Introduction: General Biology 2 is a fundamental course in Biology and in my opinion is one of the most interesting courses you might take at FIU.  We start off with learning the fascinating diverse forms of life on earth and how they appeared during evolution afterwards we go over how these species interact with the environment and with each other.  Large enrollment classes like this one can be intimidating and quite overwhelming for some students so please don't hesitate to seek my help early and often.

Pedagogy: This course is going to be taught in a flipped (LA Model) form in which student participation is very important. In this format students will be expected to come to class well prepared for the several active learning activities which will occur in the classroom. The lectures will be posted online with other electronic content and available before lecture. Students are also expected to read the book, articles and observe other electronic contents available.

How to Succeed in this course: Since this is a flipped class some important study habits should be followed to do well in this course. First of all you should always read the chapter before class and take good notes to bring to class. Videos are frequently posted at the end of each powerpoint so please spend time watching these videos before class. Since a good chunk of your grade is class activities being prepared for class is fundamental. Ahead of class I post my powerpoints and these give you a good idea what will be talked about in class. After each lecture I post a review sheet and this gives you the course material you will need to focus for exams. If you do not prepare before the class you will not do well in activities and will most likely not do well in exams. Please do not fall behind and always feel free to contact the course instructor for help.

Email:  brinnr@fiu.edu When sending me an email please include course, student name and panther ID in the subject or your email might be deleted or end up in spam.

Webpage :   http://faculty.fiu.edu/~brinnr

Lecture Notes: All lecture notes will be posted as PowerPoint or PDF in Blackboard only before or right after that lecture.

I-clicker: University adopted i-clickers will be required for this course and you must have them no later than the second week of class.

Openstax Tutor: All students will be required to purchase openstax tutor which cost $10 for the entire semester. Please go to openstax.org for registration. You will have several graded activities so please sign up early. Follow the link below to sign up for my openstax tutor section name General Biology 2 - BBC Spring 2019.

https://tutor.openstax.org/enroll/889320/General-Biology-2---BBC-Spring-2019-Spring-2019

Text: The only book adopted for his course is the 2nd edition Biology book from openstax which is free to read online or download. Go to the openstax.org/details/books/biology and download the Biology Book.  Please note that openstax also has a "Concepts of Biology" book which we will not use.

Reading assignments: You will be required to read and understand the book listed above and several scientific articles during the semester. You will not achieve success in this course unless you read the chapters and articles since clicker questions, class activities and exam questions will be based on this content. This semester I will have several active learning in classroom graded activities.

Class Meeting Times and Room: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:45 in room HM 260 in the wonderful Biscayne Bay Campus.

Office Hours: Posted in faculty.fiu.edu/~brinnr but can be scheduled by appointment (email) if student can't attend times and days listed.

Attendance:  Please be prepared to participate in ALL the course as scheduled! Attendance is mandatory and students who miss often should expect to receive a failing grade. Not all material that is discussed in class will be found in the readings or slides on Blackboard, yet the exams will include this content. Students will be graded on their participation, discussions and other class activities. Students should also be aware that frequent and extreme lateness in coming to class will be noted by the professor, as it is in every class. The best way to convince your instructor that you don�t care about the class is to be late or absent. Habitual extreme lateness is rude, disruptive, selfish, and immature. The correlation between high grades and punctual attendance is very high in just about all classes.

Observance of Religious Holy days:  It is university policy that instructors reasonably accommodate students because of observation of religious holy days. The student shall be given a reasonable amount of time to complete coursework and/or assignments missed during their approved absence. The approved make-up assignment must be equivalent in content, type, and grading scale to the missed coursework and/or assignment.  A student who desires to be excused from class to observe a holy day of his or her religious faith should notify all of his or her instructors preferably upon receipt or access to the syllabus, and no later than two weeks before the religious holy day. If a student feels that an instructor has not complied with this policy, he/she may file a complaint of discrimination with the Office of Equal Opportunity Program and Diversity in accordance with FIU Regulation 105. This policy and related procedures is included in the Student Handbook, Undergraduate Catalog, Faculty Handbook, and Graduate Catalog.

Help: If you need additional assistance with the information presented in this course, seek the assistance of the professor. If the office hours on the Biscayne Bay Campus are inconvenient, other arrangements can be made. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE SEMESTER TO SEEK HELP! Its my job to make sure you absorb and understand the content from this course and I'm happy to help outside and inside the classroom but with over 100 students you need to take the first step to reach me.  The Disability Resource Center (DRC) collaborates with university faculty to provide inclusive learning environments. If you have a disability and plan to utilize academic accommodations, additional information may be found in the DRC's website: drc.fiu.edu.

Students Conduct: Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and to honestly demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook. All students are expected to behave as adults just like in any university classroom in any other school in the USA or the World. In such a large class, it is important to have respect towards the Instructor and fellow classmates. Inconsiderate, disrespectful, dishonest, or disruptive behavior, as I or your fellow classmates perceive it or as is described in the Student Handbook, is unacceptable in this course. Carrying on side conversations and use of an electronic device during the class is a disruptive behavior. 

Cheating or Plagiarism will not be Tolerated!!! : Students caught cheating during an examination or plagiarizing will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and penalties. Exams will be monitored by several instructors and by classroom cameras when available. Anyone caught cheating (in any form) will be removed from the class, will be given an "F" for the course, and will have a formal Student Misconduct report filed with the University. Examples of cheating include looking at other students Iclicker while answering questions that are meant to be individual work like article discussions. Bringing printed notes or notes acquired from others is also considered cheating. You are allowed to bring hand written notes with your handwriting only.

Use of Computers and/or Cell phones During Lectures:  You are NOT allowed to use computers or cell phones during lecture.

PLEASE SILENCE YOUR CELL PHONES BEFOR EVERY CLASS AND PLEASE NO TEXTING!!!!

Learning Outcomes and Course Description: General Biology 1 and 2 are fundamental courses for Biology majors. Learning the scientific method and how its used to produce science is fundamental in these courses.  By taking lab and lecture students will be embedded in a scientific environment that is ideal for learning. After completing this course students are expected to know basic principals in organismal biology with emphasis in botany and zoology.

Prerequisites or Corequisites - BSC 2011L needs to be taken at the same time if you drop one the other is automatically dropped and unfortunately that rule is strictly enforced.

Extra Credit: There is one single opportunity to earn 2 extra points to be added to your final average.  Go to learningcenter.fiu.edu and click on their extra credit workshops link and then click on the Biology II option.  All will be explained there. The exams and assignments listed here in this syllabus will be the only grades you will receive for the class. Other Extra credit assignments will not be allowed under any circumstances, so please do not ask if you can do one. Experience shows that the expectation of being able to do extra credit simply encourages students to take regular assignments less seriously, and allowing it is also unfair to students whose schedules don�t permit them to participate in it. Also, the time spent on extra assignments takes away from time needed to do better on subsequent regular assignments.

Emergency: This section covers situations that prevent you for attending the class or/and exams. For this course, �Emergency� is determined as an unpreventable event that prevents attendance to class or/and an exam.

Emergency situations are:

Emergency also includes natural events such as hurricanes, floods, or fires that causes the closure of FIU-BBC.

IMPORTANT : If you miss any exam on the scheduled dates you must send an email to the main professor within 48 hours after the exam and show proper documentation within 1 week to be eligible for a makeup. If these rules are not followed your grade will be a zero for that exam.

On exam days: Please bring two sharpened #2 pencils with eraser and your student ID with you to all exams. All other materials will have to be placed at the front or back of the class, so it is best not to carry anything to the room on exam day. NOTE: this includes, hats, cell phones, beepers, purses, backpacks, tissues, sweaters and jackets, calculators, lunch boxes or everything except pencils. Please turn off all cell phones and beepers and put them away.  You will be asked to remove your hats and earplugs and no electronic devices are allowed during any exam .

Exams: There will be 4 major exams and a cumulative final exam which are all mandatory and listed in the schedule below. You must put your name and ID number on your exam. You may write on the exam, but answers filled in on the printed Exam will not be used to generate points, so be sure to fill in your scantron carefully and correctly. You will be given a scantron and when you are finished, you must return ALL materials given to you during the test whether filled-out or not. No talking until you leave the classroom. You will have a 2 week period after an Exam to come in and review your test in the case of the final exam that period will be shorter and depending when grades are due.

Grading Policy:

Grades will be posted on blackboard as a file as quickly as possible, so please allow 24 -48 hours.

Incomplete Grades: An incomplete grade is a temporary symbol given by the instructor for work not completed because of serious interruption not caused by the student�s own negligence. In any case, more than half of the work of the course has to have been completed. An incomplete grade must be made up as quickly as possible, but no later than two consecutive semesters or it will automatically default to the grade the student earned in the course (which is normally an F in the absence of all work completed). There is no extension to the two consecutive semester deadline. The student must not register again for the course to make up the incomplete. In order to receive an incomplete for this class, valid documentation must be provided for the reason the student is requesting the incomplete. The reason, again, must be out of the student�s control.

PLTL: PLTL is not going to be offered to BBC students.

Evaluations and Letters of Recommendation: If you think you will be requesting an Evaluation or Letter of Recommendation from me (or any other Faculty member), here are my requirements.  I must actually know you this means you have attended office hours or appointments with me during the current semester and we have had conversations about your goals and how you are going about achieving them.  You will need to continue to keep in touch with me through visits (at least one per semester) where you will update me on your progress.  And if you are applying to Medical Schools, you will need to have taken your MCAT exam before a letter is written and sent.

Schedule and Syllabus may be subject to change when deemed necessary.