Biology Garfield High School

Transcription

1 Biology Garfield High School Instructor: Rachel Finley, Ph.D. Classroom: 323 School Phone: My class webpage is: Teacher Availability: I am available for extra-help outside of class. A schedule of availability for tutoring will be posted in the classroom. I am also available for private meetings before and after school. Student Teacher: We will have Ms. Molly Ravits in our classroom this year. Ms. Ravits is in the secondary teacher training program at the University of Washington. Her schedule will vary, but expect her to lead lessons occasionally in the fall and slowly integrate in our classroom to fully lead during the winter. I will be working closely with Ms. Ravits on her science content and teaching lessons. This is a great opportunity to learn from and work with two interesting and dedicated teachers! Course Description This is the first semester of a full year lab course in biology. The overarching goal of this class is to impart upon students the relevance of science in their lives, to create an understanding of how their bodies work, and to give students the critical thinking and analysis skills they will need to be successful in future science classes and in all other academic and social endeavors. Students will complete this class understanding that science is a way of knowing, possessing an increased scientific literacy, and with an understanding of the role, place, and interactions of humans in the biosphere. Following are the units of study: Matter and Energy Molecular Biology Cell Biology Standards Genetics Evolution Ecology The Washington State K-12 Science Standards are used for this course, which can be accessed from the following link: Biology End of Course Exam One goal of this course is to prepare students to succeed on the Biology End Of Course (EOC) Exam in June. Passing the Biology EOC is a high school graduation requirement. While there are no large cumulative projects due throughout the year, students will need to manage their time to complete homework assignments, lab writeups and study for tests outside of class. Expectations of Students Practice Positive Attitudes Act Responsibly Treat Everyone with Respect Strive for Excellence Class Website and The Source This class requires active use of the class webpage, which can be accessed through the Garfield High School website. All class activities, announcements, and handouts will be posted on this page and parents and students are encouraged to view it regularly (particularly if absent) to keep up with what we are studying. The Source will be used to publish student grades and will be updated weekly. My class webpage is:

2 Required Materials Science Journal: This should be a bound and lined composition book. You will complete in-class assignments, labs, and warm-ups in this. Bring it every day. It must have a table of contents, be organized, and include entries made during absences. Class Binder: This should be a 3-ring binder dedicated to biology including dividers with the following sections: Class Documents (ex: syllabus, lab safety rules) Unit Documents Work in Progress d Work Paper and pen/pencil Classroom Procedures Be on time. You are required to be in your seat, with all materials necessary for class readily available, when the tardy bell rings. My class will be following the school s new tardy policy. Students are expected to be in the classroom when the bell rings. If students come in the room after the bell rings they will log their entry into the tardy sign-in sheet. After the 3rd tardy in a semester, there will be a conference with the student After the 6th tardy in a semester, a phone call will be make home After the 9th tardy in a semester, the student will be referred to their administrator for a student attendance agreement In the event of an absence, it is completely your responsibility to check with me or the class website to obtain the work you missed. See absence section for more specifics. Cheating is not tolerated. This includes class work, labs, homework, exams, and quizzes. Both parties will receive zero credit on the assignments and a referral will be made. Cell phones and electronics are not to be used or seen without permission. They will be confiscated and kept until the end of class after a warning. This class will have an electronic component and you will need to utilize the Internet. If you do not have access to a computer or Internet at home, you may use computers in the classroom, school or public library. Nothing but water is allowed out in the classroom/laboratory. This is a safety requirement of being in the science lab. Issues with discipline will be resolved on a case by case basis and may result in one of the following: Assignment of a lunch or after school 30-minute classroom detention with Ms. Finley Phone call home Referral to administrator Assessment of Learning The semester grade is an 18-week cumulative grade and quarter grades represent progress to that point. s will be updated on The Source whenever a new grade is entered in the grade book. s are calculated to the nearest 1/10 of a percent, rounded to the nearest whole percent, and then assigned according to the following grade scale (mandated by the SPS School Board). Percentage Letter Point Honors Weighting Percentage Letter Point Honors Weighting A C A C B D B D B Below 60 E C

3 Assessment of Learning continued All student work will fall into one of three categories below and will contribute to the students overall grade as indicated. Summative Assessments Tests and Quizzes (60%): Tests will be given at the end of each unit and quizzes on occasion after a major concept. Adequate notice will be given for all tests (quizzes may be un-announced), and all must be completed during the assigned period unless prior arrangements have been made. Labs and Projects (25%): Labs are an integral part of biology class and are performed regularly. Labs should be completed with attention to detail, thoroughness, neatness, and adherence to scientific reasoning. Lab write-ups will be assessed using a version of the scoring rubric below. Incomplete or illegible labs will be returned and considered late. Late labs will lose 10% of the awarded points when they are turned in late. Formative Assessments In Class Assignments, Homework, Lab Journal, and Participation (15%): Homework is due at the beginning of the period and in-class assignments are due by the end of the class period in which they are assigned. Both are assessed only for effort and completeness rather than accuracy. Incomplete or illegible work will not be given credit. Points will be deducted for chronically late work. Science journals are mandatory. The journals will be checked periodically and graded once per quarter. Scoring Guidelines All summative assessments will be assessed using the following assessment rubric. Score Level 4 (100%) Level 3 (85%) Level 2 (75%) Level 1 (60%) Level 0 (50%) Missing or Incomplete (0%) Scoring Guide for Evaluation of Student Responses Description Student completes all of the important components of the task and communicates effectively. The response demonstrates in-depth understanding of the relevant content and/or procedures. Where appropriate, student chooses more efficient and /or sophisticated procedures and goes beyond the minimum requirement to offer insightful interpretations or extensions (e.g., generalizations, applications, analogies). Student works cooperatively in a group. Student completes most of the important aspects of the task and communicates successfully. The response demonstrates understanding of major concepts even though some less important ideas or details may be overlooked or misunderstood. Student work cooperatively in a group. Student completes some of the important aspects of the task but no others. Student communicates some important ideas. Gaps in student s conceptual understanding are evident. Student shows some difficulty in working cooperatively. Student completes only a small portion of the required components of the task. The response reveals only fragmented understanding of concepts. Student fails to work cooperatively. Student s response is either totally irrelevant or, if there is some understanding of the task, the response is totally wrong or provides no evidence of appropriate reasoning. No attempt at answering a set of questions relating to a learning target, or lab report not turned in. *This is a general rubric for the course; more specific rubrics similar to this one will be used when necessary. In addition, all summative assessments are designed such that you are assessed three different times on each concept or learning target. Your grade for each learning target will be calculated as follows: The lowest score on the first two learning target attempts will be dropped The score on the third attempt (the final exam) will count as one of your grades The final exam and the highest of the other two scores will be averaged for your grade on each learning target

4 Responsibility Vouchers Extra Credit Responsibility Vouchers will be issued at the beginning of each semester. Those remaining will be turned in at the end of the semester for extra credit points that will be added to your grade. You lose vouchers by disrupting the learning environment. You must bring vouchers to class each day. Video and Media Policy A variety of developmentally appropriate and content-related video clips will be used throughout the year and when possible, will be filtered through Clean Video Search (cleanvideosearch.com) to insure they are appropriate for all students. All student-selected film clips MUST be pre-screened and approved by me before being used in a class presentation. Absence Policy You are expected to attend class every day. It is your responsibility to be aware when you need to make up an assignment, lab, etc. and to be proactive in making it up. If you are absent, the following policies apply: Absent on the day an assignment is due & present when it was assigned = due your first day back Absent on the day an assignment is due & absent when it was assigned = due your second day back. Absent for part of a lab = obtain data from lab partners, it is due on time Absent for an entire lab or activity = make arrangements with teacher first day back for lab make-up or alternate assignment Unexcused absences = no credit for assignments, labs, or quizzes which are due, or take place that day Absent for a quiz or a test = complete the test your first day back unless alternate arrangements made Laboratory Rules Read Lab Safety Handout for More Details The laboratory is a special situation that you will encounter in this class. Labs can be fun and rewarding learning experiences, however, they can also be dangerous. The rules in the laboratory are strict and the consequence of breaking a laboratory rule is exclusion from the lab and no credit for the lab with no option to make up the lab. Bathroom/Hall Passes You will be issued 6 responsibility vouchers each quarter to use as bathroom passes. These must be used on regular 55 minute days. You are allowed one bathroom visit without a responsibility voucher for 110 min block period days. You may use the restroom for a maximum of 10 minutes Hall passes must be signed out at the front of the room and kept with you while you are out of the classroom In keeping with school policy, no passes will be issued during the first and last 10 min of class. Causing disruptions when coming and going, frequent use of pass or gone for extended periods of time could result in individual or whole class bathroom privileges being suspended.

5 Academic Honesty Academic honesty is a fundamental aspect of science and is given great consideration in this class. The honesty policy outlined in your student handbook applies to this class and will be strictly adhered to. Because science is a collaborative effort, below are some guidelines to help you understand the difference between this and academic dishonesty. When working in a group setting or with your lab partner it is OK to: Share data or observations or a procedure generated together. Share ideas about the results of an experiment as long as the ideas are expressed in your own words and you can explain their meaning. Use someone else s ideas or words as long as they are properly cited. When working in a group setting or with your lab partner it is NOT OK to: Provide the same explanation to a lab using similar or identical words. Use data from your lab group if you were not present unless given explicit permission from your instructor. Use or share data/observations from a lab group other than your own. The following are good rules of thumb when collaborating with others during labs or when working on homework together: If someone is explaining themselves to you, you must not have a writing utensil in hand. If you are looking at someone else s paper, that person must be present to explain themselves to you and you must not have a writing utensil in hand. Please adhere to the following rules during tests/quizzes: All notes/papers must be completely out of sight. Your eyes must remain on your own paper. There will be no talking from when the first test is passed out until the last person has finished.