SURVEY FOR BULLARD TEACHERS

Take the survey, HERE:

UPDATE: This teacher survey was closed on Dec. 17th.

POWER POINTS: CELLULAR ENERGETICS

In November, our Biology classes began covering material on how cells obtain, store and release energy. 

Since that time, there have been several groups of notes of various sizes for students to access.

First, this Power Point (previously given) contains an outline of photosynthesis, relating it to the 'Great Circle' of chemical reactions that all living things participate it (autotrophs and heterotrophs!), reactions which recycle the raw materials that life requires. Much of this material is covered in the first two sections of Chapter 8 in the Dragonfly Book.




The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available HERE.


This Power Point does not, however, contain any details for the  'light-independent reactions' of the Calvin cycle and other material which is not explicitly part of the state standards. This is covered in Section 8.3 of the Dragonfly Book and is also available on a separate Power Point, HERE.


The third and final Power Point in this unit contains information about cellular respiration, including glycolysis (which takes place in the cytoplasm) and the Krebs Cycle (which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria). The electrons produced in the Krebs Cycle move through the inner membrane, or cristae, of the mitochondria. The motion of these negatively-charged particles attracts protons (H+), and eventually a high concentration of protons within the membrane is available to drive 'proton pumps' that power an enzyme, ATP synthase, leading to the production of more ATP:





You can download the Power Point for Cellular Respiration HERE.

HOUSEKEEPING:

IMPORTANT CHANGES:  Finals have been moved to Dec. 16th-18th.   That's 'good news and bad news'.   The good news is that gives one extra day for students and teachers to prepare.  Because of this, we will be able to have the Final Study Session on Tuesday, Dec. 15th, after-school.   The 'bad news' is that if a student misses their scheduled final due to an unscheduled absence, they may not be able to make it up prior to the end of the semester.   So . . . . DON'T GET SICK, DON'T MISS YOUR FINAL!  

THE FINAL UNIT: CELLULAR ENERGETICS

Students:  welcome back from your Thanksgiving Break.   Believe it or not, we have less than three full weeks of instruction before the end of the Fall Semester, and since many of you succeeded in raising your grade significantly with your Cell Brochure (great news!), that means that hard work between now and the end of the Semester will greatly increase your chances of passing the course, or even earning an above-average grade.  

WORK HARD.

Here is the syllabus for the final Unit:

Please note that the Semester Final's Study Session is after school on Monday, December 14th.   

Period 2's final is (tentatively) on Tuesday, Dec. 15th; Periods 3 and 4 will have their final on Wednesday, Dec. 16th;  Periods 5 and 6's final will be on Thursday, Dec. 17th.

PLAN AHEAD

TIGHT SCHEDULE IN UNIT 3; POWER POINT: CELLS AND THEIR ORGANELLES

The following was posted on the whiteboard in Thursday's class (today, Nov. 5th):

This timeline does not differ significantly from the Syllabus given in class a week ago (10/29).  It  shows just how jam-packed with activity the next week of instruction in Biology is.   There are three labs:  one on 'Plant and Animal Cells', one on 'Osmosis' (movement of water through a cell membrane) and one on 'Mitosis' (the series of events that precede cell division).

Most importantly, there are 220 points worth of assessments within the next eight days.   Your 100-point 'Cell Travel Brochure' will be rehearsed in class TODAY (Nov. 5th), and it is DUE, without exception, a week from now:  THURSDAY, Nov. 12th.

The After-School Study Session to prepare for the Unit 3 Test is the same day, between 3:15 and 5:00 in Room N-63.   The Unit 3 Test follows the next day: Friday, November 13th.

Here's the link you need to download this Power Point, to use to complete your notes or the Lecture Guide based upon it.

VIDEO: ENZYMES

Another video by AP Biology teacher Paul Anderson, this on the organic catalysts made of protein called ENZYMES.   Enzymes are stereospecific: they have a unique three-dimensional shape, and the active site of the enzyme is said to fit substrate molecules like a "lock" fits a "key".   When the substrate enters the active site, it places the molecules in just the right orientation that a chemical reaction becomes likely to occur.  

CELL BROCHURE, SATURDAY SCHOOL

Students:   your "Travel Brochure" is due on Thursday, November 12th.   This is a 100-point project intended to help you raise your grade.   Please take advantage of this project.   

The instructions can be found below, should you need them.  Click on the graphics to enlarge.

And....for some students....Saturday School will be held in Room N-63 on the Bullard campus for Mr. Hatfield's Biology students, on Saturday, October 31st, between 8:45 and 11:30.   

Students assigned Saturday School will receive opportunities to raise their grade.  If you have been assigned Saturday School, your parent or guardian must return a signed permission slip.

VIDEO: PROTEINS

Another video by AP Biology teacher Paul Anderson, this on the class of macromolecules called PROTEINS.   Proteins are made of sub-units called amino acids, which in turn are formed from atoms of C, H, O and N.   (A few amino acids also have side-chains made of sulfur.)

POWER POINT: THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

Here is the Power Point on 'The Chemistry of Life.'   Students received a Lecture Guide based on this Power Point in Friday's class, along with a Study Guide for their test.

STUDY SESSION AFTER SCHOOL on Tuesday, Oct. 20th, between 3:15 and 5:00.   The test is the following Wednesday.

VIDEO: LIPIDS

Lipids are also molecules made of C, H and O.   Lipids include fats, waxes and oils.   Unlike carbohydrates, lipids will not readily dissolve in water, and they are said to be non-polar.

VIDEO: CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are carbon-based macromolecules based on C, H and O.  They are polar and readily dissolve in water.

A simple sugar by itself, like glucose, is termed a monosaccharide, and serves as a 'building block' (monomer) to build a larger chain of many molecules called a polymer. In the case of carbohydrates, the polymer made from many monosaccharides linked together by dehydration reactions is called a polysaccharide.

Examples of polysaccharides made of glucose include cellulose, glycogen and starch.   Each of these glucose polymers are biologically important. 

VIDEO: MONOMERS AND POLYMERS

In today's class, we talked about the difference between organic (based on carbon) and inorganic (based on some other element) molecules.   Life, of course, is based on organic molecules.

We explained that there are four major classes of carbon-based compounds used by living things:   carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.

Each of these compounds is made of individual 'building blocks' called MONOMERS.   The monomers are linked together with covalent bonds to make large chains called POLYMERS, and the process of making polymers is referred to as POLYMERIZATION.

Here's a video from Bozeman Science, with animations, that gives some nice background on monomers and polymers:

POWER POINT: PROPERTIES OF WATER

HEY!

Here is the link to the Power Point on acids, bases and the pH scale.

Students should use this Power Point to make sure that their Interactive Notes are complete, and also to complete the Lecture Guide given in Monday's class.

POWER POINT: ATOMS AND MOLECULES

Here are the notes on 'Atoms and Molecules.'

***UPDATE****

VIDEO: "THE LIVES OF THE STARS"

;

The following episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, 'The Lives of the Stars', forms the basis of a student homework assignment. Click on the icon below to play the video within the blog:

COPING WITH TESTS, NEW SYLLABUS

Today, Biology students will have their first tests returned to them. Results of that test were mixed, and often not what they could have been, due to poor student CHOICES.

Students who earn a percentage score higher than that earned on the first test can not only expect to earn a higher grade, but they are eligible for grade change on their previous test.

To achieve that, students need to consider the following, using the anagram 'COPE'.

C....(ontent)

Students need to know what's on the test. To make sure that students know what content will be covered on the exam, they need to obtain a copy of the Study Guide, which becomes available the weekend before the test. The sooner they get this, the better!

O....(rganization)

Students need to plan their time. For the next test, there will be a Study Session after school on the day before the exam (date to be announced later this week). They earn points by attending, and get valuable feedback about what is likely to be covered. In addition to attending the Study Session, students need to consider using time on lunch or after-school on the day of their exam as needed to complete their test. Plan ahead, students!

P...(reparation)

Students need to provide evidence that they have prepared for the test. One way to do this is to attend the Study Session before the next test (date to be announced later this week). Another, powerful way is to make sure that they bring their COMPLETED Cornell Notes to class on the day of the exam. Cornell Notes, if completed, have questions and comments in the margins and summaries of the major sections. Students who have these items completed will be allowed to use them throughout the exam. Bring evidence that you have prepared for the test, students, and you will be rewarded!

E...(ffort)

Students need to finish what they start. There is nothing more important than giving our best effort, all of the time. On an exam day, a good effort means that students attempt everything, even if that means they need to come back at lunch or after school. Show a work ethic, students, and you will not only do better on the test....you will do better in every aspect of your life.

PARENTS, ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENT TO USE THESE STRATEGIES TO EXCEL!


One way to improve O(rganization) and P(reparation)  is to use the SYLLABUS for each Unit.   With that in mind, here is the SYLLABUS (the schedule of major events) for Unit 2:

POWER POINT: THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

Students! Here is the Power Point for the notes on 'The Nature of Science'. You received a Lecture Guide based on these Notes in Tuesday's class (Sept. 3rd) ! If you don't have Power Point on your computer, don't worry . . . you can download a free program, Power Point Viewer, to see the notes!

KEEP IN MIND...this year, in Mr. Hatfield's Classes, we will try to reduce the amount of class time spent taking notes. There are dozens of standards to cover, hundreds of vocabulary terms and other items to master. We need to decrease the amount of time spent in lecture so students can have more time to do activities. Remember: we want to engage as many different parts of the brain as possible, and to do that, we need to have more time to do things other than notes.

THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

COSMIC VOYAGE!

Biology students will be viewing a 36-minute IMAX video in class on Monday, August 24th, and completing a worksheet based on part of the video. The film, 'Cosmic Voyage', was made in 1996 for the Smithsonian Institute and was clearly inspired by a classic science education film called 'Powers of Ten', originally produced in 1977 by the husband-and-wife team of Rae and Charles Eames.

'Cosmic Voyage' approaches the idea of using the metric system, which is based on powers of ten, to explore the question: "What is really large, and really small?" The film first zooms out from an acrobat's ring in St. Mark's Square in Venice, the place where Galileo first trained his telescope on the heavens.


Through 23 powers of ten, we leave first the Earth, then our solar system, then the Milky Way Galaxy behind, until we reach the limit of modern astronomy, where we can see images from about 13 billion years past.


Reversing course, the video then zooms in on drop of water in the Dutch town of Delft, where Antonie Van Leuuwenhoek first trained his early microscope to discover the hidden world of microbes.



As we zoom in on a paramecium, we penetrate its cell nucleus, then zoom in on a molecule of DNA.


Within that molecule is a carbon atom, and the world within that atom is mostly empty space! Within the atom, the atomic nucleus contains virtually all of an atom's mass, made of particles called protons and neutrons. These, in turn, are formed from even smaller particles called quarks.

The film continues with a discussion of the search for a fundamental theory in physics through the use of particle accelerators like Fermilab, along with an overview of the likely "recent" events that led to our sun, our solar system, the Earth and life itself.

Here, presented on YouTube, is the first segment (Chapter 1) of the film who wish to review the material or share it with others. As the narrator (Morgan Freeman) intones, 'we are all travelers on a voyage of discovery!' Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 can be assessed at YouTube directly or by clicking on the hyperlinks 

POWER POINT: INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY

Students:  in this post you will find links to download all of the Power Point Notes given in the first week of instruction.   

You will use these Notes to complete the Lecture Guide given in class on Friday.   The purpose of the Lecture Guide is not only for you to make sure you have all the given material in your Interactive Notebook, but to answer questions that apply the Notes.


You can download the first set of Notes, called "Introduction to Biology", HERE.    

If you haven't done this yet, Students, it's pretty important that you do.  For example, these Notes cover the Course Contract that every student and parent/guardian should've completed and returned last week:  

The Notes also lay out the structure for the learning environment:  the three Classroom Rules, along with VARIOUS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:

The Notes emphasize the importance of practicing Lab Safety in a science classroom, including the '3-D's':  things that, should they occur, would lead to an instructor taking immediate action:

The Notes also start providing the guidelines on how to keep your INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK. Learning how to do this and keeping your Notebook faithfully is an important part of your course grade:

Just as important is how you answer questions in Mr. Hatfield's classes.  In many cases, students learn more from HOW they go about answering questions in science than from memorizing answers. To promote this kind of learning, Mr. Hatfield often has specific assignments from the textbook, called RA (REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS), and the Power Point Notes explains how these assignments should be approached:

But what if you don't have Power Point on your home computer or mobile device?


The answer is surprisingly simple:  Fresno Unified has a policy that allows each student to download copies of Microsoft Office to their devices, for FREE.   Just go here:  portal.fresnou.org.

WELCOME TO BIOLOGY!

Students,  this is the first of many posts that will appear on this blog that will contain important information for the 2015-2016 year in Mr. Hatfield's Biology classes.   

If you are in Mr. Hatfield's class, you will be asked to fill out and return a Course Contract similar to what you see below:

More detailed information on the Course Contract and other classroom policies are always available on the first tab ("Course Guidelines"), or you may click here.


Here you will also find the Syllabus for our first Unit, on the Nature of Science.   You should've received a copy of this, three-hole punched, in class.  But, for your convenience (and for your parents), here is a graphic image of the Syllabus:

 Click on it and you can make it larger and print it out, if you like.

STUDY GUIDE FOR FINAL

The following Study Guide for your 200-point Semester Final was made available in class today, Friday, June 5th:

Mr. Hatfield will accept student work until 5:00 on Monday, June 8th.   Other than the extra-credit 'Community Participation' assignment, no other student work will be accepted after that date...

...including the most important item, your 600-point FINAL DRAFT of the Essay Project.   Students who fail to attempt this item, first assigned in April, are unlikely to pass the course.   Essentially, they are choosing to fail.

POWER POINTS: BEYOND DARWIN, COMPARING PRIMATES

Here's a novel thought: instead of being taught as mindless, slavish dogma, evolutionary biologists have been busy in the last 150 years. 

They've been testing, retesting, modifying and in some cases rejecting aspects of Darwin's theory. This Power Point explains some of the major innovations, which (by the way) are all in the textbook:


Students who need to download this Power Point to complete their notes, and the Lecture Guide based on it, can do so here.

Students must finish these notes right away by completing the Lecture Guide, which will be distributed in class TODAY (Tuesday, June 2nd).   The Lecture Guide will be collected on the day of your final, Biology students, and treated as part of your notes.  Make sure it is completed!

In addition, there are brief notes on 'Comparing Primates' that goes with a lab activity to be completed by the end of class on Friday, June 5th.   Some of this information, from Chapter 32, will appear on your final:

Again, students who need to download this Power Point to complete their note  can do so here.

ALSO.... there will be no Study Session for the Final this year, as (unlike previous spring semesters), Finals begin on a Monday, rather than a Thursday.  A Study Guide, however, will be available on Friday, June 5th. 

 The most important obligation for all students, however, is the ESSAY.  The Final Draft is past due.  Students who have not attempted this 600-point Project have been notice in class.  No essays will be accepted after Monday, June 8th.   

POWER POINT: BIOTECHNOLOGY

The Power Point with the Notes on Biotechnology is available here. All students will need to download the entire Power Point in order to finish the Lecture Guide, so make sure you do it!

Students who have lost their original Lecture Guide and need to get another copy can download the Guide as a PDF file here.

The first and second drafts of student's Evolution Essays are past due.   

THE FINAL DRAFT IS DUE FRIDAY, May 29th.  

Previously-unattempted or additional drafts will be accepted as a matter of course until June 9th, but students who are LATE will not be able to improve their Essay scores without meeting with their instructor outside of class.  And, since there are now only eight instructional days in the semester, time is limited.

NO DRAFTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER MONDAY, JUNE 8th, FOR ANY REASON.

FINAL SYLLABUS, PART 2

With just three weeks of instruction to go, as I've already reminded students, the 'Clock Is Ticking.'

As promised, here is the second part of your final syllabus in this course.   The first part can be found here.

In all cases, if there is a discrepancy between dates given earlier and dates shown here, the due dates above take precedence.

COMMON ESSAY PROBLEMS TO AVOID

In considering our Essay Project, which was outlined in an earlier post, there are certain problems that crop up over and over again.  Before you submit your second draft, please review this post to avoid common errors.

 One group of problems is MECHANICAL:  that is, they are simply problems that have to do with proper formatting and organization of the paper.   The other problems are TOPICAL:  they are specific to one of the four topics.

First, let's consider common MECHANICAL problems.

Students are expected to use a STANDARD font (Courier, Times, Arial or Helvetiva).   Don't use oversized or non-standard fonts, like this....

Students are expected to have the font in 10-12 point, and to have them single-spaced.   Texts should be RIGHT-justified, just like a textbook.   A student's essay should never be CENTER-justified, like this....

Students are expected to have citations INSIDE the body of the text.   These will typically contain either an author's last name, followed by a year, or perhaps the name of an Internet text page, followed by the year, and look like this....

These citations refer to a list of sources that appear in a Bibliography at the END of the paper, which should be APA style, and look something like this....

To help students generate their APA-style citations, students should use www.citationmachine.net.   Go to the site, select APA-style, and follow the prompts to creation your own citations for books, magazine/journal articles and web pages.

Now, let's review some common TOPICAL problems with Essay Topics 1 and 2....

Students must present lines of evidence of common descent.  Identify them, but also EXPLAIN them.  In Topic 1, students must present four such lines of evidence.   In Topic 2, students need only present one line of evidence, but it must be very well-explained, because they are required to present an alternative hypothesis for this line of evidence as well as the one of common descent.

In Topic 1, students must be able to distinguish between evolution, natural selection and speciation.   Here's the general outline...

EVOLUTION:  genetic change in a population  FACT

NATURAL SELECTION:  a process in which the environment affects gene frequencies in a population, causing evolution.   FACT

THEORY OF EVOLUTION by NATURAL SELECTION (TENS):  What is theoretical is not evolution, or natural selection (those are both  FACTS  ).  Rather, the theory is the relationship between these two facts, and the claim that life's diversity over time has largely been produced by this interaction between the genome and the environment...

Speciation:  also a  FACT   :   the production of a new species, which is just one possible outcome of TENS.   

Both Topic 1 and Topic 2 are expected to present a claim which argues against their topic, either 'Evolution of Species' (Topic 1) or 'Creation of Species' (Topic 2).   They should have a citation for this claim matching a source in their bibliography.  They should then present evidence, preferably the result of experiments or observation, that argues against the previous claim.   In other words, they should be prepared to show they understand 'Pro' and 'Con' arguments regarding their topic...an excellent habit of mind that prepares us for higher-level coursework, such as college.

Other common TOPICAL problems, that often occur with Essay Topic 3....

Students are asked to explain why the modern theory of evolution (TENS) is a synthetic theory.   To do that, use the meaning of the word 'synthesis.'

Students may be asked to present or explain 'probability arguments' against TENS, which argue (in effect) that the spontaneous production of complex life forms from simpler forms or mere molecules is unlikely.   Students may be tempted to use arguments from thermodynamics ('the 2nd Law') or against abiogenesis (the origin of life).   This is permitted, but a few words of caution:

TENS is NOT a theory about the origin of life.

TENS is NOT a theory about the origin of the universe.

What is the title of Darwin's famous 1859 book that introduced his original theory?   That is the subject that TENS attempts to address.

NEW SYLLABUS: BEYOND DARWIN, Part 1

Students: here is a schedule of upcoming events in the course over the next two weeks.  

There is no Unit Test shown because we will continue within this unit until the end of the year.   Your scheduled final will be between June 9th and June 11th.

Again, students must make their Semester Projects a priority, continually working towards improving their performance.   The second and third parts of the Project are both due on Monday, May 11th.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING

It is now May, and there are less than 30 instructional days remaining in the 2014-2015 school year.

Students have received an extraordinary opportunity in this course:  a Semester Final Project, in the form of a guided essay in a series of drafts worth 600 points.   The full details of this assignment were provided earlier in this blog post.

The vast majority of students (more than 100) have submitted their first drafts, which were due on Tuesday, April 28th.
   
Unfortunately, some students have yet to hand in this draft, which is now a week past due.

It should go without saying that failing to attempt a 600-point assignment could be fatal to that student's grade.   Mr. Hatfield has sent the following broadcast via School Messenger to these unfortunate students:

"DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA": NOTES, VIDEO

Students, in this blog post you will find many important resources and updates to the syllabus.  In particular....Your last regular Unit Test has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 30th .   There will be an After-School Study Session beginning at 3:15 and going until 5:00 on the prior date, Wednesday, April 29th.

To help prepare for that Test, here is the latest set of  Lecture Notes, and here is the PDF file of the Lecture Guide based upon the notes.   The previous sections of notes to be covered appears here, and here.

Perhaps most importantly, here is the link to the previous blog post describing your 600-point final semester project  , which consists of writing multiple drafts of a guided essay.   THE FIRST DRAFT IS DUE MONDAY, April 27th!!!

Finally, the title of the latest group of notes, incidentally, is taken from the Daniel Dennett book which also inspired a two-hour episode of the NOVA 'Evolution' series.    This episode is being shown in class in its entirety over the course of several lessons, and students are expected to complete a Study Guide based on this program. 

To help students master this material,   the entire video has been made available through this YouTube channel, broken into 11 segments, shown below:

(For your convenience, I have embedded all 11 videos on this page, but these may not be visible on FUSD computers or on others that do not have recent versions of Java to run flash-based media.  If you are unable to open the individual videos on this post, go to the link above and watch them directly on YouTube)

Chapter 1. Prologue
Chapter 2. Common Ancestry









Chapter 3. Ecuador and the Tree of Life





Chapter 4. Natural Selection





Chapter 5. Mutation and HIV





Chapter 6. Complexity





Chapter 7. How The Eye Evolved





Chapter 8. God





Chapter 9. A Scientist Discusses Religion





Chapter 10. The Human Question





Chapter 11. Humans and The Tree of Life Chapter 12. Epilogue




Finally, here is the PBS web site that accompanies the entire series.
 
You can also watch parts of the videos there, but they are lower in resolution.

PROJECT: "EVOLUTION, CREATION AND ALL THAT JAZZ!"

This week, students in Mr. Hatfield's Biology classes will receive instructions on their final Semester Project, which involves writing a 1,000-word essay in a series of drafts from a topic chosen by students related to the material in Chapters 15 and 16 of the text:

The essay has requirements in terms of format, bibliography and citations, sources and student integrity.   Mr. Hatfield discusses those requirements, at length, in the following video excerpt:




 Students who have additional questions about this assignment should refer to the syllabus and discuss their concerns with the instructor as soon as possible!

POWER POINT: "DEEP TIME"!

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.


Students who were absent on any date between Friday the 10th and Wednesday the 14th are almost certainly missing much of these notes. Mr. Hatfield will review the final slides with students in class on Thursday, and make sure that they have the Lecture Guide based upon these notes.....


FACT: The fossil record (and other lines of evidence) show us that populations of living things have "changed over time" (evolved)....

QUESTION: How can we explain this pattern of change in terms of NATURAL causes?

EXTINCTION!

Monday's class (TODAY) featured excerpts from 'Extinction!', which is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001).   A worksheet was given.   If it is not completed at school, in class, students must go on-line to the class blog to complete the worksheet, which is due at the beginning of class tomorrow!

The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life.

It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs.

It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz. I encourage students to watch the video in its entirety for themselves if there are points that they don't get in class. We simply do not have enough class time to review this, but I know many students will want to see the whole story again, either by going to Google Video or watching it here:

GOING INTO SPRING BREAK: DIVERSITY AND CLASSIFICATION

When you return from SPRING BREAK....

These notes were introduced to students before Spring Break, and completed on Thursday, March 26th.

The Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here. The Lecture Guide, given in class today, based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.

NEW SYLLABUS: EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELECTION

Students and Parents:

We now come to the heart of any introductory Biology course, the 'big idea' that unites the many different areas of biology (and other sciences!) in one massive and incredibly useful explanatory framework.   

That idea, EVOLUTION, at its most basic is simply the obviously true statement that populations (not individuals) change genetically over time.   Following this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, however, is not simple.   This is the branch of biology which most challenges many traditional ideas in the popular culture about our own species. and it also requires understanding evidence from a variety of sources.

In considering this evidence, it is my pledge to both students and parents that I will always present the evidence (which students are expected to know and understand), but leave the question of how students should incorporate that understanding in their own lives to the students.   Biology is not ideology, and it is certainly not my job to tell anyone what they should believe.   On the other hand, no one (not even teachers!) are entitled to have their personal beliefs be privileged, and never challenged.   It is my hope that teaching this important material in an open and assertive way will inspire students and parents to think more deeply about what they actually do know, and what they believe, and why.

Here is the new syllabus for this unit:

POSTER PROJECTS DUE, NEW UNIT IMMINENT

Students, today (Friday the 13th!) your groups (which you have chosen) should be prepared to hand in your 'Human Genetics Poster Projects', which were given on March 5th and described in this previous blog post.

These Projects are time-consuming to grade, because they are bulky to store and because they must be graded by a detailed rubric. Further, this occurs in the same window of time that your Instructor needs in order to finish grading your Unit Test 2, which was given in class on Wednesday the 11th.

Therefore, it is important that:

• groups complete their Poster Projects by their scheduled due date;                                                    
• FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT MAY LEAD TO HOME CONTACT AND SATURDAY SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT                                                                                         
• groups provide a printout, ideally a Word document, that contains the full text of their Poster along with the bibliography of sources;                                                                                            
• FAILURE TO PROVIDE THIS DOCUMENT MAY DELAY THE GRADING OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Finally, at the bottom of this post is a link to the notes on Human Genetics which will be needed on our next Unit on Evolution and Natural Selection

The Power Point Notes for Human Heredity are available here.

POWER POINT: MENDEL'S EXPERIMENTS

The lecture notes for the present unit on Genetics is available at this link. 

Also, students have been assigned a 100-point Group Project, a "Human Genetic Disorders" Poster in which each group of 2-3 students have been randomly given a different such disorder to research.

Students will have only one day in class to complete their POSTER PROJECT (Thursday, March 12th).   The Project is DUE the next day, Friday, March 13th.   

STUDENTS WHO FAIL TO ATTEMPT THIS PROJECT MAY BE ASSIGNED SATURDAY SCHOOL.

FINALLY...the next Unit Test is on Wednesday, March 11th.   There will be an AFTER-SCHOOL STUDY SESSION on Tuesday afternoon, March 10th, between 3:15 and 4:45, in Room N-63.