ISCI 2001
Integrated Science I (Life & Earth Science)
Fall 2010
Instructor: Bernard Majdi
Office: 152A
Telephone: 449-7574
Email: bmajdi@waycross.edu
Web Page: http://www.waycross.edu/faculty/bmajdi/
Office Hours: 10:45-12:00 M, T, W, TH
4:00 – 5:30 pm T, TH;
Text: Conceptual Integrated Science by Hewitt, Lyons, Suchocki, by Hewitt, Lyons,
Suchocki, and Yeh (Addison-Wesley, 2007)
Prerequisites: One science course with laboratory
Introduction
This course is intended to fulfill the area F requirement for elementary education majors. It will not count as a general education area D science course. During this course we will study the life and earth sciences using the inquiry method. This course will involve many hours of reading and doing projects outside of classroom. Students will be responsible for reading and answering questions found in course objectives. Most of the class time will be spent on hands-on activities to reinforce the concepts learned during the readings.
Class etiquette: No use of cell phones, text-messaging, IPODS etc in class. Please turn off your cell phone when you come to class.
Grading and
Evaluation
There will be a weekly quiz (on Thursdays) on the reading materials assigned. This will be 10% of your grade. The other 50% will come from exams.
I will ask you to keep an electronic journal of what you learned each day in class. This electronic journal can be in form of a weblog with pictures, diagrams, etc. Go to the discussion section of this class in WebCT-Vista and submit your journal there. It should cover what you learned, your frustrations with the material and any question you have. I will check these weblogs weekly. The words should be your own. If two weblogs have exactly the same wording, both will receive failing grades (do not copy from someone else). This will count for 20% of your grade.
If you come to class and complete the activities and obtain my stamp, you will receive credit for the activities. This will count for 15% of your grade. Completion of assigned projects will count for the other 5% of grade.
Quizzes 100 points
Exams 500 Points
Weblog 200 Points
Activities 250 points
Projects 50 points
_____________________
Total 1100 points
The grading scale for the course, will follow the traditional scale:
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
Below 60% F
Dropping a Course Without a Penalty:
In order to officially drop a course without a penalty, a student must obtain and fill out a drop/add form from the Registrar's Office, acquire appropriate signatures, and return the form to the Registrar's Office before the designated date published in the academic calendar in the Waycross College Catalog (October, 14 2010).
"In
compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act,
The ASC was created to offer supplemental assistance to students enrolled in all courses at the College. The ASC offers a variety of services at all levels, ranging from personal tutoring in math, reading, and composition skills to providing handouts and supplementary materials on writing research papers and critiques, taking essay and objective tests, and developing effective study techniques. Through audiovisual, computerized, self-paced, and one-on-one tutorial work, the ASC assists students in developing strengths and eliminating deficiencies. Students may be referred by instructors or may independently seek additional help.
Many of the lab assignments given in this class require creating computer generated graphs or figures. The staff in the ASC will be very helpful in assisting you in creating these computer generated materials. I highly encourage you to visit the ASC to obtain help on these assignments.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is prohibited. Plagiarism is defined by Webster as "the stealing and passing off of the ideas or words of another as one's own". Further, the MLA Handbook states, "Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another's sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, or even presenting someone else's line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own." In other words: do your own work. Alleged violations involving plagiarism and other academic misconduct will be handled according to the procedure outlined in the Waycross College Student Handbook.
Any student discovered plagiarizing (cheating) in this
course will receive a grade of F for the course.
PLEASE NOTE!! I cannot know if you are having a problem with the class or assignments unless you stop by and visit with me. I will be available during my office hours (see first page of syllabus), unless otherwise detained. You may also contact me via email or by phone. DO NOT HESITATE to talk with me if you have a problem.
Course Outline (this is TENTATIVE and is subject to change).
Chapter 1 About Science
Chapter 15 The basic Units of Life
Chapter 16 Genetics
Test 1
Chapter 18 Biological Diversity
Chapter 21 Ecosystems and Environment
Test 2
Chapter 22 Plate Tectonics
Chapter 23 Rocks and Minerals
Test 3
Chapter 24 Earth’s surface
Chapter 25 Weather
Test 4
Chapter 26 Earth’s History
Chapter 27 The Solar System
Final Exam (70% new and 30% old materials)