COURSE SYLLABUS
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I
BIOLOGY 204 ONLINE
Spring 2004

 TAKOMA PARK CAMPUS OF MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
Division of Biology, Physical Education, and the Health Sciences
Karen Benn Marshall, Associate Professor
Phone: 240-567-1340, Email: kbmarshall@comcast.net
Website: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/faculty/~kmarshal/public_html/
Conference sessions via email or discussion board
CRN 37288 lecture AND CRN 37289 lab  

Course Description:
As described in the Montgomery College Catalog, this course provides the student with a detailed study of the structure and function of the body, including tissues, skin, skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, and sense organs.   

General Course Information and Specific Outcomes: 

Course Prerequisite/Corequisite: To be enrolled in Human Anatomy and Physiology I (BI 204), you must have previously completed four credits of college biology. Within the guidelines of Montgomery College's Academic Regulation 9.65, Professor Marshall will drop students from the course who are unable to provide evidence that they meet these prerequisites. 

Course Objectives:  Course objectives for the online version of BI 204 are the same as for the traditional version of BI 204.  The Human Anatomy and Physiology student will be able to identify all assigned body parts and explain their physiological mechanisms.  The student will be able to explain how life is maintained by  integrating the body's structural design with its function.  The student will be able to apply the information provided by this course to analyze and explain new situations involving the human body.  Specific learning objectives for each chapter will be given to you in individual chapter packets.  These objectives will guide you as you read the text, so that you will know what information in the chapters you are responsible for. These objectives are also available on my Website at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/faculty/~kmarshal/public_html/. The PowerPoint lecture notes will generally follow the sequence of listed objectives.  The written exams and laboratory practicals will focus on these objectives.

Texts:
REQUIRED BOOKS: (Author:  Elaine Marieb)

**Purchase the Bundled Version for the BI 204 Distance Learning Course ONLY
Your bundle should contain the following:
Human Anatomy & Physiology, sixth edition
Human Anatomy & Physiology Laboratory Manual, Main version, sixth edition
A.D.A.M. Interactive Physiology CD
A.D.A.M. Interactive Anatomy Student Package, 2nd edition (book with CD) 

RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTS: (AVAILABLE AT THE BOOKSTORE)
The Anatomy Coloring Book (Authors: Kapit and Elson)
*The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body (DK Publishing)
The Bassett Atlas of Human Anatomy (Author:  Robert Chase)
*Highly recommended

The A.D.A.M. Interactive Series (both Physiology & Anatomy) are also available in the lab, Math Science Learning Center (Takoma Park Campus, SN 101), and the Student Technology Center on Fenton Street.  In addition, the Bassett Atlas is available in the lab and on reserve at the library. 

Software:
Students enrolled in this course must be registered Web-CT users to be able to access all course materials.  All lecture and quite a few of the laboratory exercises will be done electronically. You are expected to utilize your A.D.A.M. Interactive Anatomy and Physiology software to prepare for your in-class labs at home prior to coming to your scheduled in-class labs.  The software is also available in the Math-Science Learning Center and the Student Technology Center.  In addition, my course website also has all course materials including course schedule, syllabus, chapter objectives, PowerPoint lecture notes and additional study resource materials.

Technical Requirements:
You will need the following to participate online:
Regular use of a computer with Internet access. For full details on recommended computer hardware and software see http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/distance/dm.htm.  Expect to spend several hours online each week.

  1. A web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. For full details on compatible browsers and Browser Tune-up instructions for WebCT 3.7 see http://www.webct.com/oriented/viewpage?name=exchange_browser_tuneup#settings

To Login to WebCT:

1.    Point your web browser to http://webct.montgomerycollege.edu/
2.    Click the "Logon to WebCT" button
3.    Follow the directions at the bottom of the screen to login.
4.    You will need your MyMC Login Name and Password to login.

Help Desk Support:
When you have technical questions, contact the Collegis Help Desk at 1-877-725-4357 or online at http://lt.collegis.com This info can also be found on the WebCT Entry Page at http://webct.montgomerycollege.edu

Class Announcements :
I will regularly post class announcements on the course homepage. You are expected to check the announcements several times per week.

Email:
For this course, I will expect you all to use the WebCT email feature to send, read, and reply to course related email. WebCT email allows you to turn on a notification option that will send a notice to an external email account when you receive new course email. You cannot reply to the notice. You must login to the course site and use WebCT email to reply to messages.

My email address for this course is kbmarshall@comcast.net. Do not send course related email to my karen.marshall@montgomerycollege.edu email address.

To turn on the notification option:

    1. Click Email on the Course Menu.
    2. Click Message Settings. The Mail Settings screen appears.
    3. Under Mail Forwarding, select Forward my mail to and type the email address that you would like the notice forwarded to.
    4. Click Go. When you receive course email, a notice will be sent to the external email address.

Note: You cannot reply to the notice from your external email account. You must login to the course site and use WebCT email to reply.  When sending emails to me, do not send emails through WebCT.  Send email directly to me at kbmarshall@comcast.net.

 Q & A forum:
When you have questions about assignments or other aspects of the course, do not email your questions to me unless the subject must be private. Post your questions in the Q & A forum in the discussions area. I will check this forum regularly and answer your questions.

Submitting assignments electronically:
In this course, you will occasionally need to submit assignments electronically. Because technology can be unreliable when you least expect it, submitting your work on time may require some creativity. Here are some alternate means to submit your assignments.

  • Email your assignment directly to the instructor.
  • If your email program isn’t working properly and you can’t access the course site, drop a hard copy in the mail before the deadline so the post date shows that you completed the work on time and notify the instructor by telephone.
  • Arrange to send your work by fax.

There is always a means to submit your assignments on time. Be creative, be persistent, and keep your instructor informed!

Backing up your work:
You are responsible for ensuring the safety of your work by making regular backups (extra copies). "The computer ate my homework, I lost my disk, my hard drive crashed, or my printer isn’t working," are not acceptable excuses. Make frequent backups of your work and save the work in multiple places.

Online participation requirements:
Participation in the online assignments is a required part of this course. When the assignments involve the discussion board, your attendance and participation are evident by the messages that you post. Not posting messages is the equivalent of being absent. Look for and follow the participation requirements.

What is an Online Discussion?:
An online discussion is similar to an email conversation with some important differences.

  • An online discussion can involve a number of participants, such as a team of students or an entire class.
  • All messages stay posted in the discussion board for participants to read and re-read at any time.
  • An online discussion can last for a week or longer.

If you are new to online discussions, you will find them as rigorous as any face-to-face classroom discussion.  The purpose of a discussion is dialogue as a means of learning.
   
Guidelines for Participating in an Online Discussion:

  • You are expected to read all posted messages.
  • Respond to each other promptly.  
  • Use the person's name when you reply to a message. It helps to keep all of us oriented.  It helps us maintain a clearer sense of who is speaking and who is being spoken to.  As we begin to associate names with tone and ideas, we come to know each other better.
  • If you wish to send a private message, click Reply Privately.  Your message will appear in the recipient's WebCT email.
  • Change the subject line of the message when you want to introduce a new topic. The value of this tip will become apparent as the number of messages grows.
  • Feel free to reinforce each other's ideas with comments such as  "Good Point" or "I agree" or "Thanks for the comments."  
  • The use of sexist, racist, or objectionable language is not acceptable.
  • Use emoticons to communicate humor, e.g. :-)   ;-)   :-0    :-/   :-( 
  • When you are writing for an online discussion, I strongly encourage you to compose your message in a word processor then copy and paste the text into the discussion message. Expect to spend time editing and revising your messages until they are clear. Composing your messages in a word processor first, will save you from losing your hard work if your browser crashes before you click the submit button.

    As a general rule, messages posted on the Discussion Board should be no more than two screens in length. If your message is longer, consider revising it to be more concise or separating your message into points and posting each point as a separate message.

Classroom Policies:
Attendance:  All laboratory sessions are MANDATORY.  It is expected that you will attend ALL SCHEDULED LABS.  It is also imperative that you are on time to the mandatory orientation session and mandatory labs.  Attendance is essential to mastering the course material.  Should you decide to withdraw from this course, it is your responsibility to do so.  If you stop attending class, yet fail to complete all necessary paperwork to remove your name from the class roster, you will receive a grade of "F" for the semester.

In-Class Lab Behavior:  Each and every student is expected to behave in ways that promote a teaching and learning atmosphere.  Students have the right to learn; however, they do not have the right to interfere with the freedom of the faculty to teach or the rights of other students to learn.  Students will be treated respectfully in return for respectful behavior.  All in-lab discussions should be carried out in a way that keeps the classroom environment respectful of the rights of others.  For example, students should not interrupt someone else who is talking regardless of whether that person is the instructor or another student.  Students should not monopolize class time by repeatedly interrupting and asking questions in a manner that hinders the learning process of others.  Students are also expected to conduct themselves in ways which create a safe learning and teaching environment that is free from such things as violence, intimidation, and harassment, including sexual harassment. 

*Please make sure that you obtain and read a copy of the current Student Handbook. You may find the current Student Code of Conduct at www.montgomerycollege.edu. Students are expected to abide by this Code of Conduct.

Your lab time is very limited.  To complete the labs in the allotted time, you will need to recognize, before coming to lab, the required anatomical structures on the diagrams in the assigned chapters, online and supplemental materials and assigned lab manual activity.  Homework should be done at home! 

For health and cleanliness reasons, there will be no eating, drinking or chewing gum in the lab.  You may bring food and beverage containers with you into the lab as long as they stay sealed within the lab room. You are expected to clean up after yourself following lab activities.  This means that you must, for example, return models to their correct counters, return prepared slides to their specific slide trays, and wash and dry dissecting tools and then return them to their assigned bins. 

Support Services:  The Math-Science Learning Center, located in SN101 and the Student Technology Center, located at 8561 Fenton Street, Suite 210, have reinforcement materials to support the course, including videos and computer programs.  The phone number for the Math-Science Learning Center is 240-567-1427 and 240-567-1657 for the Student Technology Center.  All computer activities done in class can also be found in the Math-Science Learning Center and the Student Technology Center.

Student Disability: A student who may need an accommodation due to a disability should notify me immediately.  A letter from Disability Support Services (DSS) authorizing your accommodations may be needed. The DSS office is located in the Student Services Pavilion (ST133) and may be called at 650-1480.  The TDD number of hearing impaired is 587-7207.

Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct: Health science professionals deal with patients' lives, therefore, honesty and reliability are paramount.  All students are expected to achieve their goals with academic honesty.  Montgomery College and Professor Marshall are committed to imposing appropriate sanctions for breaches of academic honesty.  The Student Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook includes the following on cheating:

Students are expected to present their own work in all coursework and examinations.  Some examples of cheating as it might occur in examinations are as follows:

1.        Copying the work of another student during an examination;

2.        Permitting another student to copy one's work during an examination;

3.        Using unauthorized notes, crib sheets, additional sources of information, or other material during an examination;

4.        Writing the answer to an exam question outside of class and submitting that answer as part of an in-class exam;

5.        Taking an examination for another student;

6.        Having an examination taken by a second party;

7.        Altering or falsifying examination results after they have been evaluated by the instructor and returned to the student. 

Students who engage in any act adjudged by the classroom instructor to constitute academic dishonesty or misconduct are subject to any and all sanctions deemed appropriate by the classroom instructor.  Grade sanctions may range from an "F" on the examination in which the dishonesty occurred to the maximum sanction of an "F" in the course.  Professor Marshall also has the prerogative of referring a case to the campus Dean of Student Development with the specific request that the Dean consider imposing additional sanctions.

Grading:
Exam Coverage, Format and Scheduling:  Exams will cover both lecture and lab objectives.  Most of our Anatomy and Physiology students plan careers in Medical/Allied Health fields.  In the actual practice of medicine many unusual situations arise that must be quickly dealt with.  At those times you may have to apply your knowledge to solve previously unencountered problems.  To help you prepare for these situations you will be presented with test questions that require you to apply your knowledge, reasoning, and critical thinking to new situations.       

Weekly lab quizzes will be given to reinforce the information covered in lab.  Lecture exams will include objective questions (multiple choice, matching, true/false), short answer fill-ins, essays.  Lecture exams will be taken in the Assessment Center (Takoma Park Campus only). Course exams have a time limit.  You will have two hours to complete your lecture exams.  Your exam must be turned in at the end of the two hour period.  Lab practicals will cover the written identification of structures or experiments conducted in lab.  Lab practical exams will consist of a series of laboratory stations.  Each station will consist of a lab item (slide, anatomical model, picture, dissected specimen, et cetera) and questions about the lab item.  You will have approximately 90 seconds to complete the questions at a station.  You will not be allowed to return to any station. 

Medical/Allied Health personnel may risk a patient's health and life if a medication, treatment, or diagnosis is altered due to spelling errors or by not correctly following directions.  In order to prepare students for Medical/Allied Health careers, assigned structures must be spelled correctly on all coursework, exams and lab practical exams or you may not receive full credit for your answer.  For further reinforcement, Professor Marshall  may deduct exam points if you do not follow the written and verbal instructions given to you for the exam.

 Occasionally, unforeseen circumstances require a change in an exam's date or coverage.  If this happens, you will receive adequate warning for study purposes. 

Quiz and Exam Make-ups:  Missed quizzes may not be made up.  You are expected to take each exam at the scheduled time.  When you miss a lecture exam due to a serious and unavoidable circumstance, you may, at Professor Marshall's discretion, be permitted to take another exam.  If you provide Professor Marshall with sufficient advance notice that you will unavoidably miss a lecture exam, arrangements can possibly be made to give you the same exam at another time. Make-up lecture exams will be ENTIRELY ESSAY covering assigned topics within the missed exam's unit of study.  Make-up lecture exams will need to be taken within the week of having missed an exam.  However, in adverse cases, there may be some exceptions.  The make-up lecture exam will be of equivalent point value to the missed exam. You will NOT be permitted to make-up more than one lecture exam. 

As many lab testing materials are only available to us during a scheduled time period, missed lab practical exams CANNOT be made up.

Homework:  Homework, in the form of "review sheets" from the lab manual,  incredible journeys, and other exercises, will be assigned to help students integrate the concepts studied.  Homework is to be done at home.  Homework is due at the beginning of lab or the class before an exam on a unit.  Each assignment completed on time is worth five points. No late work will be accepted.  No exceptions.

Course Grade:
Your course letter grade will be based on the accumulated points you earned from quizzes, exams, lab practicals, and  homework.

Your course letter grade will be computed as follows:

A = 90% of all possible points
B = 80% of all possible points
C = 70% of all possible points
D = 60% of all possible points
F = 59% and below of all possible points