Whether you are attending synchronously or engaging asynchronously, engagement and “attendance” is necessary to help you achieve learning outcomes.
The format of the class, based on discussion of experiments and data to help you construct your own knowledge, requires you to read that day’s assignment BEFORE you come to or view class. This is clearly indicated in the daily schedule. It is also highly recommended that you read prior to watching the guided videos that I have created for each experiment. If you only watch the videos and do not read the material beforehand, construction of your own knowledge will likely not occur.
We will spend each class going through the figures and discussing them since DATA are paramount in science. Each class will begin with time where you can ask specific questions related to previous material or specific areas you do not understand from the current day’s assignment. If we do not cover a topic in class, but it is covered in your reading, you are responsible for it.
Active engagement can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. If you are attending synchronously, be on time and prepared to participate in discussion. Everyone, whether attending synchronously or not, should read, optionally view the videos, and engage fully in assessments described on the previous page.
Often, I will call on individuals randomly to answer a question or lead a discussion. If I call on you to answer a question, it is OK to say, “I got this part but this other section lost me.” It is not OK to say, “I didn’t read it” even though I understand that some days you have missed the reading.
Davidson has a special benefit for science students because you pay the same amount for courses without labs as you do for science courses with labs. This means you get more for your money by taking science courses than non-science courses. It comes with a 2.75-hour laboratory absolutely free! The protocols for lab activities will be available in Moodle.
Finally, I do not know everything. If you think I have said something that is incorrect, please point this out, including typos, unclear passages, and incorrect statements in the text. If you ask me a question I cannot answer, we will research it together. If you have tried to understand the material but just can’t get it, then please see me during office hours or make an appointment. I am happy to work with each of you as much as is necessary.
COURSE DESCRIPTION and OBJECTIVES
CAMPUS SUPPORT FOR YOUR LEARNING
REQUIRED TEXTS: Link to e-text Integrated Concepts in Biology by Campbell, Heyer, Paradise
