| BIOL A108 Dr. Craig S. Hood Biological
Sciences |
 |
| BIOL A108 Dr. Craig S. Hood Biological
Sciences |
|
Office Hours
M & Weds. 9:00
to 10:00 am & 11:30 to noon or appoint. [Please
do stop by anytime !!]
Books:
Campbell, N.A., & J. B. Reece 2002. Biology. 6th Edition. Addison Wesley Longman Publishers.Course Activities: The course includes formal lectures, discussions, and an associated exciting laboratory experience (BIOL A109 & A110). We will explore various aspects of organismal biology by considering their forms, functions, and life histories. The kingdoms of life include a dazzling array of organisms - from unicellular prokaryotes and protists, to parasitic worms and fungi, to the vascular plants and insects that dominate biodiversity in many of our planet's terrestrial ecosystems. And then, of course, there are the vertebrates. You will get to know many taxa that you have not seen or heard of before. Along the way, you should gain a new understanding of the biology of those which you are already acquainted.Articles & handouts. A collection of articles and handouts will be posted on the Lect. website or handed-out in class.
Our focus in this course is to understand the biology of organisms, especially how they have evolved. That is, how does each major group live and how did they acquire their features of morphology, physiology and life history. We will wrestle with some very foreign forms, functions, and life histories in this class! They will seem very foreign to us, because we humans are large terrestrial vertebrates. In contrast, most of the species that share the planet with us are small, live in the water or soil, and many have unusual ways of reproducing themselves (at least from our own perspective!).
Course Goals & Objectives: If you and I are successful in this class, we will both reach the following objectives. Note that understanding includes being able to explain:
The in-class exercises, assignments, quizes and exams are designed to lead you
to achieve what I hope will be a high level of understanding.
Lecture Attendance: There is no specific attendance policy, except that I believe you will learn a lot more if you attend lecture than if you don't. You are responsible for all material presented in class and distributed via e-mail or the web.
Pre/Co-requisites: You must have successfully completed (passed) Cells & Heredity (BIOL A106). You must be co-enrolled in a lab and recitation section of Biology of Organisms Laboratory (BIOL A109 & A110). Most importantly, you need to have enthusiasm and an inquiring mind.
Laboratory experience: Each of you is enrolled in a lab section of BIOL A109 where you will get to experience organisms firsthand. The laboratory is an absolutely critical component of your overall understanding of the biology of organisms. The lecture topics each week largely mirror the laboratory of that week. You should approach the laboratory with the view that the lab is where you get to see the organisms that we are discussing in lecture. Most every lecture will reference what we're doing in lab, or what we have just observed or studied in lab.
E-mail and Website: The use of e-mail and the www (Internet) has gone beyond being merely fun and/or convenient. Information technologies have become routine tools for learning. It is imperative that you learn to use e-mail, the Internet, and general computing (word-processing, graphics, and database management) as part of your college education. Accordingly, you must have an e-mail account and check it (and the course website) regularly. If you do not have a Loyola account, you can get one on the 5th floor of Monroe - its free! .
I will be communicating with you via e-mail from time to time, and delivering assignments and handouts by way of the course website. I will hand-out "hardcopies" of lecture materials in class only if the campus server goes down for an extended period, or if they are needed with short notice. Our course website URL is on BLACKBOARD as follows: ==> blackboard.loyno.edu .
I wish it wasn't necessary to include the following statements, but it's the nature of the world. Academia is based on trust and honesty. I have to trust that you will do your work honestly and you need to trust that I will evaluate it honestly. I will take very seriously any form of academic dishonesty, including cheating, plagiarism, or presenting work as your own when it isn't. Please refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin for a description of academic dishonesty and it's consequences.
Lecture Topics
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