Course Guide, Policies, and Lecture Schedule
Objectives of This Course: /1. To increase your interest in—and understanding of—Ecology. Ecology is a thoroughly integrative science. Ecologists study living organisms as they interrelate with all aspects of their environment: climatic variation; the structure and chemistry of the soil; the chemistry and dynamics of the atmosphere; other organisms (e.g., cooperation, competition, predation); and numerous other perspectives.
2. To improve your ability to "think science." As a scientist, you need to be able to interpret and evaluate scientific information in the form of graphs and other figures, tables, written evidence, and demonstrations. Furthermore, you need to be able to pose testable hypotheses concerning observations of the world around you, and to devise and/or interpret experiments for testing such hypotheses. These skills take time to develop; you will get some experience in them during this semester.
3. To improve your ability to communicate scientific information. Writing skills are essential to communicating ideas. The quality of your writing determines how effectively you can convey your ideas and convince others of their value. In addition, writing is intimately related to learning: “Careful writing helps you develop ideas and therefore is an important tool for helping you to learn, plan, show relationships, review, organize, communicate, remember, clarify, and discover what you know, what you don’t know, and what you need to know.” (Randy Moore, in Writing to Learn Biology). Although it may seem like some people are born writers and others are not, writing skills develop with repeated experience. You will have a number of opportunities to work on your writing this semester.
4. To expand your understanding of natural systems so that you can make informed decisions about the world you live in. Our ultimate concern will be with the role and importance of ecological knowledge to you, to science, to society, and to life on planet Earth.Meeting locations and times
This course includes two 75-minute lecture meetings and one lab meeting (two hours, fifty minutes long) per week. Lectures meet in the Science Building, Room 374, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 9:30-10:45. In addition, you are enrolled in one of three laboratory sections. Your lab section meets 1:00-3:50 PM in the Science Building, Room 382, on either Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons.
Lectures, Readings, Quizzes, Exams
“One result [of studying the world within distinct disciplines] is that students graduate without knowing how to think in whole systems, how to find connections, how to ask big questions, and how to separate the trivial from the important. Now more than ever, however, we need people who think broadly and who understand systems, connections, patterns, and root causes.”
—David W. Orr, Earth in Mind (1994), p23
In the Real World, all of the material of this course forms a richly interdependent whole; and we will try to promote your awareness of that integration throughout the semester. But, so you can deal with the learning in manageable chunks, the material is organized into a hierarchy of subject domains (environmental conditions, population ecology, etc., and subdivisions within each of those), which we will consider in the order outlined in the Lecture Schedule.
Examinations will be based on material from both lectures and readings, but will focus on lecture material and on your ability to interpret figures, analyze information, integrate concepts, etc.—to think logically and scientifically about ecology. In lecture, we will introduce basic concepts—ideas central to the particular area of ecology under consideration. We also will answer questions that may have arisen during your reading, reinforce some of the pivotal ideas, and/or clarify concepts that we think might be troublesome. We will try to poke at your knowledge a bit, so we (and you) can see how thoroughly you are grasping the material, and how well you are integrating it with other material that has gone before. The role of the readings, then, is to fortify and extend your understanding.
Although slight changes to the grading scheme are possible, the major part of your lecture grade will be based on three hourly exams and a comprehensive final exam. Each of these will be composed of a combination of multiple-choice questions and short-answer questions (requiring a response somewhere between a sentence and a brief essay).
Please note your central responsibility in this learning process. It relies strongly on your abilities to derive information from the lecture and from the text, and to ask focused questions about material that is not entirely clear to you. Reading assignments corresponding to each lecture should be read carefully before class.
Office Hours
Dr. Gilliam: MWF 10-11:30 am; Tu 8-9:30 am; Th 1-4 pm.
Dr. May: Tu 12-1 pm; Th 1-4 pm.
Dr. Gilliam and Dr. May will alternate teaching lab sections for a given week (i.e., one, but rarely both, will teach all labs for an entire week). When one of us is teaching lab, the other is often free, so you frequently have access to one or the other of us Monday through Wednesday, 1-4 pm. We are available at other times, too, so if you would like to meet and none of the listed times is convenient for you, let us know. In any case, it is safest to make an appointment ahead so we can reserve the time for you. In addition to meeting with other students, committee meetings, research, and other obligations crop up from time to time and may make it necessary to cancel office hours.
We encourage you to see us if you are having difficulty with any concept or procedure introduced either in lecture or in lab. See us, too, if you merely want to clarify a minor point, or even wish to express your excitement about—or dissatisfaction with—what we are working on.
If you are having difficulty, it is important that you not wait until you are desperate. At that point, it will be much more difficult to salvage your interest and/or your grade. If you do poorly on an exam, it’s already late; don’t wait any longer!
Make-up Exams
We realize that dire circumstances and emergencies occasionally arise. Talk to us ahead of time, if possible; and document the situation (e.g., a note from doctor, lawyer, clergy) as described below, under “University Policy Regarding Excused Absences”. If it is necessary for you to miss a scheduled exam date, it may be possible to take a make-up exam. However, be advised that make-ups are generally given as a combination of written essay and oral exam, and are nearly always more difficult than the original exam (not because we try to be cruel, but because it is very difficult to design a make-up exam that is entirely fair to all involved).
Textbooks
Lecture text: Cain, M.L., W.D. Bowman, and S.D. Hacker. 2008. Ecology. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA.
Lab texts: Ecological Investigations: Laboratory Manual for Principles of Ecology.
Pechenik, Jan A. 2010. A Short Guide to Writing About Biology, 7th ed. Pearson/Longman, NY.
Grading
Your final grade will be determined approximately as follows, although changes to this scheme are possible.
Hourly Exams (3) 40%
Final Exam 20%
Laboratory 40%
Total 100%
Attendance:
You are expected to attend all lectures and lab sessions. We will not formally take attendance in lecture, but you will be held responsible for all notes, handouts, assignments, quizzes, and schedule revisions that are issued/announced during lecture. (Often we announce revisions, etc., at the beginning of class, so tardiness may also create problems for you.) Unexcused absence (see “University Policy” below) from an exam will result in a grade of zero for that exam.
In addition to in-class announcements, we also frequently send announcements, reminders, or materials by e-mail. These communications will automatically go to your MU e-mail account, so be sure to check that account frequently, and make certain that it is not full (since e-mail cannot be delivered to a full e-mail account).
Attendance is required in lab, so role will be taken each week and tardiness noted. You are expected to arrive on time for lab and to stay until all assigned work is completed. In computing your final grade, your lab grade will be multiplied by the percentage of lab periods you attended throughout the semester (see details in lab syllabus).
University Policy Regarding Excused Absences (quoted from the ’09-’10 On-Line Undergraduate Catalog):
It is Marshall University’s policy that each instructor evaluates the importance of student class attendance. In the course syllabus, the instructor must provide his/her policy on class attendance, make-up work, and related matters. If a student is absent from class because of a circumstance that is included in the excused absence policy, the absence can be handled by an arrangement between the student and the instructor or, if either party requests, the student can obtain an official excused absence following the procedure described below. The instructor must honor a university excused absence covered by this policy and allow the student an opportunity to catch up/make up work missed. This policy excludes those academic endeavors that require the completion of a certain number of clock hours, as in clinical experiences, practica or internships. For those courses, the maximum number of absences will be determined by the department chair or program supervisor. This policy does not supersede program accreditation requirements.
Definitions of Excused Absences:
Excused absences fall into five categories:
1. University-sponsored activities:
a. Academic activities including, but not limited to, performing arts, debate and individual events, honors classes, ROTC, and departmental functions.
b. Athletics. Official athletic events sponsored by the Athletic Department.
c. Other University activities, including student government and student organizations. The activity must have a clear educational mission and be closely linked to academic pursuits or to other official University functions.
2. Student Illness or Critical Illness/Death in the Immediate Family
”Immediate Family” is defined as a spouse/life partner, child, parent, legal guardian, sibling, grandparent or grandchild.
a. Student Illness or injury: Absences will be excused only for illnesses or injuries that prohibit students from participating in class.
b. Critical Illness of Immediate Family Member: Absences will be excused if the student documents that he or she had to provide needed care and/or support for a critically ill immediate family member.
c. Death of an Immediate Family Member
3. Short-Term Military Obligation: This is defined as absence as the result of military orders for a short-term period. Note: Students subject to federal activation are covered by a separate policy. Please see the catalog for this policy.
4. Jury Duty or Subpoena for Court Appearance: This applies to absences that are a result of official requests from a court of law.
5. Religious Holidays: This applies to religious holidays.
Process to Secure an Excused Absence
The student who seeks an excused absence must do so immediately after the event/activity/incident by following these guidelines. Whenever time permits, such as for University activities scheduled well in advance, the excuse must be obtained and presented to the instructor prior to the absence.
1. University Sponsored Activities:
a. Academic Activities: These absences are excused by the dean within whose unit the activity is sponsored. The dean must pre-approve any notice that is given or sent to faculty regarding absences of this type.
b. Athletics: These absences are excused by the Provost/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs who must pre-approve any notice given/sent to faculty.
c. Other University activities: These absences are pre-approved by the Dean of Student Affairs and excused by the Office of Academic Affairs prior to any notice to faculty. The activity and the excused absence must be endorsed in writing by the organization advisor.
2. Student Illness or Critical Illness/Death in the Immediate Family:
a. Student Illness or Injury: The student must submit official documentation of treatment by a medical practitioner to the Dean of Student Affairs as soon as he/she returns to class. Documentation must specify the inclusive dates to be excused. The dean will notify faculty that the absence(s) meets the criteria to be excused.
b. Critical Illness of Immediate Family Member: The student must submit official documentation from the family member’s health care provider that substantiates the critical nature of the illness and the student’s need to provide the care/support. This documentation is to be submitted to the Dean of Student Affairs upon the student’s return to class. The dean will notify faculty that the absence(s) meets the criteria to be excused.
c. Death of an Immediate Family Member: To obtain an excused absence, the student must submit one of the following to the Dean of Student Affairs upon return to classes: an obituary or a funeral program with the student named as a relative; verification on letterhead stationery of the death and the relationship by clergy or funeral home personnel. The dean will notify faculty that the absence meets the criteria to be excused.
3. Short-Term Military Obligation: The student who seeks an excused absence for military obligation must present official documentation of his/her orders to duty to the dean of his/her college prior to the absence. The dean will notify faculty that the absences are to be excused.
4. Jury Duty or Subpoena for Court Appearance: The student who seeks an excused absence for jury duty or court appearance must submit his/her subpoena or official notification of jury duty to the dean of his/her college prior to the date of the obligation. The dean will notify faculty that the absence is to be excused.