The information posted on this page includes the syllabus information required by Texas House Bill 2504.  A link to the complete course syllabus (with additional information about required course materials, grading, instructional methodology, course procedures, and course policies) is available on Dr. Keddy-Hector's Blackboard course site for BIOL 1309.

This class follows a free online Study Guide that will present the course material in sections. These sections will be organized into five units. Follow the Study Guide to access the required information and accompanying questions.  The Study Guide is central to the course, with text explaining major concepts for each section as well as guiding you through the additional textbook readings and online videos/homework/activities.

Section 1: Science as a Process

Section 2: Classification and Scientific Nomenclature

Section 3: Evolution--An Introduction

Section 4: Darwin and Natural Selection

Section 5: What the Rocks Say: The Fossil Record

Section 6: First Life, The Videos: Evolutionary history of animals

Section 7: The Tree of Life: Phylogenetic trees and how to read them

Section 8: The Ways of Change: Genes, Mutations, Reproduction (asexual and sexual), major evolutionary mechanisms: genetic drift, natural selection, sexual selection

Section 9: The History in Our Genes: Molecular evidence for evolution

Section 10: Adaptations

Section 11: The Origin of Species

Section 12: Radiations and Extinctions

Section 13: Intimate Partnerships: Co-evolution, Symbiosis

Section 14: Primate and Hominid Evolution

Appendices

For this section, the course organization is:

    Unit 1 = Sections 1, 2 and 3

    Unit 2 = Sections 4, 5 and 6

    Unit 3 = Sections 7 and 8, Appendix B

    Unit 4 = Sections 9, 10 and 11

    Unit 5 = Sections 12, 13 and 14

Instructional Methodology:

This is a three-hour lecture Distance Learning course. No laboratory is required.  This section is taught as an ONL (online) distance learning class.  The class does not meet in a classroom.  Contact between the students and the professor is achieved through email and the class Blackboard site.  Students will take exams in ACC testing center.

This course is not self-paced.  There are required deadlines!

GradingSystem:

Units must be completed in order and by the given deadlines.  Each unit has two homework assignments, a WIKI assignment and an online exam with two parts.

General Homework –  Homework is worth twenty points each, WIKI's are worth 10 points each.  The homework is basically the most important  vocabulary term/ content list. With five units, homework in all counts 250 points of your course grade.  Homework is posted under the Homework Content Area link in Blackboard. See syllabus for due dates. I will post your grades in Blackboard, which keeps records of when and what you posted.

Exams -  Online exams are available at all ACC Academic Testing Centers and approved Distance Testing sites. For Testing Center guidelines, locator maps, and hours of operation see the ACC Course Schedule, or the Academic Testing Center web site.

Online exams are administered through a secure lockdown browser accessible only at Testin Centers through Blackboard.  Exams are given in ALL Testing Centers and can also be taken at approved Distance Testing Sites with prior arrangement.  Please note that there are required deadlines for each exam.

Unit exams have two parts, Part 1 and Part 2. 

       Part 1of each exam has 35 objective questions(multiple choice) worth two points each; part 1 thus totals 70 points. Part 1 will be graded by computer and you will receive feedback on how many points you earned on part 1.

       Part 2 of each exam has 3 short essay questions worth 10 points each.Your answers will be sent electronically to me for grading.

To review your online exams, come to RVS during my office hours. I will give you some feedback on the topics missed if you email me. 

If you have never taken online exams before, visit the following link and read it carefully so you will be prepared for testing when you get to the Testing Center http://irt.austincc.edu/blackboard/respondus/students.html  Remember that your instructor does NOT require a password. Be careful to select the exam you want to take; several exams may be available when you access the Lockdown Browser in Blackboard. If you open an exam by mistake, the computer will count it as a test attempt. Be sure to save your work periodically during testing.

Be sure to fill out the Testing Center's request form correctly and choose the correct exam in the lockdown browser.

Course grades will be determined by the total number of points you accumulate during the course out of the possible 751 points available.

Due to ACC policies concerning the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), I cannot post grades or call or e-mail students with information about your grades. Grades will be available on the class Blackboard site. In Blackboard, a student can only see his/her own grade.

• Be careful to pay attention to the hours for the Testing Center you plan to use. See the web site below for hours, locations, and policies.

  Required Textbooks and Materials:

1. BIOL 1309 Life on Earth Study Guide, 4th edition, May 2017 by BIOL 1309 Redesign Team. 

Download and print from Blackboard. 

It is also available from: http://www.austincc.edu/biology/  Use the tabs or pull-down menu at the top of the page and click on “Manuals”. Then choose “BIOL 1309--Life on Earth.”

2. There is a special edition of The Tangled Bank by Carl Zimmer made  for ACC. You can not use the first or second edition, because they do not contain all the material you will need. THE ONLY PLACE TO GET THIS SPECIAL EDITION IS THROUGH ACC's BOOKSTORE. There is also an ebook version of this book starting Spring 2021

The Study Guide presents the course in the following sections. These sections will be organized into five units. Follow the Study Guide to access the required information and accompanying questions to be used in course assessment.  The Study Guide is central to the course, with text explaining major concepts for each section as well as guiding you through the textbook readings and online videos/activities.

Section 1: Science as a Process

Section 2: Classification and Scientific Nomenclature

Section 3: Evolution--An Introduction

Section 4: Darwin and Natural Selection

Section 5: What the Rocks Say: The Fossil Record

Section 6: First Life, The Videos: Evolutionary history of animals

Section 7: The Tree of Life: Phylogenetic trees and how to read them

Section 8: The Ways of Change: Genes, Mutations, Reproduction (asexual and sexual), major evolutionary mechanisms: genetic drift, natural selection, sexual selection

Section 9: The History in Our Genes: Molecular evidence for evolution

Section 10: Adaptations

Section 11: The Origin of Species

Section 12: Radiations and Extinctions

Section 13: Intimate Partnerships: Co-evolution, Symbiosis

Section 14: Primate and Hominid Evolution

Appendices

For this section, the course organization is:

    Unit 1 = Sections 1, 2 and 3

    Unit 2 = Sections 4, 5 and 6

    Unit 3 = Sections 7 and 8, Appendix B

    Unit 4 = Sections 9, 10 and 11

    Unit 5 = Sections 12, 13 and 14

Student Learning Outcomes:

Course-Level:

       Specific skills and competencies expected of students who complete this course include:

• ability to explain evolutionary relationships among different organisms

• ability to discuss adaptations, using several different examples

• ability to apply biological concepts to new examples

General Education:

       As a Core Curriculum course, students completing this course will demonstrate competence in:

               • observing phenomena and recording information

• critical thinking in the analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application of information

Common Course Objectives for BIOL 1309 are at http://www.austincc.edu/biology/1309_Com_Course_Obj.PDF.