th

11
GRADEBIOLOGYSYLLABUS

Instructor:WilliamRaschke
Officehours:byappointment

wraschke@hightechhigh.org(858)2480455

CourseObjectives
Myfirstandmainobjectiveistofostertheintellectualcuriosityofeachstudent.Ihopetoteachstudents
toaskquestionsandtodevelopasacollaborativelearnerwhoapproachesproblemsanalytically.
Throughindepthprojects,studentswillbeencouragedtoapplytheknowledgelearnedintheclassroom
totheoutsideworld,makingconnectionsbetweenpastandpresent,schoolandcommunity,classroom
andouroutsidebiologicalworld.

Thiscoursewillreinforcebiologicalstandards/conceptsfromclassprojectsandcoverthosenotdirectly
touchedoninourprojectbasedlearningenvironment.Thissemesterisgoingtobe(andismeanttobe)
challenging.Together,wewillbebuildingasolidfoundationofbiologicalknowledgetoprepareforthe
rigorsofcollege.Pleasecontactmeifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutyourstudentsprogressorprojectwe
areworkingon.

CoursePhilosophy&Expectations
Wewillfunctionasacommunityoflearners,helpingoneanothertoimproveasbiologists,researchers,
andoverallscholars.Ifyouarecommittedtotheworkaswellastolisteningandlearningfromone
another,
ourclasswillultimatelybecomeoneinwhichweareallteachersandstudents
.Eachmemberof
theclasswillhaveavoice.Iexpecteverystudenttobeinvolvedinclass.Ifyouhaveaquestion,askit
thereareprobablyotherstudentswonderingthesamething.Also,Iamavailabletoanswerquestions
outsideofclass,usuallyatlunchorafterschoolbyappointment.

Groupworkisakeytosuccessinthiscourse,andIexpecteachstudenttobeopentotheideasofothers
andputintheirfulleffortinhelpingthegroupsucceed.Wewilllearnfromeachother,work
collaborativelyandshareourideasandobservationswithoneanother.Justasintheworkplace,itis
importanttoovercomeobstaclesandlearntoworkwithyourgroupmembersasbestyoucan.

TentativeCourseCalendar
Thecalendarissubjecttochange.Deadlinesmaybeextendedandprojectdatesmaybechanged,
dependingonvariousfactors.Also,curriculumandprojectsmaychangedependingonstudentinterests,
forexample.

WeeklySchedule:
(
Subjecttochange
)
Week1:LearningaboutLearningaboutBiology(Scientificmethodandpedagogyreading)
Week2:Biology,Thescienceoflife,Matter,energyandlife
Week3:Structuresoflife(cells)
Week4:ProteinSynthesis(RNA/DNA)
Week5:Genetics(Mutation/Evolution)
Week6:Genetics(Mutation/Evolution)continued
Week7:EvolutionandDiversity
Week8:Evolutionofphenotypesandbehaviors
Week9:SemesteratSeaProjectBegins
Week10:Plantanatomyandecology
Week11:AnimalPhysiology
Week12:SemesteratSeafielddays
Week13:AnimalPhysiologycontinued
Week14:GeneticsandDevelopment
Week15:EcologyandBiomimicry
Week16:POLsandFinalExams

NoteonSATSubjectTests:ThiscourseisnotspecificallydesignedtopreparestudentsfortheSAT
SubjectTests.IfyouareinterestedintakingtheBiologySubjectTest,pleasetalktomeabout
independentworkyouwouldneedtocompletetobesuccessfulonthetest.

ClassroomSuppliesandEquipment
Duringthecourseoftheyear,youwillbeusingvarioussuppliesandequipmentprovidedbytheschool.
Thesewillincludebooks,labequipment,andlaptops,amongotherthings.Pleasecareforanyitemsyou
useasiftheywereyourownandusethemproperlyforschoolrelatedpurposes.Studentswhoroutinely
misuseclassroomequipment,especiallyduringlabs,willloseaccesstoit.

RecommendedSupplies
Ifyouneedfinancialassistancewithanyofthefollowingsupplies,pleaseletmeknow!

1.Anorganizationalmethod(e.g.3ringbinder)

2.Anotebookorequivalentfornotetaking(atleast75pages)

3.
Several
pensandpencilsinanorganizer

Assessment
Inthisclassyouwillseelessgradedassignmentsthanyoumightbeusedto.Thismeansthateachand
everyassignmentthatgoesintothegradebookrepresentsasignificantportionofyourgrade,and
assignmentsthatarenotturnedinorthatarecompletedwithminimaleffortwillhavealargeandlasting
effectonyourclassgrade.Thevastmajorityofassessmentinthisclass,whethertheybequizzes,
projects,classwork,orhomework,willbegradedbasedoneffortfirstandforemost.

Eachassignmentisworthacertainpointvalue.Therearenoweightedgradecategories.
A=90100%,B=8089%,C=7079%,D=6069%,F=below60%

(AtHTHI,bothaDandFarenotconsideredpassing.)

LateWorkPolicy
Latehomework
willnotbeaccepted.
Ifyouhavemissedclassduetoanexcusedabsence,youhave
additionaltimetoturninthework.Youareresponsibleforyourownwork.Ifyouknowyouwillbe
missingclassorhavealreadymissedclass,findoutwhatisduebyaskingaclassmate
and
byverifying
withme.Inaddition,eachclasshasanotetakerwhoisassignedtotakingnotesandcollectinghandouts.

Lateworkforlargerassignmentswillbegiven75percentcredit.Forexample,ifanassignmentearns80
outof100pointsbutisturnedinlate,thestudentwillonlyreceive60points(75percentof80=60points).
Therefore,lateworkwillneverreceivehigherthana75percent.Inaddition,anyworkthatdoesnotmeet
theminimumstandardwillnotbeacceptedandwillbeconsideredlate.Nolateworkforlarger
assignmentswillbeacceptedafteronecalendarweekpasttheduedate.Ifyoueverforeseechallengesin
meetingdeadlines,pleasecommunicatewithme,asextensionsmaybegrantedwhendeemedappropriate.

BehaviorGuidelines
Studentsareexpectedtocometoclass(
ONTIME
)eachday,withtheirschoolsupplies,preparedand
willingtolearnBiology.Myexpectationsfortheclassarefairlysimple,butextremelyimportant.

Dresscode:
Studentsmustdressaccordingtoschooldresscodepolicy,andtheclassroomwillbekeptonthechilly
sidetoreinforcethis.
EatingandDrinkingPolicy:
Studentscanenjoyallofthewondrousbenefitsprovidedbywaterinclassaslongasitisinaspillsafe
container.Asitisalabclassroom,otherbeveragesorfoodsarenotallowed(unlessthereisa
documentedmedicalneed).Especiallypeanuts.
TardyPolicy:
Tardinesshasbeenagrowingproblematourschool.Studentsarrivinglate(orreturninglatefrom
breaks)oftendisrupttherhythmandflowoflearning.Punctualityandtimelinessisimportantandvalued
inmyclass.Latestudentswillbeaskedtoturnintheircellphones(orsimilarcollateral)forthe
remainderoftheday*,tobepickedupafterschoolat3:25pm(excusedtardiesbeinganexception).After
threetardies,Iwillrequireparentorguardiancommunicationtoreturnthecellphone.Afterfivetardies,

Iwillrequireaparentorguardiantocomepickupthecellphone.PleaseletmeknowifIcanbeofany
helpincommunicatingtheimportanceofattendancetoaparentdriverinacarpool.
*Studentscanalwaysbereachedbytelephoningourfrontdeskandalwayshaveaccesstoourschool
phone.
Conduct:

Studentsmustuseappropriatelanguagefortheirrespectiveprofessionalenvironment
Respectourneighbors,peers,andclass

ComputerCheckout
Thecomputersmaynotleavetheclassroomunlesstheteacherhasgivenpermission.Allcomputers
mustbeputawayinthecorrectnumberedslotandpluggedintothecorrectnumberedchargersattheend
ofeachclass.See

http://www.hightechhigh.org/techsupport/aup.php
fortheHTHIcomputerusepolicy.

AcademicHonesty
Pleaseseetheattached
HTHI

CodeofAcademicIntegrity
foranexplanationofplagiarismandthe
consequences.Abreachofthiscodewillbetakenseriouslyandtreatedassuch.Wewillbereviewingthe
CodeofAcademicIntegrity
inclass.

PlagiarismismetwithveryclearconsequencesatHTHI.Thefirstoffensethestudentreceivesazeroon
theirassignmentandacallhome.Thesecondoffensethestudentreceivesazeroandtheparentsare
calledinforameeting.Thethirdoffensewouldresultinanexpulsionhearing.

StudentSupport
Imheretohelp,seriously.IunderstandthatIcanlookintimidating,angry,and/orbusyalotofthetime,
IpromiseImworkingonitbuthaveyoutriedchangingyourdefaultfacialexpression?Itstough.But
seriouslyImheretohelpandmakesureyousucceed.Ifyouneedextratimewithmeforsupporteither
duringlunchorafterschoolpleaseletmeknowbeforehandinclassorbyemail.Imalsoavailableto
answerquestionsbyemailifyoucantmakeittoofficehours.Thereisalsoafterschooltutoring
MondayThursdayavailabletoallstudents.

ParentSupport
Junioryearisarguablythemostchallengingyearinastudentshighschoolcareer.Inadditionto
academics,studentswillbebalancinginternships,communityservice,SAT/APtestpreparationand
preparationforthecollegeapplicationprocess.Thiscanbeanoverwhelmingandstressfultimefor
students,parents,andteacherswhichiswhyitisextremelyimportantthatstudents,parents,andteachers
worktogethertocultivatesuccessfulacademicandsocialbehavior.Byprovidingafavorablestudy
environment,accountability,encouragementandconsistently(notexcessively)accessingPowerschool,
parentsplayavitalroleintheirstudentseducation.

WishList
ParentswishingtofurthercontributetotheBiologylabclasscanconsultthelistbelow.
(Contributionsare
not

atall
expectedorrequiredofparentsorstudents,buttheydomakemereally
happy!)

AnyextrasoftheRecommendedSupplies
Latexfreegloves(sizeMediumandLarge.WeareALWAYSinneedofgloves)
NutrientRichAgar(powderform500g)
Ducttapeandbluepainterstape
IfyouoranyoneyouknowhasanyprofessionalexperienceinabiologyrelatedfieldIamalways
lookingforguestspeakers,internshipopportunities,orprofessionaladvisorsforprojects

Student&ParentAgreement
LearningContract
PleasecompleteandsignthefollowingdocumentandreturnittoWilliamforentryintoyourstudentfile.

Forstudents:

I,______________________________(
student
)fullyunderstandtheclassroomexpectationsandagreeto
domybesttofollowtheminordertocreateanenvironmentconducivetothelearningofothersand
myself.

Signed,

___________________________________Date:________________________________

Forparents/guardians:

I,________________________________(
parent/guardian)
fullyunderstandtheclassroomexpectations
andagreetodomybesttosupportmystudentinfollowingthem.Irecognizethatpartsofthebiology
curriculumincludetopicsrelatingtohumanmental,physical,andsexualhealthandIagreetomystudent
participatinginclassroomactivitiesinvolvingthesetopics.IalsoagreetocommunicatewithWilliam
RaschkeifIhaveanyquestionsorconcerns.

Signed,

__________________________________Date:_________________________________

PleasecontactmewithanyadditionalQuestions,CommentsorConcerns.