Biology 101L

Spring Semester

2013

Biology and SocietyLaboratory

Lab 01Lab 01

Michelle Smith

Email: miliefsk@hawaii.edu

Instructor:

Contact Information:

• Syllabus• Schedule • Assignments• Handouts• Prelab quizzes

Class Web Sites:www.wcc.hawaii.edu/facstaff/miliefsky-m/

Lab: Section 35115F 2:30-5:15Imiloa 123

Lab Time & Location

Instructor’s Office Location & Hours

Imiloa 136Tuesday 11:15-1

Wed.-Friday 12:30-1

or by apt

General Objectives

• Make you excellent observers• Develop life-long habits which will

help you understanding how you fit into and impact society

• Learn how to apply the “scientific method” to common biological problems

• Discover key community resources

Strategy

• Active learning

–Collect your own data

–Analyze data & compare with other data

–Interpret through synthesis

• Considerable work outside lab

Strategy

• Work generally spans multiple sessions

• Details shown in PowerPoint slides

• Procedures and Info Links on the Web

Lab Topics

• Making Observations: Birds

• Bird Abundances & Trends

• Habitat Assessment & Evaluation

• Biomes

• Invertebrates and Vertebrates

• Food

Lab Topics

• Variability : A Food Perspective

• Biological Forensics

• Ethics & Environmental Dilemmas

• Environmental Trends & Predictions

Lab Requirements

• Field Notebook

• Safety Check

• Assumption of Risk & Release

• Permission for field trip

Please turn it off before arriving to class!

Cell Phones

• Mandatory• Be on Time!• Don’t expect labs to end

early.• Let instructor know if you

anticipate an absence. • 5% of grade

Attendance

• Participate in activities• Work collaboratively• Clean up after • 5% of grade

Participation

Pre-Lab Quizzes

• 14 pre-lab quizzes (10% of grade)• Posted @ www.wcc.hawaii.edu/facstaff/miliefsky-m/ • Go to BIOL 101L site• No make-up quizzes• Don’t be late

Homework Assignments

• Your work matches the assignment

• It is accurate and complete

• It is on-time

• It shows thoughtful insight

• 80% of your grade

Grading

Attendance 5%

Participation 5%

Prelab Quizzes 10%

Assignments 80%

Total 100%

Note: Your laboratory grade will be averaged with your lecture grade (50:50).

Grading

A 90% or above in total points

B 80%- 89% of total points

C 70%- 79% of total points

D 60%- 69% of total points

F Below 55% of total points; also informal or incomplete withdrawal from course.

What We Do For You

• Stimulate your interest• Guide you in asking critical

questions• Demonstrate data collection

and documentation• Show you basic analysis

techniques

What We Expect of You

• Come on time and prepared to fully participate

• Join us in the spirit of adventure and learning

• Take the time and apply the effort

Assumptions

• You are here to participate

• You are honest

• You can show initiative

General Structure of the Labs

• Review and discuss homework

• Learn about the new tasks

• Work on the tasks in the lab and outside

• Review new homework assignment to be done between labs

• Discuss some “ethical dilemmas” related to the lab materials

Web Support

www.wcc.hawaii.edu/facstaff/miliefsky-m/

• Cheating

• Plagiarism

See student handbook on conduct code orhttp://www.hawaii.edu/student/conduct/imper.html

Ethical Dilemmas

Biology 101L

Biology & Society Laboratory

Laboratory 0

Ethical Dilemmas

Questions that provoke discussions about topics which require mature decision-making.

“Role playing” is often required – put yourself is someone else’s place and evaluate a situation from her perspective.

Ethical Dilemmas

Topics come from:

Issues related to this class

Current news

Perennial societal issues

It is hard for me to get to class on time and I don’t think that I should be penalized points for being late. I think that it is much more important whether I do my assignments correctly than if I am prompt or not.

My Instructor didn’t give me a very good grade on the last assignment. I really thought that I deserved better. There should be a simple, completely objective standard on which all grading is based.

Smoking and obesity have been in the news recently with the claim that they are equally important, major-risk factors in preventable deaths. I don’t think that a biology class is the proper venue to discuss such issues. Whether I smoke or what I eat is simply a matter of personal choice.

The Board of Water Supply is urging that we use less water. I think that I should be able to use as much as I want. It is the job of government to supply what is needed, not to tell me what to do.

Human stem cell research involves the use of embryonic tissue. I believe that scientists should be allowed to study what ever they want, especially if there is some promise of eventually helping people. Political leaders should not put any restrictions on scientists.