Laboratory activities are a very important component of General Biology. Research shows that active learning is much more effective than passive learning. In laboratory we will keep passive activities to a minimum and emphasize the “learning by doing” method. Obviously you must be present to perform the lab activities. For this reason attendance in laboratory is mandatory. The laboratory period is 2 hours and 45 minutes. You should plan to be in lab for the entire period. Only students who complete all lab activities will be allowed to take the quiz or turn in the lab report. Students who leave early, regardless of the reason, will not be allowed credit for the lab. You should plan to attend your own lab section at all times. If for some reason you cannot attend a particular lab you will have two options: Option 1 –You may attend another lab section with the following conditions: You must request ahead of time to be allowed to attend the alternative section (this does not mean 5 minutes before the alternate section begins). The lab section you wish to attend cannot be full (24 people). You may not attend another lab section because of an exam. My labs: Tuesday at 10:30 am Thursday at 10:30 am Wednesday at 8:00 am Friday at 8:00 am Option 2 – You may miss one lab during the semester and do an alternate assignment to make up the points. Typically, the assignment is a self-led field trip to the Desert Botanical Garden. See me to obtain a handout for this activity.
Lab Grades. In general each lab will be worth 20 points. 10 Points will come from your answers to the pre-lab questions. You must give these to me during the first 5 minutes of the lab period to be eligible for full credit. Other points may be earned in several ways. Most frequently, a quiz will be given at the beginning of a lab period over the previous week’s lab. (Note: you will always take the quiz for the last lab unit that you completed, so if you miss a week of lab you will take a different quiz than the other students.) Sometimes, you will be assigned questions to be answered and turned in the following week. Each week I will announce what material you are responsible for and how I will test you. One lab assignment will be a multi-week exercise for which you will write two laboratory reports, worth 40 points each.
Notes: • You do not receive a separate grade for lab. The points you earn will be combined with lecture points to determine your course grade. •You must have the same instructor (me) for both lecture and laboratory. NO EXCEPTIONS! |
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