Human Physiology

Administrative Issues

As you probably know, my office is in Sparks #209, and my phone number is (503) 370-6392. You are strongly encouraged to come by, or call at any time. Usually I will be available for your questions, however, it just might happen that I am very busy with a particular project at some point. In that case I might ask you to schedule an appointment with me.

I strongly encourage you to contact me via e-mail, at stas@willamette.edu. We also have a class e-mail list that you can use to discuss any issue pertinent to the class: biol-260-01@willamette.edu. I strongly enourage you to rely on each other for questions, concerns, clarifications, and feedback.

The main text for the class is titled: "Human Physiology, from cells to systems" by Dr. Lauralee Sherwood, 7th Ed., (2010), Brooks Cole, Pacific Grove, CA. Please make sure you visit the website designed for this textbook by the publisher by following the link: Human Physiology Textbook website.
NOTE: I am sensitive to the price of textbooks. I understand that the text is VERY expensive, so if you find the previous edition at a cheaper price I will do my best to point out where the newer edition differs.

In addition, I will be utilizing material from several other textbooks, which you are free to use in my office at any time. Furthermore, we have established a library of interactive CD-ROMs that will be available to you to help you with your studying and understanding of the material. These CD-ROMs will be extensively used in the classroom, during lecture and in the lab.

If you are a student with any form of disability, I urge you to let me know so I can better assist you in your learning. If you fail to do so, there will be no special accomodations arranged for you in this class. Please also visit Mrs. JoAnne Hill at the Disability and Learning Center, or click here to visit the Center's web site.

You, the students, will determine most aspects of the class: pace of lectures, exam dates and types, organization of lectures and labs, and so on. I can (usually) adapt my teaching to fit your needs. The only requirement is an open communication line, so I invite you to share your opinions with me. Without your feedback I have no way of knowing what does or does not work for you.

Course Assessment

Every course assessment process must follow a specific pattern: first, the instructor needs to establish the student learning goals and specific objectives. Every course has a specific "purpose" and specific "place" in the curriculum, and the learning goals must reflect the educational priorities for the specific course. Second, one must establish a process to measure whether these goals and objectives have been met (for this I will need your help). Finally, it is my job to use the assessment methods to provide you with appropriate feedback and help improve your learning. It will be your task to understand that feedback and incorporate these suggestions in future work.
My goals for this class are:

• to familiarize you with the function of the human body in health and disease. To accomplish this we will be examining how the various organs and systems of the body work together to maintain homeostasis and sustain life.
• to expose you to the fundamental principles of the scientific investigative method, and its importance in the development of new knowledge.
• to teach you how to eveluate the quality of scientific information and provide you with a foundation for critical thinking that you can then apply to every aspect of your lives.
• to guide you through the process of reading and understanding primary scientific literature.
• to help you reach a high level of competency in communicating your scientific ideas and experimental conclusions in written and oral form.

You, the students, decided how you wish to be graded in this class.

3 mid-semester exams 10% each (30% of your grade)
1 final exam (10% of your grade)
End-of-chapter Crossword Puzzles (3% of your grade)
Reflections (7% of your grade)
Weekly laboratory reports (15% of your grade)
Group Research Project Report (20% of your grade)
Group Research Project Presentation (15% of your grade)

The only certain component is that your final exam will take place on Saturday Dec. 19, 2009, from 8-11 am.

The final group research paper will be based on a topic of your choice and it will be based on work you do in the lab for this class. You will be presenting your work to the entire class (and outside evaluators) during the last lab section. Make sure you provide everyone with a one half page summary of your project. The presentation will be formal and should address methodological concerns as well as the scientific integrity of your work. The same is true for your paper: you will be judged based on the quality of the paper, and the scientific accuracy of the information. Make sure your paper is formatted according to APA style, the current standard for scientific writing. You can find information about the APA style at this link. You may choose some other writing or editing style, but make sure you indicate as much in a footnote.

At the end of the semester, when all the grades have been tabulated, your score will be a percentage, and this percentage will correspond to a grade as shown below. Based on this, you will be able to follow your progress throughout the semester.

Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 370-6300