PLANTS, PEOPLE AND CULTURE
REQUIREMENTS
EXAMS
There will be 3 lecture exams, one at the end of each unit. They will be announced about one week in advance. The exams will consist of multiple choice and essay questions. All material on the exams will come from the journal questions you have answered at home and we have discussed in class. Material from some of the videos will also be included on the exams. Each exam will take one class period. A Make-Up Exam will only be given if there is a well founded excuse. Make-up exams will always be in essay format. You will be given one week from the day of the originally scheduled exam to do the make-up exam otherwise a "0" will be assigned. If you know ahead of time you will be missing an exam you may take the exam earlier than the rest of the class. Good news! There is no midterm or cumulative final exam in this course. The exams will count 30% of your final grade.
PROJECTS, PRESENTATIONS AND PAPERS
Projects, presentations and papers will count 30% of your final grade and they will not be accepted late.
DAILY CLASS PARTICIPATION AND ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS
Daily class Participation and The Round Table Class Discussions will count
12 % of your final grade. During the semester we will be doing several round table discussions/debates. You will prepare for these by reading the assigned articles. If writing down items from the articles or underlining helps you remember the information then do it. I will not be looking at how you have prepared. I will be grading you strictly on what you say during the discussion/debate in class. I will be asking you to support your position by citing evidence and quotes from the articles. Your opinion is important but, be prepared to defend it.
If you miss a discussion, you will have to write a 5 page typed paper. This is due no later than one week past the discussion. If the paper is not turned in on time you will receive an F for that discussion. The option to write a paper may only be done once during the semester.
This is not lecture class! You will be expected to actively answer and ask questions during each class. This is the daily class participation part of your final grade. Your completed journal will provide you with many of the answers. No one just sits in class. If you don't volunteer answers then I will volunteer you.
Please shut off all electronic devices before you come into class. They are annoying and distracting to other members of the class and I get quite perturbed when they go off during class time. If there is an emergency call you are expecting please let me know before class.
If you are a special needs student please see me privately after class. I will comply with any special needs that have been documented by Project Connections.
JOURNAL
The Journal will count 10 % of your final grade. Each week you will be assigned chapter questions that you will answer at home in a spiral notebook. Try and put the answers in your own words. If you have any comments, concerns or simply the answer leaves you "clueless in Middlesex" put a question mark next to that question. This way you will remember to ask about it in class. The journal will be collected unannounced during the semester and graded.
WEEKLY QUIZZES
Weekly quizzes will count 10% of your final grade. The quiz will always be given during the first 10 -15 minutes of the lab period. It will cover the previous week's lab and one or two questions on the lab you are doing that day. If you arrive late you will either have less time for the quiz or you will miss the quiz. The lowest lab quiz grade will be dropped. So, if you miss a quiz that is the one you will drop. There will be NO make-ups on lab quizzes.
If you are absent from class and miss a lab activity it is your responsibility to get the information from your lab partners. You are not excused from having the information or from taking the quiz.
LAB BOOK
The lab book will count 8% of your final grade.
ATTENDANCE
You are expected to attend all classes. If you miss class I cannot give you credit for Daily Class Participation and this will lower your final grade. Besides not studying properly the other main reason students do poorly or fail a class is because they don't get to the class. So easy to roll over and go back to sleep. Get up and get to class.
Class starts on time. Be there on time. I find it extremely rude for students to walk into class late. I understand that once in awhile this will happen, but not every class. If you are unable to attend class please do me the courtesy of calling me at (732) 548-6000 ext.3377 or e-mail me through your Camous Cruiser account or directly at Barbara_Bogner@middlesexcc.edu.. I will return your call and I do check my e-mail.
There will be no curving of class grades. The tests have been designed so they test what you should have learned in class.
You are expected to attend all classes.
Cheating will not be tolerated. An F will be automatically assigned if you are caught cheating.