Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

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FALL 2022 SYLLABUS!!

The upcoming term syllabus will be essentially the same, with appropriate updated dates, etc.

!!!!! EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE:  THIS IS NOT A FULLY ONLINE COURSE!!

Virtual attendance via ZOOM is required for the scheduled times:  (see Class Schedule at pcc.edu).  If you are unable to attend AND participate at those times, please register for a different section of BI 211. If you are considering enrolling in more than 15 credits (regardless of whether 1 or more colleges/univ), it is important that you speak with an advisor about the workload required for success in your courses.

In addition to the books listed, there are also required materials you'll need to purchase for doing lab activities at home.  These will be available via online purchase and shipping from the PCC bookstore.

 

It is important to plan. Know that the total amount of time an average student will need to spend to meet the learning goals of this course will be about 12-16 hours every week. This will include 4 hours of required Zoom-class time and the rest of your course learning time will be outside of Zoom, doing a variety of learning activities on your own. 

 

Are you looking for the Chem competency exam?  If so, click here.

Hello everyone! I'm excited to be teaching Principles of Biology again this year, and to meet (and re-meeting) those of you who will be taking my course. I'm going to do my best to make the experience engaging while we all learn new things together. (I learn many new things from my students every day). I made a little 4 minute video to introduce myself.  If you feel like reaching out by email or even by audio or video, I’d love to meet you even before classes begin. josephine.pino@pcc.edu

We will be spending 4 hours per week together remotely, with opportunities to learn in a variety of ways. Overall your learning will include recorded interactive lectures, reading, hands-on and visual demonstrations of concepts, guided independent research at home, peer group activities and more.  You will work hard and you will have many opportunities to contribute using your own experience and talents as part of our community of learners. 

This is a class that includes instructor "office hours" which means I will schedule dedicated time for meeting with students who have questions for need assistance outside of the scheduled meeting times.

 

 

The Learning Environment

This remote environment is still one in which we are all learning new things. We will meet challenges but I believe we can all thrive as long as our focus is on respect, community, care (others and self), communication, and learning. 

The priorities this term are hopefully obvious!  Our health and care are at the top of this list.  Please take care of yourselves, let me know how you’re doing, and practice an extra dose of kindness for others.

Every student comes to school for the purpose of learning and I believe that every person wants and deserves to have a chance

to learn

to enjoy learning

to be included and valued for what they bring to the learning environment

to receive a fair grade that shows what they have learned. 

Together we will keep our focus on these goals.

 

Tips for success

Although individual study strategies vary, the following suggestions are important for every student in this course.

1. Read, participate, and do something active such as drawing and taking notes!

Taking notes is not the same as copying words from another source. 

Listen or read carefully, mull it over, and write down interpretations, questions, emphasis points, diagrams etc.  This is an essential skill for successful learning. 

2. The time you spend on your own in between our Zoom time together is very important as is your time collaborating with classmates.  Find a way to make it matter.
3. Read assigned chapters and complete assignments by the deadlines. The reason is that it will help you stay on track and avoid falling behind. If you would like to discuss strategies for using your textbook, please feel free to make arrangements to speak with me about this. I am happy to assist. 
4. When you answer assignment and exam answers, write what you have learned using your own sentences. This will help you learn by making the knowledge your own.
5. Do not use Quizlet, Chegg, or other “fast food” sources of quick answers. These only hurt your ability to truly learn, and will damage your chances of sustained success.
6. Keep an organized calendar to plan your study time.
7. Learn in collaboration with others. I've designed the course to include this.
8. I want to support you to the best of my ability. Please feel comfortable asking me questions, whether about resources, challenges, science, college plans, or about my silly dog, Kenta. I’m here to help! 

 

And finally, a reminder from earlier in case you missed it.  I want to make sure to avoid any misunderstandings.

Please be aware that I am designing learning activities, meetings, and homework to meet the same goals with regard to time and outcomes as if it was the face- to-face version of this course.  This means that to be successful, you must plan to spend a significant amount of dedicated learning time outside of our required virtual Zoom times.  An estimate of the total focused time needed to be successful in this course is 12-18 hr/week. Virtual lectures are a requirement, just as if you were on campus. Please do your best to schedule these and other learning activities into your weekly plan. I am more than happy to help you strategize for efficiency.

 

 

Please check your PCC.EDU email for course advice and announcements if you register for this course.

If you do not already have your books from the prior course, please read the following before you purchase the required published materials. You may wish to do so through the PCC Bookstore. You may have noticed book purchasing has gotten more complicated than it has been in the past. This is due to the fact that some textbook publishers such as the one that publishes Campbell Biology and the lab manual have stopped selling printed hardback books. For this reason, we are providing the information below to all our Principles of Biology students this year, to help guide you in making your purchasing decision that will work well for you.

(Click here for link to Rock Creek Campus Bookstore.) 

PCC Principles of Biology Instructors’ Comments about Books

Read bold print above please!

The Pearson code for those renting or using ebook and/or Mastering Bio (from boookstore) is 

pino10271

The required textbooks for Biology 211-212-213 at all PCC campuses are Campbell Biology, 12th edition and Investigating Biology, 9th edition, both published by Pearson Education, Inc. Previous hard copy editions of Campbell Biology are acceptable to use.

You can choose from various print/e-text combinations, but keep in mind that Gloekler and Lucas (2021) show that many students prefer hard copy texts for learning over e-texts despite cost differences and Clinton (2019) has shown that reading from paper may be more efficient. Especially if you plan to take the 3-quarter sequence at PCC and/or PSU, we recommend Campbell Biology as a "24-month combo code" that includes Mastering Biology (Pearson's online homework, tutorial, and assessment product designed to improve results by helping students quickly master concepts), the e-text, and prepaid-print-upgrade (a 3-hole punched loose leaf mailed to you after you redeem your online code to Mastering Biology and the e-text). Also, purchase the print lab manual Investigating Biology. 

Campbell Biology is also available as an instant online e-text with a print upgrade (3-hole punched loose leaf mailed to you) without Mastering Biology or as an e-text alone. Investigating Biology is also available as an e-text alone but is not recommended by most instructors and students.

Literature Cited

Clinton, V. (2019). Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 42(2), 288–325. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9817.12269

Gloekler, L. A., & Lucas, D. (2021). Nursing Students’ Preferences in Test-taking, E-Books, and Learning Styles: A Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Nursing Education, 13(1), 152–159. 10.37506/ijone.v13i1.13333

If you are unable to communicate by microphone, you will need to be able to type using the chat box in Zoom