Introduction: General Biology 2 is a fundamental course in Biology and in my opinion is one of the most interesting courses you might take at FIU. We start off with learning the fascinating diverse forms of life on earth and how they appeared during evolution afterwards we go over how these species interact with the environment and with each other. Large enrollment classes like this one can be intimidating and quite overwhelming for some students so please don't hesitate to seek my help early and often.
Teaching strategies: This course is going to be taught in a flipped (LA Model) form in which student participation is very important. In this format students will be expected to come to class well prepared for the several active learning activities which will occur in the classroom. The lectures will be posted online with other electronic content and available before lecture. Students are also expected to read the book chapters, articles and observe other electronic contents available. The option for this format is because past research and experience has shown that students keep content long term and have a better class experience. Faculty and LAs will work in collaboration with students to improve your learning outcomes.
How to Succeed in this course: Since this is a flipped class some important study habits should be followed to do well in this course. First of all you should always read the chapter before class and take good notes to bring to class. Videos are frequently posted at the end of each powerpoint so please spend time watching these videos before class. Since a good chunk of your grade is class activities being prepared for class is fundamental. Ahead of class I post my powerpoints and these give you a good idea what will be talked about in class. After each lecture I post a review sheet and this gives you the course material you will need to focus for exams. If you do not prepare before the class you will not do well in activities and will most likely not do well in exams. Please do not fall behind and always feel free to contact the course instructor for help.
Email: brinnr@fiu.edu When sending me an email please include course, student name and panther ID in the subject or your email might be deleted or end up in spam. Please keep an eye on your fiu email account since that is a major way we communicate with students.
Webpage : http://faculty.fiu.edu/~brinnr
Lecture Notes: All lecture notes will be posted as PowerPoint or PDF in Canvas before lectures. Please take a look at CANVAS frequently for all your courses.
Class Meeting Times and Room: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 to 12:15 in HM 135 at the BBC
Office Hours: Posted in faculty.fiu.edu/~brinnr but can be scheduled by appointment f2f or on zoom if student can't attend times and days listed. Please come pay me a visit during office hours. I have some good stories to share and would like to hear some of your stories. I lived for almost 2 years in the Amazon for example. I really like to receive visits from current and past students. Don't be shy I will make sure your visit is very pleasant. Visit me early in the semester when things are a bit slower and I sit in my office waiting and no one show ups. We feel like a small community at BBC and we want you to be a part of this.
I-clicker: University adopted i-clickers will be required for this course and you must have them no later than the second week of class.
Openstax Tutor: All students will be required to sign up for openstax tutor which is free for the whole semester. Please go to openstax.org for registration. You will have several graded activities so please sign up early. Follow the link below to sign up for my openstax tutor section name General Biology 2 FIU Fall 2019 Dr. Brinn.
https://tutor.openstax.org/enroll/197229/Biology-2-Spring-2022-Spring-2022
Text: Good news: your textbook for this class is available for free online! If you prefer, you can also get a print version at a very low cost. Your book is available in web view which is recommended and PDF for free. You can also choose to purchase on iBooks or get a print version via the campus bookstore or from OpenStax on Amazon.com.
Biology 2e from OpenStax
Print ISBN 1947172514
Digital ISBN 1947172522
www.openstax.org/details/books/biology-2e
Reading assignments: You will be required to read and understand the book listed above and several scientific articles during the semester. You will not prepared to answer questions, participate in activities in this course unless you read the posted chapters and articles . This semester I will have several active learning activities in the classroom which are graded.
Attendance: Please be prepared to participate in ALL the course as scheduled! Attendance is mandatory and students who miss more than 5 classes should expect to receive a failing grade. Not all material that is discussed in class will be found in the readings or slides on Canvas, yet the exams will include this content. Students will be graded on their participation, discussions and other class activities. The best way to convince your instructor that you don’t care about the class is to be late or absent. Habitual extreme lateness is rude, disruptive, selfish, and immature. The correlation between high grades and punctual attendance is very high in just about all classes. Because this course has several in class activities missing more than 40% of those will require students to retake the course.
COVID 19: This course will continue to be held face to face unless otherwise stated by the university during the course of the semester. IN case the course does go online please be advised that classes may be audio and visually recorded and/or subject to course capture for future access by students in this course. Your attendance/ participation in this course constitutes consent to such recordings, which will only be used for educational purposes by students in the course and securely stored in University systems. If there is a concern regarding the recording and use of such recording, please contact FERPA@fiu.edu.
IF YOU ARE NOT FEEELING WELL PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND CLASS. YOU WILL NOT BE PENALIZED FOR MISSING CLASS.
My LAs and I will be using our masks everyday this semester and I encourage all students to do the same. Please consider doing the same for all your classes and that way we can protect you and others in our community. I will have extra masks in class and will happily share them with all of you.
P3 App
Observance of Religious Holy days: It is university policy that instructors reasonably accommodate students because of observation of religious holy days. The student shall be given a reasonable amount of time to complete coursework and/or assignments missed during their approved absence. The approved make-up assignment must be equivalent in content, type, and grading scale to the missed coursework and/or assignment. A student who desires to be excused from class to observe a holy day of his or her religious faith should notify all of his or her instructors preferably upon receipt or access to the syllabus, and no later than two weeks before the religious holy day. If a student feels that an instructor has not complied with this policy, he/she may file a complaint of discrimination with the Office of Equal Opportunity Program and Diversity in accordance with FIU Regulation 105. This policy and related procedures is included in the Student Handbook, Undergraduate Catalog, Faculty Handbook, and Graduate Catalog.
Help: If you need additional assistance with the information presented in this course, seek the assistance of the professor. If the office hours on the Biscayne Bay Campus are inconvenient, other arrangements can be made. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE SEMESTER TO SEEK HELP! Its my job to make sure we work together so you can absorb and understand the content from this course and I'm happy to help outside and inside the classroom but with over 100 students you need to take the first step to reach me.
The Disability Resource Center: DRC collaborates with university faculty to provide inclusive learning environments. If you have a disability and plan to utilize academic accommodations, additional information may be found in the DRC's website: drc.fiu.edu.
Sexual Harassment Policy: The Faculty Senate voted to require each professor to include a statement about this in the syllabus. FIU’s sexual harassment policy is available online: http://hr.fiu.edu/uploads/file/EOP/Sexual_Harassment_Policy_as_of_02-10.pdf
Students Conduct: Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and to honestly demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.
When we are in class together we want to turn our focus to learning and
away from the distraction of our electronic devices. We want to support
each other in our learning and look forward to the opportunities our
instructor creates to work in groups. We value our instructor’s
expertise and our classmates’ experiences so we are considerate and
choose not to engage in side conversations or other disruptive behavior.
Learning Outcomes and Course Description: General Biology 1 and 2 are fundamental courses for Biology majors. Learning the scientific method and how its used to produce science is fundamental in these courses. By taking lab and lecture students will be embedded in a scientific environment that is ideal for learning. After completing this course students are expected to know basic principals in organismal biology with emphasis in botany and zoology.
Prerequisites or Corequisites
- BSC 2011L needs to be taken at the same time if you drop one the other is automatically dropped and that rule is strictly enforced.Extra Credit: There is one single opportunity to earn 2 extra points to be added to your final average. Go to learningcenter.fiu.edu and click on their extra credit workshops link and then click on the Biology II option. All will be explained there. The exams and assignments listed here in this syllabus will be the only grades you will receive for the class. Other Extra credit assignments will not be allowed under any circumstances, so please do not ask if you can do one. Experience shows that the expectation of being able to do extra credit simply encourages students to take regular assignments less seriously, and allowing it is also unfair to students whose schedules don’t permit them to participate in it. Also, the time spent on extra assignments takes away from time needed to do better on subsequent regular assignments.
Emergency: This section covers situations that prevent you for attending the class or/and exams. For this course, “Emergency” is determined as an unpreventable event that prevents attendance to class or/and an exam.
Emergency situations are:
1.Medical emergency with Medical Doctor’s note/emergency room.
2.Automobile accident with police report (lack of ride is NOT an emergency case).
3.Death of immediate family members.
Emergency also includes natural events such as hurricanes, floods, or fires that causes the closure of FIU-BBC.
Make-Up Exams: Make up exams will not be allowed unless you have a very good and official excuse, like a note from a doctor, hospital, parole officer, or court (not a mechanic). You must notify your Professor in advance or within 48 hours of the incident by email and present your original official excuse within 1 week. In any case, the make-up test will consist of the following essay question: "Please discuss the key material that we have covered in class since the last exam". You will be evaluated on your ability to determine what the most important ideas and concepts are and to present them clearly and concisely." You will have 1 hour to write your essay, closed book (no notes). If you arrive to an exam more than 30 minutes late, or after the first person finishes the test (whichever comes first) you will not be allowed to take the exam. You are only allowed one makeup per term.
IMPORTANT : If you miss any exam on the scheduled dates you must send an email to the main professor within 48 hours after the exam and show proper documentation within 1 week to be eligible for a makeup. If these rules are not followed your grade will be a zero for that exam.
Exams: There will be 4 major exams which are all mandatory and an optional final. I will drop your one lowest of your 4 mandatory exams. You must put your name and ID number on your exam. You may write on the exam, but answers filled in on the printed Exam will not be used to generate points, so be sure to fill in your Akindi form carefully and correctly. You will be given an Akindi form and when you are finished, you must return ALL materials given to you during the test whether filled-out or not. No talking until you leave the classroom. You will have a 1 week period after an Exam to come in and review your test in the case of the final exam that period will be shorter and depending when grades are due. Exam can take up to a full class period.
Grading Policy:
|
Assessments |
Points |
|
Exam 1, 2, 3, 4 and Final |
40 % |
|
In classroom Article Discussion - i-Clicker questions |
10% |
|
In classroom activities |
40% |
|
Pre-class online homework (openstax tutor) |
10% |
|
Letter Grade |
Range |
Letter Grade |
Range |
|
A |
above 90 |
C+ |
72 - 75.9 |
|
A- |
87 - 89.9 |
C |
65 - 71.9 |
|
B+ |
83 - 86.9 |
D |
58 - 64.9 |
|
B |
79 - 82.9 |
F |
< 57.9 |
|
B- |
76 - 78.9 |
Grades will be posted on canvas as a file as quickly as possible, so please allow 24 -48 hours.
Incomplete Grades: An incomplete grade is a temporary symbol given by the instructor for work not completed because of serious interruption not caused by the student’s own negligence. In any case, more than half of the work of the course has to have been completed. An incomplete grade must be made up as quickly as possible, but no later than two consecutive semesters or it will automatically default to the grade the student earned in the course (which is normally an F in the absence of all work completed). There is no extension to the two consecutive semester deadline. The student must not register again for the course to make up the incomplete. In order to receive an incomplete for this class, valid documentation must be provided for the reason the student is requesting the incomplete. The reason, again, must be out of the student’s control.
PLTL: PLTL is not going to be offered to BBC students.
Evaluations and Letters of Recommendation:
If you think you will be requesting an Evaluation or Letter of
Recommendation from me (or any other Faculty member), here are my
requirements. I must actually know you this means you have
attended office hours or appointments with me during the current
semester and we have had conversations about your goals and how you are
going about achieving them. You will need to continue to keep in
touch with me through visits (at least one per semester) where you will
update me on your progress. And if you are applying to Medical
Schools, you will need to have taken your MCAT exam before a letter is
written and sent.
Schedule may be subject to change when deemed necessary.
| Jan 11 |
Syllabus, Finding Scientific Articles and Introduction to course |
|
| Jan 13 | Phylogenies and the History of Life | Chapter 20 |
| Jan 18 | Viruses |
Chapter 21 |
| Jan 20 |
Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea |
Chapter 22 |
| Jan 25 | Protists |
Chapter 23 |
| Jan 27 | More Phylogenies | |
| Feb 1 |
Article Discussion and Review |
|
| Feb 3 | Exam 1 | |
| Feb 8 | Seedless plants and Seed Plants |
Chapter 25 and 26 |
| Feb 10 |
The Animal Body: Basic Form and Function |
Chapter 33 |
| Feb 15 |
Invertebrates |
Chapter 28 |
| Feb 17 | Vertebrates | Chapter 29 |
| Feb 22 |
Article Discussion and Review |
|
| Feb 24 | Exam 2 | |
| Mar 1 | Spring Break From Feb 28th to March 6th | |
| Mar 3 | Spring Break From Feb 28th to March 6th | |
| Mar 8 | Endocrine System | Chapter 37 |
| Mar 10 |
Respiratory System & Circulatory Systems |
Chapter 39 and 40 |
| Mar 15 |
Animal Nutrition and Digestive System |
Chapters 34 |
| Mar 17 |
Animal Reproduction and Development |
Chapter 43 |
| Mar 22 | Nervous System | Chapter 35 |
| Mar 24 | Article discussion and Review | |
| Mar29 | Exam 3 | |
| Mar 31 | Ecology and the Biosphere | Chapter 44 |
| Apr 5 | Population and Community Ecology | Chapter 45 |
| Apr 7 | Ecosystems | Chapter 46 |
| Apr 12 | Conservation Biology and Biodiversity | Chapter 47 |
| Apr 14 | Climate Change | No Chapter |
| Apr 19 | Article discussion and Review | |
| Apr 21 | Exam 4 | |
| Apr 26 | Final Exam (To be confirmed) |