• Some of the pages in the course contain a lot of information. Therefore, for best results,
you may find it useful to make the available viewing area as large as possible by
"Maximizing" the window of your browser.
• The transfer of files over the computer network can sometimes be slow. Be patient!
• If you are having trouble loading a large site, click on the "STOP" button and then place
the cursor on the address and hit "ENTER" again.
• If a URL doesn't work try deleting everything up to the right of "...com, edu, gov or org"
and calling up the address again, as often the absolute address will change but the Network
location will not. Once you get to the Home Page of a site you can then generally find what
you originally wanted.
• If you find that the page you are visiting does not have a highlighted "BACK" button, simply
close out that window to return to the previous page.
Course Content
Bio. Sci. 6 is a course in human physiology which emphasizes the functions and regulation of the body’s systems at the chemical, cellular, and tissue levels. It is a one semester, five unit course consisting of two 2-hour lectures and one 3 hour laboratory per week to be attended by all students.
Bio. Sci. 6 ONLINE is a “hybrid” course which is offered online, BUT REQUIRES students to complete additional work onsite on the Rocklin campus. During the Fall and Spring sessions, the Bio 6 online-hybrid course requires students to attend one 170 minute laboratory session a week, as well as, attend other specific days on-campus for testing purposes. For the Summer Online course, the normal 16-week schedule will be compressed into a rigorous 8-week schedule. Weekly lectures will be offered online and 2 laboratory exercises will be held each week (on Mondays and Wednesdays). Lecture and laboratory exams will be offered during designated lab sessions (see Schedule) throughout the Summer session.
Course Materials
Lecture: Sherwood, Human Physiology (Latest Edition Available)
Laboratory: Bio 6 Lab Manual and
Lecture Study Guide CD (Latest Lec/Lab Version Available)
Office
Hours
On-campus: Mon/Wed 8:30am;
Tu-Th 10:30am
Online: Email
Mon-Fri (pbadaracco@sierracollege.edu)
Evaluation
Scale / Policy
The final grade will be based upon the total number of points accumulated from TESTING, and PLE, maintenance of a
Positive Learning Environment), (≈ 10% grade).
Grading Scale
A = 90 - 100% of the points possible
B = 80 - 89% of the points possible
C = 70 - 79% of the points possible
D
= 60 - 69% of the points possible
Testing Methods / Contents
TESTING: Three lecture examinations, two laboratory examinations, and a number of weekly lab quizzes, will be offered throughout the semester. There will be a variety of testing methods used for evaluation purposes, which includes multiple choice, true-false, matching, fill-in, short answer, math calculations, and labeling of diagrams. All material on the lecture examinations, lab examinations, and lab quizzes will be derived directly from the lecture/lab material and the unit “Study Objectives.” The objectives are meant to act as a guide as to what areas to study and where to find specific information. Weekly lab quizzes are given to help promote good study habits and reduce student absenteeism. There are no quiz make-ups, however the lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Occasionally, unforeseen circumstances require a change in an exam date or exam coverage. Also, the instructor may during the course add new study objectives to the list. However, students will have adequate notice for study purposes if any of these types of circumstances arise. After examinations are graded, results will be posted outside my office (S113a). All examinations will remain on file in the instructor’s office for the remainder of the course, and will be available for student-instructor discussion at any time during office hours. This discussion session is encouraged and is designed as a time to help clarify concepts missed on the examination. Therefore, the purpose of this time is to help improve the understanding of difficult material, not as a time for the instructor to re-grade the exam. Hence once the examination is graded (unless a transcriptional error has occurred) all scores are final.
PLE (positive learning environment): In a course such as Human Physiology, which is a high-volume,
very demanding and critical course for all pre-nursing students, it is imperative that individual students do their part in maintaining a positive learning environment to help promote success for all students in the class. This includes preparation, attitude, interaction, team-work, and participation. If a student plans to attend lecture and/or lab, they should be prompt as well as courteous to all involved.
Make-up Exam Policy
a) A make-up exam is “any examination administered on any date other than the specified
exam date” (as listed on the course lecture/exam schedule).
b) Make-up exams are offered for excused absences ONLY.
c) All make-up exams will be held during the last week of the course.
d) Make-up exams may be oral, written, objective, or comprehensive (or "all of the above")
e) A student is allowed only one make-up exam per semester. In cases concerning students
missing multiple exams, the instructor may recommend that the student either drop the
course or take an “Incomplete” (if past the final drop date). All “Incomplete” course grades
will be completed the following semester (date to be arranged by the instructor) by the
administration of a make-up exam.
Laboratory Procedures / Participation
In the laboratory students have an opportunity to study
and apply physiological principles at
close range and to see for yourself the details of structures, processes,
and relationships
characteristic of living systems. Laboratory sessions begin promptly
at the time designated
in the schedule. As a courtesy to all participants in the laboratory
session, students that
arrive late are asked to please wait until the instructor has completed
the lab introduction
before entering the laboratory classroom.
Students are expected to read the assigned material before they
come into the lab. They
should understand the physiological principles, experimental procedures,
and the vocabulary
prior to attempting the exercise. Students are advised to maintain
a neat, organized
laboratory notebook. A complete set of notes, hand-outs, and drawings
will provide the best
source of information to study for exams and quizzes. Participation
in laboratory activities is
imperative. The instructor will be observing, checking, and questioning
groups throughout the
lab period to get a sense of basic understanding of the lab activity
and to allow for evaluation
of student participation.
A “typical lab session” includes:
1. Introduction of the new lab exercise.
2. Performance of the lab exercise (with accompanying discussion
concerning the lab exercise).
3. Clean-up of laboratory work areas and materials.
4. Discussion of the lab results. (or additional discussion of the
previous lab exercise).
5. Lab quiz covering the previous lab exercise (10pts) and previous
lecture material (5pts).
Laboratory
Animals
Demonstration of many physiological functions of the
human body necessitates procedures
which obviously cannot be performed on the human being. Therefore,
physiologists often
utilize animals ranging from sub-human primates to the most elemental
forms in both their
research and teaching endeavors. It will be necessary to sacrifice
the lives of some animals.
The taking of life should be done with high purpose, in this case,
the knowledge which a
student gains.
The proper handling of laboratory animals is important because with
improper techniques
students can be bitten, scratched, or both the student and the animal
injured. Keeping
laboratory animals calm is perhaps the most important step in controlling
them. A calm
animal gives better, more productive research results than one that
is frightened. Holding
animals properly is vital to good handling care. Using the proper
hold on each type of animal
requires training and practice. Prior to an exercise requiring animal
handling, the instructor
will review with all students the proper handling techniques for
each type of animal used.
Laboratory Equipment
It is usually desirable in studying modern physiological concepts
to utilize modern types of
equipment which lead to these concepts. With the development of
electronics, instruments
for recording physiological parameters have become not only much
more versatile, accurate,
and sensitive, they have become more complex. For measurement of
various physiological
activities, we will use the Narco Physiograph® recorder as well
as the BioPac® recording
system. These pieces of equipment (and their accessories) as well
as other electronic
equipment utilized in this course are of superior quality. If not
careful, it is possible to cause
expensive or irreparable damage by an inadvertent or thoughtless
switching or connection of
leads as well as through reckless mechanical abuse. PLEASE BE CAREFUL!
About the Bio 6 CD
The Bio Sci
6 CD, available at the Sierra College Rocklin
campus bookstore, contains supplementary material used
in both the lecture and laboratory components of the course.
This CD contains:
For Lab:
• Lab objectives and introductions/descriptions
•
Lab notes, procedures, and data sheets
• (provided in MS Word® document format)
•
Diagrams and flow charts
• Digital photographs, video, sounds, and animations
For Lecture:
• Lecture notes
• Lecture study objectives
• Possible lecture exam essay questions
• Diagrams and flow charts
• Digital photographs, video, sounds, and animations
• Direct links to a multitude of online resources
• (listed by unit and topic)
• Comprehensive list of practice questions for each
• topic in all the three major
units of the course. Answers
• to all questions are provided
as well.
NOTE: THIS IS NOT
THE CD THAT MAY COME WITH THE TEXT. IT MAY
BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY AT THE SIERRA COLLEGE BOOKSTORE
