BI 478 / 678

Semester: Fall 2008

Mon: 2:30-5:20 pm, MG 128
Wed: 2:30-3:20 pm, MG 131

Instructor

Dr. Michael S. Taylor
Office: Rhodes 217
E-mail: mtaylor@semo.edu
Phone: 651-2357

Office Hours

Mondays and Tuesdays, 10:00-11:00 am or by appointment. If my office door is open, please feel free to inquire whether I am busy with pressing matters; if not, I will be happy to meet with you. E-mail is the most effective way to contact me; I check e-mail regularly during the school week and will generally provide a timely response. I will also use e-mail to contact the class.

Text

Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, 5th ed. (Moyle and Cech, 2004)
The Fishes of Missouri (Pflieger, 1997; purchase from bookstore)

Important Dates

Final Exam: Monday, 15 Dec 2008, 2:00 pm. Final exam will not be comprehensive.
Last Date to Drop: Friday, 31 October 2008.

Web Site

http://cstl-csm.semo.edu/mtaylor/ich/

The PowerPoint presentations and study guides will be available online. The PowerPoint presentations will serve as a topical guide and reminder of key points, but they do not substitute for regular attendance. Other handouts will also become available throughout the semester.

Course Description

Students will study the anatomy, taxonomy, ecology, evolution, and zoogeography of fishes, with particular reference to Missouri fishes. Upon completion of this course, students will be more familiar with the biology and morphology of fishes. The student should be competent to recognize the more common orders and families of fishes on sight and be able to utilize taxonomic keys and original descriptions to make fish identification. The student should be competent to recognize any Missouri fish to genus without a key and be able to identify any Missouri fish to species. The student should be familiar with the principles of physiology and ecology as they apply to fish. The course is composed of both lecture and laboratory sessions, and will include several afternoon and Saturday field trips.

Expectations and Policies - Read This Carefully

Academic Expectations

Academic study at the university level requires scholarly diligence. Your dedication and perseverance will be the primary determinant of your success in class. Your final grade depends solely on the effort that you apply to the course. I strongly recommend regular study and review of the course material. However, you are an adult with the ability to establish your own priorities and make decisions based on those priorities. Consider carefully the choices that you make and balance them against the final grade that you hope to earn.

Attendance

Attendance is not required but will be recorded and reported, per University requirements. Failure to attend class can result in loss of student financial support. The official attendance policy is stated the Undergraduate Bulletin (http://www.semo.edu/bulletin/). Regular attendance will not guarantee success. Lack of regular attendance will almost certainly guarantee failure.

Excused absences must be arranged with the instructor in advance (e.g., for University-sanctioned events), or your absence must be validated by a written doctor's excuse, police report, or other verifiable document. All absences are subject to verification. Missed exams and assignments can only be made up for excused absences (see below). No exceptions.

Make-Up Exams

You are expected to take all exams on the appointed date. Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero for the exam, unless you have a valid and verifiable excuse. If I can not verify your excuse, you will not be allowed to take a make-up exam. Make up exams are administered only on Tuesdays from 7:30-8:30 am in my office (RH 217). Make-up exams are typically comprised entirely of short and long essay questions. If you must miss an exam, then have a valid excuse and come extra prepared. After all, you had more time to prepare than did the other students.

Academic Honesty

Honesty is vital to your integrity and success in civilized society. You are expected and required to be honest in all academic endeavors. Any violation of the university policy on academic honesty is subject to disciplinary action. The Undergraduate Bulletin defines academic dishonesty as ...those acts which would deceive, cheat, or defraud so as to promote one's scholastic record..., and states that [v]iolations of academic honesty represent a serious breech of discipline and may be considered grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal from the university. The Undergraduate Bulletin contains the full statement about academic honesty (http://www.semo.edu/bulletin)

Dishonesty will not be tolerated. You are free and encouraged to participate in group study, but written assignments and exams must result from only your effort. Cheating or plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the exam or paper, with no opportunity for makeup. You will also be subject to sanction through the University as described in the Undergraduate Bulletin. No exceptions. Information on the University Policy for Academic Honesty is at http://www6.semo.edu/judaffairs/code.html.

Civility and Harassment

Civil discourse between people with diverse backgrounds and cultures is an essential component of a university education. Your successful education in the classroom requires a mutually respectful and cooperative learning atmosphere for students and instructors. Any action that interferes with a civil environment will not be tolerated. Such actions include, but are not limited to, physical or verbal abuse, sexual misconduct, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion and/or other conduct which (a) submits any person to pain, discomfort or indignity or (b) threatens or endangers the physical or mental health or safety of any person may result in disciplinary action. See Judicial Affairs for more information: http://www6.semo.edu/judaffairs/

Students with Disabilities

Students may obtain official information about disabilities from Learning Assistance and Disability Support Services (http://www.semo.edu/cs/services/lec.htm). The university has many services to assist with your successful education. If you have a special need due to a disability, please notify me at the beginning of the course. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate special needs.

Cell Phones Off!

Use of cell phones in class for voice or text messaging is expressly forbidden. Use of cell phones shows complete disregard and lack of respect for both the instructor and your fellow students. If your cell phone rings during lecture, you will receive a warning for the first violation. Subsequent violations will result in a 20 point deduction from your final grade. Continued violations will double the deduction over the immediately prior violation. If you are caught using a cell phone during an exam, you will be immediately dismissed from class, and receive a grade of zero for the exam. If you have a bona fide need to have a cell phone on (vibrate only), you must authorize it with me in advance. Any unauthorized use will be sanctioned as discussed above.

Grading Policies

I do not give grades; you earn them. Each student begins on the first day of class with a grade of zero. You add to your grade through the following opportunities:

Evaluation	Points
Online quizzes (9 @ 20 pts)	180
Essay exams  Undergraduate: 3 @ 60 pts  Graduate: 3 @ 75 pts	180 225
Life history paper	100
PowerPoint Presentation  Graduate Presentation  Undergraduate Evaluation	10 50

 

Grade	Undergraduate	Graduate	Quality
A	≥ 90.00	≥ 90.00	Outstanding
B	80.0-89.9%	80.0-89.9%	Above Average
C	70.0-79.9%	70.0-79.9%	Average
D	60.0-69.9%		Below Average
F	≤ 59.9%	≤ 69.9%	Failure

Simply performing the minimum that is requested from you will be sufficient to achieve average quality for the course. To achieve greater quality requires correspondingly greater effort on your part. Less effort from you will also judged accordingly (see below). Extra credit will not be available. No exceptions. Put your effort into learning the class material.

Quizzes and Essay Exams

Nine online quizzes, each worth 20 points. Each quiz will have 10 questions, usually multiple choice, based on the study guide questions provided for each lecture. The quizzes will be accessible from the course website. I will make a new quiz available every three lectures (see the lecture schedule). You will have 4-5 days to complete each quiz. A quiz opened on Monday must be completed by Friday. A quiz opened on Wednesday must be completed by the next Monday. Quizzes not completed by the due date and time will automatically receive a grade of zero and cannot be made up. Do not procrastinate lest you have unexpected computer problems. Personal computer problems will not be a valid excuse for missing any quiz. However, more time will be allowed for a quiz due to university-wide network problems or problems with the quiz software.

Three essay exams, each worth 60 points for undergraduate students or 75 points for graduate students. Essay exams will typically consist of three essay questions worth 20 points each. Graduate students must answer a fourth question worth an additional 15 points. Your ability to construct intelligent (and intelligible) responses are critical to successful answers (see below). I may assign the essay exams as take-home exams. If so, you will be allowed one week to answer the questions. Topics covered by the quizzes will still be valid topics for the essay exams.

Important: Your answers to all quizzes and exam questions must result solely from your own efforts. Collaborative efforts are not permitted and will be considered cheating. Cheating will result in a grade of zero for each person involved and may result in university sanctions (see Academic Honesty, above).

How do I grade? In a word, tough. However, the real answer is more nuanced. As noted above, an A grade is outstanding, while a C grade is average. Thus, to achieve an A, you need to craft outstanding answers on your exams, write outstanding journal assignments, and complete outstanding homework. In short, you must demonstrate complete mastery of the material presented in this course. You will earn an above average grade with above average effort; you will earn an average grade with average effort. Bear in mind that the average reflects the work performed by most people in a large group. Some students will do better than average, some will do worse. How will you perform?

Hint: Always answer every question on exams. If you do not answer a question, I have no choice but to give you zero points. If you attempt an answer, you have a chance of writing an answer that is at least partially correct, which means you have a chance of earning some points for the question. Even four points out of a 10-15 point question is better than zero points.

What constitutes an outstanding/above average/average/etc grade? As stated above, this course requires that you communicate clearly and effectively (including spelling and grammatical skills), demonstrate an ability to integrate different forms of information (i.e., evidence), and demonstrate critical thinking and reasoning skills. A person who consistently demonstrates mastery of all of these skills in this course will earn an outstanding grade. If you demonstrate command of two of these skill but are weak in a third (e.g., reasoning and integration is outstanding but spelling is somewhat problematic), you will be more likely to earn an above average grade. If your reasoning is less than clear, and you do not communicate effectively, you are more likely to earn an average grade (or worse).

This class requires that you work hard to earn an A grade. Earning an A is very possible, but you will have to put forth the effort. The grade you earn will reflect the effort you put into this course. Judge accordingly. Cause and effect. I am merely the keeper of your grade.

Do I grade on a curve? When a student asks this question, the implied question is Will you adjust my current score to a more favorable score? After all, the 90%-80%-70%-60% grade scale is already based on a normally-distributed curve, so grades are inherently curved. Still, with the spirit of the question in mind, I may or may not adjust the score of a given exam. Each class, and each exam, is different. Do not rely on curves to improve your score; instead, be prepared. If I do curve, then be pleasantly surprised.

Other Assignments

Life History Paper: Each student must complete a life history and ecology paper for a chosen species of fish. More details will be provided on a separate handout.

PowerPoint Presentation: Each graduate student will present to the class the life history paper as a PowerPoint presentation. This presentation is worth 50 points to the graduate student. The Each undergraduate student critique each presentation by following a provided evaluation form. This critique is worth 10 points to the undergraduate student. More details will be provided on a separate handout.

Laboratory Grades: See separate laboratory syllabus.