Biology 143 Introduction to Forestry-Forest Ecology

Spring 2008

Biology 143 Introduction to Forestry-Forest Ecology

Spring 2008

COURSE INFORMATION

Bio 143 Introduction to Forestry 

Section A, 3 credits

SCI 129 Wednesday 1:10-4 PM

Prerequisites: None

INSTRUCTOR

Steven Clark

Office: APH 203F

Office Hours: Office Hours: Thursday 1-3 PM (I’m usually on campus everyday and can meet with students.  The above is simply a time when the likelihood of my being available is high.  It would be best to call me or make an appointment).

E-mail: sclark@clark.edu

Web Site Address: http://web.clark.edu/sclark

Mailbox: APH Science Office

In the event of snow or any other odd occurrence that may impact class, look at my web site.

 

Textbooks (required):

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Pojar and Mackinnon

The Hidden Forest by Jon Luoma. 

 

Course Description:

Forests are a collection of features (plants, animals, landforms, weather patterns, bacteria, fungi etc.) that interact together.  Most of us are more aware of the largest features of a forest: the trees.  We may be less aware of parts of the forest that are smaller.  We also may be unaware of how the elements of the forest depend on one another.  We will investigate the ecology of western forests.

 

Course Activities:

We will take several field trips.  See if these trips will be workable for you.  They will require carpooling (driving), being on time to strange places, being outside and hiking.  We intend to take two Saturday field trips.  If that seems unworkable for you, you should consider not taking this class.  Some trips may require an entrance fee and /or a forest parking pass. 

 

TO MAXIMIZE YOUR SUCCESS IN THIS CLASS YOU WILL NEED TO DO THE FOLLOWING

·        Read the text (this will require students to overcome procrastination and read well ahead of deadlines). 

·        Take good lecture notes

·        Keep up with the web site questions

·        Study effectively for tests

·        Be able to answer questions that are more sophisticated than factual recall questions.  For example, I want students to become facile answering what-if questions, inferences and defend-the position questions among others.  Those kinds of questions require higher level thinking that can be an invaluable accomplishment in your college career

·        Join the conversations, question-answers, role playing and other aspects of lecture that enrich the lecture experience for the whole class

If you find you need help with any of these, see me and we’ll tackle your concerns together.

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Clark College has identified key abilities that it wants students to acquire through their education.  Similarly, the science department has identified education requirements that are important to the sciences.  The table below shows how this class will address the goals of the college, the science department and of the Biology 104 class.

In addition to learning specific biology subject matter, Clark College has identified six campus-wide Student Learning Outcomes or Abilities that form the foundation of our educational emphasis: 1) critical thinking/problem solving, 2) information/technology, 3) communication, 4) life-long learning, 5) effective citizenship, and 6) global/multicultural awareness.  Although we will involve aspects of all of these abilities during the quarter, I will specifically promote critical thinking, life-long learning, effective citizenship and communication (through class discussions, small group discussions, reading assignments, and field trips).  The table below shows how I will endeavor to promote specific Student Learning Outcomes in this class:

 

Science General Education Requirement Outcomes	Student Learning Outcome  (Ability)	Assessment
Demonstrate comprehension of fundamental principles and relationships in the natural sciences   Communicate concepts and issues in the natural sciences	Observe and explain forest ecology principles (typical topics include succession, biodiversity, plant association, forest health and plant identification)  (Information, Life-long learning, Critical thinking)	Exams, quizzes, field trip-summaries
	Explain and discuss (oral and/or written) relationships between basic ecology principles (Communication)	Exams, quizzes, field trip-summaries
Analyze issues, claims, and situations using scientific methodology	Apply the process of the scientific method and use appropriate technology to seek answers to questions (especially in topics related to forest harvesting and biodiversity).  (Communication & critical thinking)	Exams, quizzes, field trip-summaries

 

COURSE POLICIES

Be aware of important college dates and policies.  The Clark College Schedule (this is the publication that lists all the course offerings in a given term) has important dates and policies that you are expected to know even though I will not print them here.

 

Dropping the Class: Students will be allowed to drop a class, without instructor signature, through the seventh week of the quarter. (Note: Classes that meet less than 10 weeks, including summer classes, will have a pro-rated deadline.) Students who drop after the 10th day of the quarter receive a 'W' grade on their transcript, which does not affect their GPA. No drops will be allowed after the seventh week. Students who feel they have extenuating circumstances may appeal this policy by contacting the unit dean before the end of the last scheduled day of the quarter (before finals). The refund policy remains the same.  [This is Clark College policy].

 

Preparation for Class and Class Attendance: A tentative schedule is included in this syllabus.  I suggest you take notes during field trips.  Keeping up with the scheduled reading should help you to easily grasp the content of the lectures.  If you are absent, it is your responsibility to get copies of any handouts from another student or from me.

 

Disability Support Services: Clark College and the Disability Support Services assist those with disabilities in pursuing their educational goals.  Their phone number is 992-2314.

 

Missed Quizzes and Field Trips:

There will be no makeup quizzes.  Trips cannot be made-up due to logistics.  You may drop your lowest 20 point activity; if you miss a quiz, that can be the score you drop.  In the event of an emergency, make arrangements with me beforehand.  I am much less motivated to assist a student with schedule problems if I learn about them after the conflict has occurred.  I will consider developing an alternative grading strategy in the event of extreme personal circumstances.

 

Missed and Late Assignments: Late assignments will be worth 50% of their original value.  Find a way to get assignments to me on time even if you are not in class.  If an assignment is not given to me within one week of the due date, it will not be accepted.  I will bring a folder with me on field trip days and will collect assignments at the start of field trips i.e. we don’t have to be in a classroom to collect assignments.  If you are absent for a lecture, you are still responsible for any assignments made during the class.

If you miss a field trip, you will lose the field trip points.  If you miss a field trip but still elect to complete the Field Trip Summary Paper, it will be worth a maximum of half the original point value.

 

Class Participation: I like students to be engaged by questions coming either from me or from other students.  Conversation, questions and comments are a welcome part of this class.  The success of these interactions is enhanced by students reading their text before class.

 

Student Conduct: In the appendix of the Clark College catalogue is a section on student conduct (G3-G11) that all students ought to be aware of.  I’ll highlight a few pieces of that appendix below.

 

Academic Honesty: Academic honesty is required at all times.  Cheating will result in a zero for that particular test/exam/assignment and may also result in a dismissal from the course with a failing grade.  Plagiarism, which is representing another’s work as your own, is considered as cheating.  If you intend to quote someone’s idea or sentence, use quotations or a footnote or a parenthesis to tell me what you are doing.  If you don’t declare where the idea or sentence came from, it looks like copying or plagiarism and you will be held accountable for that.  In addition to helping you to footnote properly, I would be happy to help you become skilled at reading someone’s work then closing the book and developing your own opinion honestly and confidently.

 

Classroom Behavior: Students engaging in disruptive behaviors during class will be asked to leave the classroom.  Repeated occurrences will lead to dismissal from the course. You may not leave and reenter the classroom during a test or exam so take care of any bathroom needs before tests begin.  

GRADED ITEMS AND GRADING SCALE

The class schedule (below) includes assignments and points (please understand that the schedule needs to be flexible and I may make changes in the activities and I may even add assignments).

 

Points for Each Field Trip

·         I award 5 points for arriving before the “start time” (by my watch).  I hope the points aren’t oppressive but rather a way to allow us to start without waiting.

·         I award 20 points for attending the trip (I think seeing, touching, experiencing the outdoor activity will inherently cause a certain amount of learning).

·         There are a possible 20 points for completing a Summary Paper.  The Summary Paper contains a series of questions relating to the field trip.  These questions won’t be available until after the field trip so they reflect the topics actually discussed on the trip.

·         If you miss a field trip, I will accept a summary paper but it will only be worth a maximum of 10 points rather than 20.

·         We will do a 25 point Plot Analysis at one of our later field trips (probably Beacon Rock but I want to remain flexible until I see how much material we’ve covered at that date).  If you miss that field trip, you will also miss that assignment because it will be done “on-site”.

 

Extra Credit: I intend to offer at least one Extra Credit opportunity worth a possible 20 points.

 

Mid-Term: There will be a 50 point mid term in week 4.

 

Points on Final Exam

·         30 points for Plant Identification (this will be part of the final exam).

·         100 points for the written part of the final exam.

 

Grade Scale

92%-100% = A                                               78%- 79% = C+

90%- 91% = A-                                               72%- 77% = C

88%- 89% = B+                                              70%-71% = C-

82%- 87% = B                                                            60%- 69% = D

80%- 81% = B-                                               Below 60% = F