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"This is your brain (literally) on drugs"
Martin-Morris
Martin-Morris
Emphasis
This quarter, the emphasis of biology 100 will be on the biology of behavior. More specifically, we will focus our studies on how psychoactive drugs work by altering brain function. Students will be encountering a number of different biological disciplines, in particular, neurobiology and genetics, through an investigation of the mechanism of drug action.
Materials Needed
Materials needed for this course are as follows: Custom edition of Audesirk, Audesirk, and Byers - Biology: Life on Earth, Liska - Drugs and the Human Body, (books sold in a bundle WITH a coupon for the transmitter don’t throw this away!) a PRS transmitter (clicker) and the Laboratory Manual available at Professional Copy 'n Print - 4200 University Way. A calculator is often handy in lab as well, but we have quite a few loaners. Aside from these materials, please come with an open, inquisitive mind.
Course Objectives
Biology 100 is intended to serve non-biology majors; students who are looking for distribution requirements, or sampling biology as a potential major. It is not as rigorous, nor as comprehensive as the biology-majors’ series. However, we do hold high expectations for students in this course, and typically find the mean to be between 2.6 and 2.9.
Biology 100 is designed to provide students who might not otherwise encounter the study of biology in an academic setting with skills that will benefit them later in life. Students are encouraged to think and synthesize, to analyze data, to think critically about claims made by others, and to conduct research and projects in a collaborative team environment. Students who leave biology 100 in good standing should be able to critically read and understand a newspaper story on a biological topic. They should be able, in later years, to research a topic of interest (from health to pharmaceuticals, to genetics, and beyond) to address their questions of personal importance.
Toward meeting these goals, biology 100 instructors endeavor to keep the course content timely and relevant. We work to provide a mixture of learning opportunities. There are four "lecture" meetings each week that will include other forms of learning and interaction. Instructors have made it a goal to organize this course to stimulate student discussion and participation for the most enjoyable and effective learning. The course has a lab component that applies an experimental approach to emphasize course concepts. In addition, course homework will be largely group work. Homework will be in the form of case studies that begin in lecture time, and extend beyond into group meeting and report generation time.
Instructors
Your course will have three instructors you see regularly, and 5 others you see less often. The lecturer is Dr. Linda Martin-Morris. Linda has been teaching at the U. for 10 years in the Biology and Genetics Departments. She earned her B.S. from Cornell University, and her Ph.D. from Brandeis University. After spending 12 years in molecular genetics research, including 5 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, she realized that teaching was far more challenging and exciting. She instructs biology 100 two quarters a year. Linda can be contacted most reliably via email lmorris@u. and phone messages can be left at 616-9765. Most students find that meeting with Linda in lab is the most convenient way to ask a few questions. But in addition, you can meet with Linda other ways. She will hold two office hours before each exam. You can also make an appointment to meet with Linda at your convenience – but please ask electronically by email.
You will have another senior instructor, Cheryl Wotus. Cheryl will be helping in all the laboratory sections, training the TAs for each lesson, and helping students in a variety of ways. She earned B.S. in Zoology at University of Massachusetts and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. She has been a post doc in the Dept of Biology here at the UW for the past 2 years studying the interactions between hormones and the brain during stress. Cheryl will see students before and after lab, and by appointment – contact her electronically at wotus001@u.washington.edu
In the laboratory, your TA will be a highly qualified, undergraduate teaching assistant. Each lab section is led by a different peer teaching assistant who has been carefully selected and trained in the goals for each lab activity. You should contact this TA about issues pertaining to your lab participation and grading. For lab ABSENCES or requests to switch sections (all course administration) contact Linda.
| Lab section | TA | |
| AA - Tues, 1:30-3:20 | Alisa Byquist | alisab@u.washington.edu |
| AB - Wed, 9:30-11:20 | Jordan Collins | jord52@u.washington.edu |
| AC - Wed, 11:30-1:20 | Julia Mattson | juliatm@u.washington.edu |
| AD - Thurs, 9:30-11:20 | Katie Deschenes | deschk@u.washington.edu |
| AE - Thurs, 11:30-1:20 | Shannon Oltean | shanno2@u.washington.edu |
| AF - Thurs, 1:30-3:20 | Brianne Chittenden | bsc22@u.washington.edu |
In lecture, during case study time, you'll have one more contact to help you with course assignments. This peer facilitator will be assigned to your case study "report group" and will be on hand throughout the quarter to assist you in understanding and conducting your group projects. Your peer facilitator is there to guide you, to clarify the assignment, and to provide you with a resource if problems arise in your group. Peer facilitators are not all biology majors, but many are. Some are outstanding alumni from biology 100 who were recognized for their abilities in group learning projects and for their interpersonal skills.
This gives you FOUR very capable instructors to go to for different reasons when you have questions or curiosities about our course material!
Student Responsibilities
We generally see high attendance numbers in lectures and recognize that students want to be there if there is something exciting to learn about. Still, lectures will be recorded for those unavoidable absences. These will be available online, but will be difficult to view if you are using a phone modem off campus. Students are expected to be punctual, participating beyond note-taking, and respectful of the views of their classmates during class time.
When group work is assigned in lecture (most Fridays), there will be a penalty for missing lecture. Case studies will be performed in lecture time and outside of class time. Students will be assigned to a "report group" at the start of the quarter to work together on case studies and will work with that same group all quarter. Groups MAY be rearranged provided all of the following have been consulted Linda, TA, and previous group members. Each report group will be charged with the responsibility for creating a group contract that considers how a student should cover for missed meetings or material as well as how the group will respond if an assignment or meeting missed by a group member.
Lab is REQUIRED. In lab, students are expected to be attentive, engaged, and collaborative. Lab is usually the most fun and helpful part of this course, so enjoy! For your safety, it is imperative that you read your lab manual BEFORE coming to lab each week and that you come on time. To encourage these behaviors, there will be quiz at the onset of each lab meeting. Lab meetings are packed full with activities and peer TAs have been instructed NOT to review all the steps of an experiment before you start lab. So having a good idea about what you will be doing is the only way to get through lab on time. We do NOT offer make up labs, and while the course is at full capacity, no lab switches are possible. However, as students drop the class, the instructor MAY be able to make a prearranged lab switch for students with schedule conflicts such as interviews, university-sponsored athletics, or other sanctioned excused absences. If you find you are unable to attend your lab, contact LINDA as soon as you are aware of the conflict by EMAIL (lmorris@u.washington.edu). If an opening exists in another lab section, she will notify you and the TA that a temporary switch has been granted. Lab absences for religious, medical, or family emergency reasons must be discussed with Linda within ONE week of the missed lab, and written verification of your conflict will be required in order for you not to lose credit associated with the lab.
Any time an assignment is due on a particular date, it is also due by the start of class on the stated date. Pre-labs are due at the start of your lab section. Other assignments (case studies and web poster components) are due at the start of lecture. Assignments turned in after the start of class will be considered late and will be penalized.
Exams
There will be one mid-term exam and one final exam during the examination week. Exams are mixed format; questions will be of matching, multiple choice, and short answer formats. No electronic devices will be needed, nor will they be permitted during exams. The final exam is cumulative in that material previously covered usually needs to be understood to show mastery of more recent material. Your lab manual has copies of exams from winter 2004. Use these to familiarize yourself with HOW we test, but be forewarned. Material was covered differently 2 years ago, different order, different emphasis.
There will be NO MAKE UP EXAMS these are difficult to construct in a way that is fair for the class as a whole and the student desiring a make up. If there is an EMERGENCY precluding your attendance on the day of an exam you must notify LINDA within 24 hours of the missed exam. In consultation with you, she will determine the fairest way to evaluate your understanding of the material. In the past, this has included oral exams.
Students with disabilities
If you would like to request accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz, (206) 543-8924 (V/TTY). If you have a letter from Disabled Student Services indicating you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to Linda so we can discuss the accommodations you might need for the class.
Academic Honesty
Be advised, the instructors of this course have the right an responsibility to notify University Conduct committees about ANY suspected student misconduct. Exam cheating might come immediately to your mind when you hear this, but by FAR the most prominent form of cheating in Biology 100 is plagiarism. It is YOUR responsibility to inform yourself of what plagiarism means visit the UW web site:
http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm
Typical plagiarism “oversights” are:
- Copying the case study or problem set from a friend with whom you study, OR working so closely with this friend that both your assignments LOOK copied (same words and ideas in the same order).
- Copying whole sentences from a web site without restating in student’s words or without quotation/citation.
- Paraphrasing ideas of another author without attempting to write an "original" sentence.
- students are not giving credit to the main staple of an academic’s repertoire ideas,
- students are failing to adequately learn the material in a way that would allow them to submit written work individually, and
- students receive NO credit for an assignment which contains plagiarized portions.
Email and computer use
All students are expected to have an email address and you will receive email relevant to this course on a regular basis. We will have an electronic discussion group that will serve multiple purposes. Instructors will post announcements here and students may use the newsgroup to communicate about questions, study groups, or other course-related curiosities. There will also be a class website, http://protist.biology.washington.edu/biol100, on which students will find a course schedule, case studies, problem set answer keys, periodic postings of grades, and study guides. Exam answer keys will also not be available electronically, ever. You will be expected to obtain ALL class handouts by using this site. Study guides and case studies, in particular, will NOT be distributed in class, but will be obtained by the student from this site. Lastly, class homework will be peer reviewed, submitted and graded electronically. So internet access is a regular part of making the grade here.
Grades
Grades are based on your midterm and final exams, on lab reports, and group homework. Please keep track of the points you are earning so that you can verify your status in the class. At any time you can determine what grade you are earning by computing the PERCENT of points to date you have received (see following page). For instance, if after exam 1 you know you got 75 of the 100 exam points and 30 of the possible 40 lab points, then you know you have earned 105/140 points or have 75% of the possible points. This performance is steering you toward the grade 2.0.
Please note this class is NOT graded on a curve. You are competing against the following grade bins, not each other. Do not let this fact sneak up on you at the end of the quarter!
Grade conversion chart
| Points | Percent | Grade |
| 570 600 | 95 100 | 4 |
| 540 569 | 90 94 | 3.5 3.9 |
| 510 539 | 85 89 | 3.0 3.4 |
| 480 509 | 80 84 | 2.5 2.9 |
| 450 479 | 75 79 | 2.0 2.4 |
| 420 449 | 70 74 | 1.5 1.9 |
| 390 419 | 65 69 | 1.0 1.4 |
| 360 389 | 60 64 | 0.7 0.9 |
| Less than 360 | Below 60 | 0 |
There is one activity you can engage in for extra credit in the class. After the mid-term exam, you can rewrite the question on which you lost the most points. This rewritten answer will be submitted within a week of when we return your exam to you. You must include a photocopy of your "wrong" answer, the rewritten answer, a reference showing where you found the new answer (use course materials, not Wikipedia), and a discussion about how you might avoid losing points on a similar question on future exams. You can earn full credit back if you follow all requirements as stated here. You may ask for help from classmates or instructors, but you must cite them as a reference AND find general class reference in addition.
Grade tally chart
Keep track of your assignments and their grades. At any time you can calculate the grade you are receiving in class by comparing your percent of possible points to the total points that have been achievable to that point. The web-based “grade dispenser” will be updated three times during the quarter to help ensure you are up-to-date on your progress.
| Assignments | YOUR grade | Total possible | Lab Assignments | YOUR grade | Total possible |
| Midterm Exam | 150 | Lab 2 | 7 | ||
| Rewritten Exam 1 Question | Lab Worksheet 2 | 6 | |||
| FINAL | 200 | Lab 3 | 7 | ||
| Lab Worksheet 3 | 6 | ||||
| Lab 4 | 7 | ||||
| Case Study 1 | 20 | Lab Worksheet 4 | 6 | ||
| Case Study 2 | 20 | Lab 5 | 7 | ||
| Case Study 3 | 20 | Lab Worksheet 5 | 6 | ||
| Case Study 4 | 20 | Lab 6 | 7 | ||
| Case Study 5 | 50 | Lab Worksheet 6 | 6 | ||
| Lab 7 | 7 | ||||
| Lab Worksheet 7 | 6 | ||||
| Online PRE-survey | 3 | Lab 8 | 7 | ||
| Online POST-survey | 3 | Lab Worksheet 8 | 6 | ||
| Lab 9 | 7 | ||||
| Lab Worksheet 9 | 6 | ||||
| EPOST contribution | 3 | Lab 10 | 7 | ||
| Total Lecture | 489 | Total Lab | 111 |