Course Information

Class Norms:  Our norms are a list of thoughts and actions, agreed upon among members of the classroom, about how we will treat ourselves and one another.

​In general, students can do as they like in this class, provided it doesn’t affect their learning or the learning of others in the class.  We work quite hard to fulfill all the course requirements, so it is important for students to remain attentive in class at all times.  I trust that students will be responsible for their learning and will not engage in any activity that will take away from their own learning or from a classmate’s ability to learn.  Nothing infuriates me as much as a student who disrespects another’s right to learn.  

​During lab time, you must always follow the rules for lab safety.

Preparation for Class:  See the class materials list at Amazon.com.  The items are sample items, not necessarily required brands or styles.   

Needed Daily (although not necessarily used daily):

• Pencil and eraser    
• Loose-leaf paper 
• Calculator         
• Small ruler for lab drawings     
• Colored highlighters
• At least five colors of pens for taking notes
• Tape and\or glue stick
• Quad-ruled lab composition notebook with sewn binding
• Sticky notes
• Colored pencils

Needed for Notebook Check by end of the first Quarter:

• A 3" 3-ring binder dedicated solely to IB Bio
• 8-12 tabbed binder dividers

Attendance:  Regular attendance is very important for success IB biology.  The attendance policy corresponds with the school-wide policy. Most of the labs, presentations, videos and other assignments are difficult, if not impossible, to completely make up.  

Missed Class Make Up:  If a student misses an assignment due to an absence, it is their responsibility to seek and schedule a make-up.  Much of the work we do in class is linked on the website.  Upon your return to class pick up any assignments or handouts you missed.  If you missed a lab due  to an excused absence, it is YOUR responsibility to schedule a lab make up session within two weeks of your absence.  Missed labs may require actual lab make-up or completion of an alternative assignment.   
 
Late Work:  Late work is accepted without penalty for excused absences.  It is the students responsibility to check if he/she missed any checks for completion (i.e. stamped work).  Completion stamps will not be given for unexcused absences.  Time sensitive items (i.e. initial knowledge audits) may not be accepted late.  In general, complete your work on time.  If you need extra time,  please speak with Ms. von Bargen in advance about your need for an extension and your plan for completion.  

Extra Help Opportunities:  

• There are weekly open office hours scheduled for every Monday after school.  Ms. von Bargen or another IB Biology teacher will be available on those days for lab make up and extra help.  
• ​For IB Biology 2, there are extra content sessions held outside of the school day for students who will be taking the IB exam. 
• Ms. von Bargen sometimes holds evening review sessions prior to major tests so that people with after school commitments can attend.

Turn it In:  many assignments will be submitted to the website www.turnitin.com.  You will need to register for the class using the course numbers shown below and the enrollment key "Biology" 

Group Work:  We will frequently work in pairs and teams, particularly in the laboratory.  Sometimes I will allow you to choose your own partner, at other times I will assign students to work together.  I expect you to accept these assignments without complaint/whining.  Although we will do lab work in teams, each student will write up their own lab report.  During group work, answers and solutions may be freely shared, but all members are expected to contribute.  Simply copying answers from another lab report, homework, etc. without having helped to produce the product is plagiarism and will be treated as such.
 
Laboratory Equipment Fines:  If you damage, brake or misuse laboratory equipment during class, you are responsible for paying a replacement fee for the item.  A fine slip will be written, and you will be required to pay your fee directly to the ASB book keeper.  

Leaving Class:  One person may leave the classroom at a time.  You should not leave the classroom during direct instruction (i.e. lecture or giving  directions).  Before you leave the classroom you must fill out the sign-out sheet.  To sign out, legibly sign your name, list the time you are leaving class, and where you are going.  When you return to class,  mark the time you returned to class.  Although there is no set limit to  the number of times you may leave the classroom, if you choose to abuse this privilege you should expect disciplinary action. 
 
Electronics Use:  Listening to music is not permitted during direct instruction, group work, or lab experiments.  You may listen to music during individual work time.  We utilize cell phones or tablets a lot in class.  Please be mindful of appropriate use of technology while in a classroom. 

Computer Use:  This course requires that all students utilize a computer to conduct research and to produce various products outside of class time. Therefore all students must have access to a computer and email account.  Not having Internet at home is not an excuse for not being able to do the work.  Additionally, when I do give a homework assignment on Internet, be sure to start it early.  Computers have a way of not working when you most need them to.

Cheating:  Cheating will not be tolerated and is clearly a violation of course and school policy.  The following acts of cheating are examples of behavior that will result in disciplinary actions as outlined in the student handbook.

• Passing calculators during a test, quiz, or other assessment
• Copying someone else’s test, quiz, assignment, or report
• Letting someone copy from a test, quiz, homework, assignment, or report
• Looking at notes or a phone during a test, quiz, or other assessment
• Sharing questions from a test with students who have yet to take the test
• Listing someone else’s data without giving credit, or worse,
  making up data to fit the expected answer.  It is acceptable to present your own data, to state the reasons that you feel the results should be disregarded, and then to present another student’s data (making sure the source is acknowledged)
• Using opinions, facts, ideas, charts, data and direct quotes from research papers, newspapers, magazines, textbooks, websites, or
  another person without citing the source.  If plagiarism is
  suspected, you will be asked to complete an additional “how to recognize and prevent plagiarism” assignment.

It is assumed that Skyline students are honorable people.  Only those lacking in intelligence believe that cheating on academic work is profitable.  Students are here to learn; cheating makes learning impossible.