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Physiology Honors - Academic Expectations 

I. Department Statement: Students will actively experience science – both the concepts and practices of the disciplines. Science requires a student to understand facts, processes, interactions and the methods of discovering these things in an organized, yet creative fashion. Students will learn to operate various pieces of scientific equipment that serve as tools to improve the accuracy of measurement and analysis.

II.  Required Supplies:

1.       Spiral bound notebook or composition book or even a sketch book. It must be sturdy with pages that will stay within notebook throughout the year.

2.       Normal writing utensils: Pencils, pens (blue and black ink), erasers

3.       Red ink pen, four colors of highlighters

4.       School Binder with three subject dividers reserved for Physiology

5.        Colored pencil sets: 12 set (minimum) required – you will use these often!!

6.       Calendar/Agenda for recording assignments

 Some of you may choose to utilize index cards for your physio terms. If you choose to do so, buy a little file box to keep them organized during the entire year.

Lab Donation: We are requesting science students to pay a $5 lab fee to set up a fund that all science teachers can access during our many trips to grocery stores, hardware stores, etc. to buy supplies for your lab activities. We teachers spend a great deal of money buying stuff . . . for lab.  A major need in physiology is rubber gloves for dissection. If this is a financial hardship, it is understood, but it is requested and your experience in lab will be enhanced by it.

III. Class Organization

Spiral Notebook/Comp Book: This will be the site of all your written work . This notebook needs to be sturdy enough to last the year without losing pages. Paper should not be removed from it. The first 11 pages should be left blank for your Table of Contents and Interactive notebook instructions. See instructions at end of syllabus. Work that will be done in this notebook include:

Binders: All other class work is to be maintained and kept within an organized school binder in the following three (or four) sections:

a.       Assignments: Keep any current physiology packets or papers in the front of this section.

b.       Resources: Any extra reading material, all Reading Guide instructions, Review Guide instructions, etc. should be kept to assist in Final Exam preparation.

c.       Graded work: All graded work must be kept in order in your binder. Study guides and exams or quizzes are major sources of review for final exams.

IV. Class Procedures 

This class will be a significant challenge to you. The subject and the pacing of material is both rigorous and demanding. We meet only three days a week, therefore every absence will be the equivalent of missing two days worth of work. Attendance is absolutely crucial to your success in this class!

  Grading System: Notice that your grades are weighted and are not based strictly on a straight point scale. Each point you earn in each category is multiplied by the percent weight for each category to determine your grade.

Categories:

Grading Scale:

Late Work Policy:
Honors science students will be responsible and will complete and turn in required assignments when they are due.

Late work is NOT accepted. There are many assignments that will be scored IN CLASS. If your assignment is not completed and in class, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR IT. See specifics on Interactive Notebook. All assignments are given to help you interact with the vast amount of information you must process – nothing is assigned without a reason and all work must be completed to prepare you for the lecture or activity of that day. Your only backup is the Ticket Incentive program…. Only that will earn you the privilege of turning in something late or having the assignment excused.

Please Note: Do not plan on making up assignments that you did not have ready for the due date by turning them in at the end of a grading period for even partial credit. The grade in this class must be earned by consistent effort on assignments and consistent performance on exams.

Absences: Attendance will be crucial for success. Students who are absent are responsible for finding out what he/she missed by checking the instructor’s on-line website and talking to a student partner. Extra copies of handouts are kept in the class file and may be online as pdf documents when possible.                                                                      

Attendance = Participation = Success    

a.       If you are absent on the day an assignment is given: You have the same number of days to complete up the assignment as the students present in the class were given. Exception: Interactive Notebook assignments – you must be in class to receive the assignment and information upon which it is based. Please write “ABSENT” on the top of the assignment, or the assignment will be counted as “LATE” and will not be accepted or graded.

b.       If you are absent on a day an assignment is due or exam is given: If you are present the day an assignment is given or when a test is scheduled, the assignment must be turned in the following class period to be scored or submitted. You do not get extra days! Options for rescheduling a missed test or quiz will only be given if the absence is “excused”.

c.       Make-up Tests and Labs: It is YOUR responsibility to schedule make-up exams and labs. These will be scheduled during FIRE. It may not be possible to make up all labs due to availability of supplies and equipment. In that case, you need to get data from a reliable classmate and complete the lab write-up based on this data, even though you were not present for the actual lab.

V. Discipline and Other Unpleasant Topics:

Classroom Rules:

a.       No one has the right to prevent another person from learning or prevent the teacher from teaching. 

b.       Be respectful at all times, including respecting personal space and personal property. Be kind to others and treat everybody with dignity.

d.       No drinks, food or gum in the science lab.

e.       You are responsible for your lab equipment and station. If it is messy, clean it. If you break it, you will be responsible to pay for it.

f.         Cell phones or pagers that ring during class will be confiscated and your parent will be required to come and pick it up in the office. CD players may be listened to only when permission is granted.

g.       Ipods or CD players may NOT be listened to during lecture or lab – only during exams or individual work/research.

h.       Physiology requires a great deal of lab equipment and dissection tools. Respect for equipment and regard for safety is expected.

Copying, Cheating, Plagiarism:

This is the ultimate academic offense. If you copy work from another student or cheat during an exam, both you and the other student will receive zero credit for the work with no ability to make up for those points.

If you are observed copying homework – both individuals will receive a zero. It is acceptable for students to work in groups, discuss answers and come to the same conclusion. But direct copying is going to produce a zero for you and your friend who loaned you their work.

Any instances of plagiarism – taking credit for someone else’s research by copying the writing and thinking done by another author – will be dealt with very seriously and a permanent record of the offense will be placed in your file.

Academic Rigor:  This is a very specific science course that deals with the human and animal body. This course incorporates physiology, which is the study of the functions of the body, as well as anatomy, which is the study of the structures of the body. As a result, the concepts and the vocabulary are quite advanced and will require your energy to understand how everything works together. You MUST STUDY and continually review the material in order to grasp the many, many facts and understand how structures work together. Also, there will be a great deal of dissection that you must be able to do as well as frank discussion of the body and its functions – maturity is required. 

Policy on Incentives:

Renaissance Incentives will be honored in this class. However, tests will not be excused at any point.
Ticket Incentives: This program will be utilized to reward students for being responsible and for showing academic effort and improvement. These tickets may be kept all throughout the year and redeemed at any point for the appropriate privileges.

Tips for Success: Many of you will be very challenged by this course. It is encouraged that you set up study groups to regularly review for exams. It is also suggested that you utilize the FIRE period to work through difficult material with Mrs. Butler. Don’t wait till the end of a unit to review, keep up with the material and put time and effort into learning everything – that is the only way to succeed in this course. Everything is new. Everything is complex. You can master it, but must work to do so.

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