! Any exam or assignment into which the student has simply copied material from the internet or any other source will receive 0 points. Students who cheat more than once on an exam or assignment will be referred to the Vice President of Student Services. 8. Mission College Policy on Students Behaving Badly It is my responsibility to ensure that all students enjoy a supportive, respectful learning environment. I have a zerotolerance policy toward any speech or behavior that disrupts the learning environment or prevents any student from achieving their educational goals. This includes disrespectful, demeaning, or discriminatory remarks of any kind, and any form of coercive behavior. Any student who engages in such speech or behavior will be referred to the Dean of Student Services for disciplinary action. Unlawful Discrimination/Sexual Harassment If you have a complaint, or someone you know has shared information with you that s/he has been the victim of unlawful discrimination or sexual harassment, contact the Director of Human Resources at West Valley-Mission Community College District, Human Resources Department, (408) ). If the Director of Human Resources is not available, contact the President of Mission College at (408)

4 BIOSC 015 Summary Schedule Week Date Lecture Topic Assignment Due Chapter 1 1/30 Biomolecules and Cells Angel Log-in by 2/4 Powerpoint lecture; /6 DNA & Chromosomes WA1 (2/11) , , /13 The Cell Cycle & Mitosis Q1 (wk 1-2) /20 Reproduction & Development WA2 (2/20) , /27 Simple Inheritance Patterns Q2 (wk 3-5) /6 Pedigrees /11 EXAM ONE: SCI 230, 5:30-7:30pm (weeks 1-5) 7 3/13 Genes & Environment ; linkage handout 8 3/20 Sex Determination Q3 (wk 6-7) ***SPRING BREAK*** 10 4/3 Gene Expression WA3 (4/3) ; , /10 Chromosomal Alterations & Mutation Q4 (wk 8-11) ; /17 Cancer /22 EXAM TWO: SCI 230, 5:30-7:30pm (weeks 6-11) 13 4/24 Cloning & Biotechnology Q5 (wk 11-12) , 13.5, /1 The Human Genome Project WA4 (5/1) 15.2, 15.4, /8 Reproductive & Medical Technologies Q6 (wk 13-15) /15 Population Genetics , /27 FINAL EXAM: SCI 230, 5:30-7:30pm (weeks 12-16) WA = Web Assignment; due by 11:00 pm on the date in parentheses. For example, WA1 is due at 11:59pm on Friday, Feb 11. Web assignments are assigned at least two weeks before the due date. Q = Online Quiz. These will be made available on the weekend of the week in which they re assigned. For example, Quiz 1 will be available from 8:00 a.m. Friday 2/11 through 11:00 p.m. Sunday 2/13. Quizzes will be available for review the following Monday. IMPORTANT DATES: Feb 11: Last day to add; last day to drop for refund Feb 21: Last day to drop without W Apr 22: Last day to drop with W 4

5 BIOSC 015, Spring 2011 Grading Policy for Essay Questions (exams and web assignments) Score Content Comprehension Support of Arguments % A Excellent! The student answered all questions completely, in essay form, with complete sentences and correct grammar. Student included references to all sources (for web assignments). The student demonstrated total comprehension of the material and was able to apply to new questions the concepts learned from lecture materials, textbook readings, and web-based materials. The student made no major factual errors and correctly used scientific terminology appropriate to the level of the course. The student supported arguments with many specific details and examples from various sources, including those acquired through independent research beyond the assigned material 80-89% B Good Work! The student answered all questions completely, but failed to do so in complete essay form. The student made one or two factual errors, but made some attempt to use scientific terminology appropriate to the level of the course. The student demonstrated good comprehension of the material and was able to apply to new questions the concepts learned from lecture materials, textbook readings, and web-based materials. The student made one or two factual errors, but made some attempt to use scientific terminology appropriate to the level of the course. The student supported arguments with some specific details and examples. Student did not include references to all sources (for web assignments) % C Keep Trying. The student answered fewer than 80% of all questions, and failed to do so in essay form. Responses to questions were hard to understand and did not address the central points of the questions. The student did not demonstrate comprehension of the material and failed to apply most of the concepts to new questions. The student made several factual errors, and made no attempt to use scientific terminology appropriate to the level of the course. The student provided few details to support arguments. Student did not include references to all sources (for web assignments). <70% D/F We need to talk. The student failed to submit the assignment or answered fewer than 70% of all questions, and failed to do so in essay form. Responses to questions were illogical and did not address the central points of the questions. The student did not demonstrate comprehension of the material and failed to apply most of the concepts to new questions. The student made repeated, significant factual errors, and made no attempt to use scientific terminology appropriate to the level of the course. Student made no attempt to support arguments with specific details or examples. Student plagiarized the material and/or did not include references to all sources (for web assignments). Student responded to another student s discussion forum posting in a manner that was rude, demeaning and/or hostile.