Bio 1B points breakdown, Section 105



Biology 1B Laboratory and Discussion Syllabus

Section 105, Spring 2006

Discussion: Monday, 2:10 - 3:00 p.m., 2005 VLSB

Lab: Monday, 3:10 - 6:00 p.m., 2005 VLSB

GSI: Amber Kerr (akerrl@lberkeley.edu)

Web page:

Laboratory and discussion sections are a crucial part of Bio 1B. Not only will they help you prepare for exams, they will give you a chance to demonstrate your practical knowledge and develop your skill at working in groups. Lab and discussion together will count for 250 out of 700 points, or 36% of the total points for the class. The assessment is described in detail below.

|Assignment |Type |Points per assignment |No. of assignments |Total points |

|Lab Reports & Worksheets |Group |10 or 12 pts |13 |150 pts |

|Weekly Quiz |Indiv. |4 pts |12 |48 pts |

|Enhancement Exercise |Indiv. |26 pts |1 |26 pts |

|Library Assignment |Indiv. |10 pts |1 |10 pts |

|Supplemental Assignments |Indiv. |4 pts |4 |16 pts |

|Weekly Question |Indiv. |1 pts |12 |(bonus) |

|TOTAL |250 pts |

LAB REPORTS: To receive full points on the lab reports and worksheets, your group must not only collect the necessary data but also demonstrate in your write-up that you understand the main concepts of the lab. Clear scientific writing style, correct spelling and grammar, and neatness will also contribute to your grade. Each group member will receive the same grade on the report. It is crucial that all group members contribute equally throughout the semester; please include a signed copy of the group agreement with every lab report. If you miss a lab, talk to your GSI right away; you may be able to make it up later that same week, but only if you have a reasonable excuse. Lab reports are due in class one week from the day of the lab. Lab worksheets are due at the end of lab.

WEEKLY QUIZ: Quizzes will consist of 4-6 questions focusing on concepts from the previous week and the current week. The questions will focus on material from the lab manual, so be sure to read your manual before coming to class. Quizzes will be given promptly at the beginning of discussion section (2:10 pm). You will have only 5 minutes to complete the quiz, so be sure to arrive on time!

DISCUSSION: Discussion attendence is required even though it is not part of the formal point scheme. Everyone is expected to participate actively (including doing any necessary preparation beforehand). You won’t be judged by how much knowledge you show, so don’t be afraid to ask a “dumb” question – there is no such thing! What matters is the effort you have made to prepare and take part. And remember, participation doesn’t just mean talking a lot. Listening carefully and encouraging your classmates are also important aspects of participation.

WEEKLY QUESTION: Each week, you are encouraged to submit a question on a class topic you’re confused about or would like to understand better. Although sending questions is not mandatory, you will earn one bonus point if you submit a question that week. (This can help to make up for missed quizzes, etc.) Questions must be original, not copied from the textbook or other course material. Please send your question to your GSI via e-mail. The weekly deadline for questions is Sunday at 5 pm, to allow time to prepare a lesson plan based on your questions. All questions will be replied to individually, and a selection will be posted on the class website.

ENHANCEMENT EXERCISE: This report, due at the end of the semester, will give you a chance to apply what you have learned in Bio 1B. You will have two options: (1) take a field trip to explore the course topics in a hands-on setting, such as the Oakland Museum, Muir Woods, or the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden; (2) choose a current biology-related news story and analyze it from the point of view of Bio 1B. These reports will be done individually, not in groups. More details (and examples of past Enhancement Exercises) will be provided later in the semester.

LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT: This will be given out at the library tutorial (date TBA) and is due at the beginning of the following class. You will need to show that you know how to search for citations online and how to use different library resources. It is a straightforward assignment and you will receive full points if you give complete and accurate answers to the questions. Please work on this assignment individually; no collaboration is permitted (even within your lab group).

SUPPLEMENTAL ASSIGNMENTS: These may include short essays, observation tasks, specimen collection, and/or brief presentations in discussion section. There will be four of them throughout the semester (dates TBA, but will be announced at least a week ahead of due date.)

Weekly assignment calendar

|When? |What? |Where? |How much? |

|Sunday |by 5:00 p.m. |Weekly question due |By e-mail |1 bonus point |

|Monday |2:10 p.m. |Lab report due |In class |10 or 12 points |

|Monday |2:10-2:15 p.m. |Weekly quiz |In class |4 points |

|Friday |by 9:00 a.m. |Lab report and quiz returned |2013 VLSB |n/a |

Logistics of assessment

LATE ASSIGNMENTS: Weekly questions and quizzes cannot be submitted late. Lab reports and other assignments will lose 25% per day late, starting at 2:10 p.m. on Monday (so please don’t miss lab to work on an assignment). Assignments submitted after 5 pm on Thursday will not earn any points. If your group cannot complete a report because one of your group members is late, please turn in whatever you have by the deadline and tell your GSI immediately. If you must turn an assignment in late, let your GSI know when you will be submitting it, and leave it in the correct GSI mailbox in 2013 VLSB. Note: The final lab report and the Enhancement Exercise, both due at the end of the semester, cannot be turned in late.

GETTING YOUR ASSIGNMENTS BACK: Your GSI will finish grading your weekly assignments (lab write-ups, quizzes, and other written work) by 9:00 a.m. on Friday, so that you can incorporate the feedback into the next week’s assignments. Your assignments will be returned in the student mailboxes, marked with your section number, in 2013 VLSB. Any assignments not collected by Monday afternoon will be returned in class. Because the student mailboxes are open to everyone, we ask that you not write your own name on your assignments. Use your group name on group assignments and your assigned letter on individual assignments. If you would prefer your assignments to be returned only in class, please let us know.

REGRADES: We strive to be fair and consistent in grading your work. If your GSI appears to have made a significant error or overlooked something important, you may request a regrade. However, this is only to be done in the case of serious discrepancies, not disagreement over half a point. Your entire assignment will be regraded and your grade may go up or down. (Recalculating the sum of points is not considered a regrade, so please tell us if you catch any calculation errors.)

NORMALIZING TO 85% MEAN: To compensate for differences between GSIs, the mean score for each lab/discussion section is normalized to 85% (213 points) at the end of the semester. If the mean for our section ends up being higher than that, the score of everyone in the section will be adjusted downward. If lower, everyone’s score will be adjusted upward. This adjustment allows you to be compared to students who have had a different GSI (perhaps one who was stricter or more lenient). We will try to keep the class averages close to 85% so that the adjustment will be minor. Please ask us if you have any questions about how this works.

PLAGIARISM: Whenever you include ideas or quotations that are not your own – whether they are from the lab manual, an article or book, a website, a fellow student, or somewhere else – you must include a citation to the source or you will be committing plagiarism. The only exception to this is “common knowledge” that is easily found from many different sources (e.g. “the Cenozoic Era began 65 million years ago.”) If you are not sure what constitutes plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty, ask us or refer to the following resources:





Any instance of plagiarism, even if accidental, could seriously hurt your grade in this course. If we find that you have plagiarized part or all of an assignment, you will receive a zero for that assignment. You must never copy text or ideas from another Bio 1B student (past or present) who is not in your group. We are aware that there are some copies of old Bio 1B lab reports circulating, and we will be vigilant in looking for lab reports that are fully or partly copied from these. Be fair to yourself and your fellow students by doing original work!

SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS: If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have any medical condition that might require urgent care, or if you have any other special circumstances that you would like your GSI to know about, please get in touch right away. Your confidentiality will be protected. We want Bio 1B to be a safe and inclusive environment for all.

PLEASE TALK TO YOUR GSI RIGHT AWAY IF:

• You are unsure what constitutes plagiarism or cheating.

• You have any questions or concerns about how your work has been graded.

• You would like to know your cumulative score for your lab and discussion work to date.

• You feel that some members of your lab group are contributing more than others.

• Medical and/or personal problems are compromising your work in the class.

• You are worried about your overall class score or your likely performance on an upcoming exam. (Once you have gotten a certain score there is nothing we can do to change it, but we can help you if you give us advance notice.)

The goal of all these different aspects of assessment, and our goal as GSIs, is to help you learn. Please don’t hesitate to give your GSI feedback about how to do this more effectively!

More information is available on the class web page: .

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