ISCI 2001 Syllabus

							Syllabus

ISCI 2001

Life/Earth Science for Teachers

Fall 2010

LECTURES: Monday and Wednesday 2:30pm to 4:20pm, Stubbs Hall, Room 133

INSTRUCTOR: Adam B. Safer, Ph.D.

OFFICE: Stubbs Hall, Room 136

OFFICE HOURS: Monday 8:00am-9:15am; Tuesday 9:30am-10:45am; Wednesday 8:00am-
9:15am (tutoring hour); Thursday 9:30am-10:45am and 12:30pm-2:20pm. Hours can also be
scheduled by appointment.

OFFICE PHONE: 260-4344

E-MAIL: Adam.Safer@sgc.edu (this is the best way to contact me)

Textbook: Hewit et al. Conceptual Integrated Science. Pearson/Addison Wesley Publisher.

ISCI 2001 Course Description: This course is an Area F interdisciplinary science course for
early childhood majors only. This activity-based course will emphasize characteristics of life,
biodiversity/heredity, energy flow, interdependence of life, the cell, earth systems, the
lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. Prerequisite: Passing or exempting READ 0099.
2-2-3 (from South Georgia College Catalogue 2007-2008).

Course Objectives: Students will demonstrate the ability to understand mathematical
information and perform mathematical manipulations to analyze data from a variety of sources.
Students will demonstrate sufficient knowledge of natural laws and processes to understand
scientific issues in a modern society. Students completing this course will also demonstrate the
ability to use tools to produce presentations and/or reports for teaching and research purposes.

Attendance: You are required to attend all lecture sessions. Written documentation must be
provided (and given to me) in order to obtain an excused absence. A STUDENT WITH 4
UNEXCUSED ABSENCES CAN BE DROPPED FROM THE COURSE at my discretion.
Two instances of tardiness will be treated as an absence.
Below are the official division attendance policy and the hardship withdrawal statement.

HARDSHIP WITHDRAWAL: A hardship withdrawal may only be sought after midterm in the
case of a non-academic hardship such as severe extended illness. The procedure for seeking a
hardship withdrawal is located on page 62 of the college catalog.

Attendance Policy
The following is the Attendance Policy as outlined in the Student Handbook:
1)     Each division will establish attendance policies for each course.
2)     Work may be made up in case of absences with legitimate excuses. Excuses may be
       judged legitimate by the instructor involved. If the instructor does not accept the
       student’s excuse, the appeal procedure will be the same as the grade review procedure.
3)     Group excuses for college-sponsored activities from the Office of the Vice President for
       Student Affairs will be considered legitimate excuses.
4)     It will be necessary that the requirements for each course be distributed at the first
       meeting of the class.

To get the most from any course, each student should attend all the scheduled classes and
laboratory periods. In cases where this is not possible, the Division of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics has the following specific requirements:

1)     A student will be assigned the grade of zero for any assigned class work or exam missed
       because of an absence if the absence is not excused by the instructor.
2)     A student will be given a grade of zero for any assigned work or exam missed because of
       an excused absence if the work missed is not made up.
3)     The maximum number of class days that a student can miss and still receive credit for a
       class is twice the number of weekly meetings.


Non-student Policy: No visitors (including children) are allowed in classrooms when lecture and
laboratories are in session.

Plagiarism and Cheating are considered forms of dishonesty and are violations of the South
Georgia College Code of Conduct. If you are caught plagiarizing or cheating you will receive a
“0” for that assignment. Additionally, your final grade will be dropped a whole letter grade (e.g.
from a “B” to a “C”) and you may be reported to the Division Chair and the Discipline
Committee. Please refer to the SGC Student Handbook (Code of Conduct, pg. 25).

Special Needs Statement: Students requiring classroom accommodations or modifications
because of a documented disability should discuss this need with the instructor at the beginning
of the semester. Students who have not presented validation for learning disabilities from the
Regents' Center for Learning Disability (University System of Georgia) should complete all
necessary paperwork and submit this to Mr. Wes Brown, Vice President for Student Success,
Richey Hall, Room 161. The telephone number is (912)-260-4312. Students who have not
presented validation for physical disabilities should register with the Office of the Vice President
for Student Success.


Evaluation in Lecture: You are expected to read the assigned materials in preparation for
lectures and class activities. There will be 4 lecture exams and various class activities assigned
by the instructor. These activities may require time outside the class to complete. You will also
be required to give a presentation to the class on one of the scientific topics that we covered
during the semester. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP TESTS OR ASSIGNMENTS.



The following behaviors will not be tolerated in this class:

1. Use of cell phones during class – this includes texting. Cell phones are to be turned off during
class.

2. Socializing during class - Students pay money to learn. Talking during presentations and
lectures is not only disrespectful to fellow students and the instructor, but also considered
disruptive behavior which is a violation the student code of conduct. (See page 26 in your
student handbook).

3. Disrupting class by noisily arriving late

4. Leaving before the end of class

5. Arguing or speaking to fellow students or the professor in a disrespectful manner

6. Sleeping

7. Noisily eating or opening packages of food

You will be asked to leave if you disobey these rules and be marked absent for that day.



Grading

4 lecture exams @ 100pts each…………..400pts

presentation……..…………………………50pts

assignments ……………………...……......50pts

total………………………….…………...500pts