BIOL-UA 12 Principles of Biology II Summer 2017

Principles of Biology II (BIOL-UA.12) Summer 2017 Course Policies

This 4-point course includes lecture and recitation components; there is no laboratory component.
A separate 1-point laboratory course (BIOL-UA.123) is offered during summer session II.

Course Personnel

The lecturer in this course is Martina Bradic, PhD (mb3188@nyu.edu). Contact Dr. Bradic with
any questions about the lectures or exams, or to make an appointment to discuss these or other
issues during office hours. (Office hours will be on Thursdays 12-1pm, 10th floor administration
area, Silver Building). Always include “POBII student” in the subject line of any emails to Dr. Bradic
so your message will not be mistaken for junk mail. To ensure that I know who you are, please end
your message with your full name.

The TA for the course are Dr. Bradic (section 003) and graduate student Deirdre Gertrude
Greenidge (section 002) (dgg277@nyu.edu). They will lead your recitation sessions, and
administer and collect homework assignments. They are important resource for your success in
the course and please be sure to take full advantage of the recitation sessions to ask questions
and to correct any misunderstandings.

Contact Rosemarie Campos rc10@nyu.edu with any questions regarding registration or other
administrative matters.

Schedule

Lectures are 10:00-11:55 AM Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at 194Mercer street room 203. You
will be assigned to one of two accompanying Recitation groups (section 002 or section 003) which
will meet Wednesdays and Fridays 1-3 PM. Section 002 will take place in 7 East 12th room 134,
and section 003 will be in 25 West 4th room C9. The first recitation will be on Friday, July 7, 2017.

Course resources and communication

BIOL-UA 12 Principles of Biology II Summer 2017

Course materials, lecture slides, assignments, and grades will be posted on the NYU Classes web
site. To access the site, log in at home.nyu.edu, select Academics, and go to the link for this class
(BIOL-UA.12).

Important announcements will be posted here. Please check the site at least every other day. E-
mail will be used occasionally for urgent matters, using NYU Classes, which will send messages to
your NYU e-mail address.

TUTORING: The University Learning Center at the ARC (18 Washington Place, Lower Level) will
be open this summer for walk-in tutoring sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-6pm, with
Learning Assistants available to help students in Principles of Biology. They have a small but
wonderful staff of experienced Learning Assistants who are eager to assist students in the
sciences!

Course materials

The following are available at the university bookstore.

• Campbell Biology 10th edition, by Reece et al. (either hard-copy or e-book; required)
• Access to www.masteringbiology.com (optional)
The textbook, web site access, and study guide may be purchased as a bundle or separately.

Grading

Your grade in this class will be based on your performance on three exams (25% each), recitation
assignments (15% total), and your oral participation in recitation (10%).

Your final grade will be based on the scale below. There is no minimum or maximum number of
students who can get a specific grade; your grade will not depend on other students’ performance.

A = 93-100% A- = 90-93% B+ = 87-90% B = 83-87%

B- = 80-83% C+ =77-80% C = 73-77% C- = 70-73%
D+ = 67-70% D = 60-67% F = 0-60%

If personal issues are affecting your performance or attendance, please tell me as soon as
possible. Do not wait to tell me after an exam or after grades are submitted in hope of getting
special consideration\

Exams

There will be three exams, each consisting of multiple-choice questions and short answer or short
essay questions for a total of 100 possible points/exam. Material covered on each exam will be
detailed on the course schedule. Exam questions will be a combination of simple recall and more
complex questions designed to test your deeper understanding of concepts. In particular, you
should be prepared to: (a) recognize a concept when it is presented in a different context than that
which was discussed in lecture, (b) connect ideas between different topics, and (c) apply what you
have learned to entirely new situations.
BIOL-UA 12 Principles of Biology II Summer 2017

You are expected to take all three exams. However, if you are unable to take an exam due to life
events or illness, notify me immediately. DO NOT take the exam and ask for special consideration
afterwards. Once an exam is taken, it will be graded and counted toward your grade. If you
cannot take an exam on the assigned date for a valid reason, you MUST inform me on or before
that date if at all possible. Excuses must be documented (signed doctor’s note if ill, family
emergency) within two business days of the exam. If your excuse is not valid, you will receive a
grade of ZERO on the exam.

If you miss the first exam and your excuse is accepted, you will have two options:

1. The weight of the missed exam will be allocated to the subsequent exams. Thus, if you miss
one exam, all of its weight goes to the other exam.

2. You may take a modified version of the exam within a week of the missed exam. If you select
this option, you must e-mail Dr. Bradic within one business day of the missed exam to arrange
a time to take the make-up exam.

Recitations

Recitation sessions are an integral part of this course, and are related to specific groups of
lectures. Each recitation is led by a teaching assistant (TA), who may be a PhD student, a
postdoctoral fellow, or a faculty member. Recitations are designed to provide opportunities for
exploring topics in greater detail and for receiving more personalized instruction in a small group
setting. Your attendance is mandatory and will be recorded. Missed sessions will result in
deduction of your grade.

There are two types of recitation sessions: problem sets and research paper discussions. For
problem set sessions, the focus will be on how to solve problems, or how to interpret experimental
data. For each research paper session, the focus will be on understanding why and how a
particular study was carried out, how the data were collected and interpreted, how conclusions
were drawn from the data, and how the paper connects to what you learn in lecture.

If you have problems with the content, grading, or administration of the recitation, you should first
contact your recitation instructor. If you need to discuss any matters further, please contact Dr.
Bradic, who coordinates the recitations.

Recitation Assignments

At the end of each Friday’s recitation (except for the last recitation), you will receive assignments to
be completed and handed in at each of the following week’s recitations. These assignments will
include short answer questions, short essay questions, or problems related to the recitation
material and MUST be handed in on time to avoid deduction of points from your grade. Unexcused
missed assignments will receive a grade of ZERO. There will be a total of 8 Recitation
Assignments. Your final grade for these assignments will be calculated by averaging the scores of
your 7 highest scoring assignments.

Recitation Participation
BIOL-UA 12 Principles of Biology II Summer 2017

During the recitation, your TA will lead discussions of the problem sets and research papers. Your
engagement is essential; your instructor will keep track of your attendance, evaluate your level of
involvement, and grade you every session.

Recitation Attendance

Your attendance at the recitations will be recorded by your TA. If you miss a recitation session, you
will receive a zero for participation that day and will not be allowed to submit the assignment. To
be excused, you must notify your instructor as soon as possible and provide written documentation
from a licensed professional (physician, NYU Health Center, etc.). You may be excused without
such documentation for one time only (but you must still request that your instructor excuse you).

How to do well in this course

1. Check the Course site regularly.

2. Read the textbook chapter and other assigned readings before coming to class.

3. Attend lecture. For most lectures, the great majority of the exam questions will be based on the
lecture.

4. Listen, take notes, and answer the professor’s in-class questions. If you printed an outline of the
lecture, add to it. Do not limit yourself to what is written on the screen; add what the lecturer says.

5. After the lecture (preferably within 12 hours), read the relevant parts of the book and add to your
notes as you read. This will help fill in gaps in your understanding.

6. Study actively. Re-write your notes in your own words. Re-arrange and synthesize as you see
fit. Construct tables and make your own diagrams. If you do this well, you can rely on studying a
few pages of notes instead of reading through several chapters of the book.

7. Practice answering questions from different sources. Your book and the Mastering Biology web
site contain many questions; just be aware that they will not always reflect what the lecturers
emphasize. You should try writing down your own questions as you study and then coming back to
answer them later; you can share these questions with your classmates.

8. Study in groups and teach each other; ask each other to explain difficult concepts.

9. Do not neglect the recitation component of the course. Prepare for, attend, and participate in
each session.

10. Ask the lecturers and other course staff questions at any time, and request assistance when
you think you need it.

Special needs
BIOL-UA 12 Principles of Biology II Summer 2017

Please inform Dr. Bradic of any accommodations you require (including taking the exam at the
Moses Center for Students with Disabilities) in writing at least 10 days before the exam.

Withdrawing from the course

If life events are preventing you from doing well in this course, you should consider withdrawing.
Please consult Dr. Bradic or the Dean of Students.

Academic honesty
We do not tolerate plagiarism or cheating, which includes providing information about exams and
assignments to students who have not yet taken them. When academic dishonesty is suspected, it
will be dealt with seriously in adherence to the official guidelines of New York University. The
College of Arts & Science guidelines, which all students should read, are available online at
http://cas.nyu.edu/page/ug.academicintegrity. We will report incidents to the department and to the
office of the Dean; these incidents may become part of your record.

Letters of recommendation and comment forms.

If you anticipate asking Dr. Bradic for a recommendation letter in the future, make sure she knows
who you are! You may contact Dr. Bradic at mb3188@nyu.edu to make an appointment to meet
during office hours if you’d like to introduce yourself and chat. (always include “POBII student” in
the subject line of any emails to Dr. Bradic). You might also ask your recitation instructor to write
recommendation letters for you.

WORK HARD AND GOOD LUCK!!