Hybrid Course Frequently Asked Questions Page
Click on the headings below to expand topics.
Course Description
Lecture: 3 hours; Laboratory: 2 hours
Prerequisite: Grade of C- or better in Biological Principles I (BIOL121) or successful performance on departmental challenge exam, and Preparing for College Reading II (ENGL092), Introductory Writing (ENGL099), and Fundamentals of Mathematics (MATH010), or waiver by placement testing results, or Departmental Approval. Anatomy and Physiology I (BIOL201) must be taken before Anatomy and Physiology II (BIOL202).
Who Should Be Taking This Course?
This class is NOT intended for students wishing to complete their Massasoit requirement for either a lab science or a science elective. Such students are welcome to take this class (provided they meet the prerequisites), but will find that the material and out-of-class work is significantly more advanced than their previous science courses.
Course Materials
Required Course Materials
Textbook:
Elaine Marieb & Katya Hoehn, Human Anatomy and Physiology (8th edition). Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 9780805395914.
A new copy of the textbook includes many extras for free, such as access to the textbook website, InterActive Physiology, and an anatomy atlas (see accompanying handout). Considering this book is used for two semesters, this is a good deal. New textbook = Cheaper in the long run.
Bound notebook:
This will be used as part of an ongoing lab notebook project. The best type of bound notebook is an artist’s sketch book that can usually be found in the clearance section at places like Borders or Barnes and Noble, often for less than $5.00. Otherwise, a standard composition book (black and white cover, found at any supermarket, convenience store or office supply store) will be acceptable.
Lab Manual:
Elaine Marieb & Susan Mitchell. Human Anatomy & Physiology Laboratory Manual – Cat Version (10th edition update). Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 9780321616128. (A used copy of the Lab Manual is fine.)
Access to MasteringA&P Website (provided free with purchase of a new textbook)
Course Operations
weekly lecture objectives and reading guides
Each week when you visit the course website, you will be given a list of objectives that you need to complete within that week towards learning the lecture material for the course. These objectives will include readings from the textbook, online activities and animations, homework questions and an online quiz that you’ll take at home through MasteringA&P. If you fall behind, it will become difficult to catch up. We cover a tremendous amount of material in this course, and it can be overwhelming for the day students. Taking this course online can present a whole series of additional challenges.
reading the book
In the absence of the lecture environment, you have to rely on your textbook. Each week, I will assign specific readings from the book. During the day classes, we do not cover the material in as detailed a fashion as the book does, so you will notice that I will pick sections throughout the book. You’re certainly welcome to read each chapter from start to finish, but you won’t be responsible for all of the material in each chapter.
online quizzes
Each week of material will be accompanied by a quiz that you will take in MasteringA&P. You will have a week to take each quiz. You are neither timed nor must you complete the quiz in one session. Quizzes become unavailable at 9:00 a.m. on the following Monday. These quizzes count as a maximum of 140 extra credit points towards your final grade. The purpose behind these quizzes is to motivate you to stay current with the course material.
system assignments
For each section of lecture material, you will complete an online activity (within MasteringA&P) called a System Assignment that you will complete and submit for a grade. The purpose of the System Assignment to ensure that you are working diligently to keep up with the material and to give you practice both researching answers and answering questions specifically and succinctly. These are the types of questions you will see on lecture exams and/or lab exams. Due dates for each of the System Assignments are listed on the schedule. They automatically close at 9:00 p.m. on the date listed (always on Fridays). They will remain available after the due date for practice purposes only.
onsite meetings and labs
We will meet together ten times during the semester. These meetings are mandatory and their dates are posted at the top of this document. We will use this time to complete lab activities and to take lecture and lab exams. Because we won’t see each other very often, occasionally we’ll fit multiple lab activities into a single lab. Therefore, it’s very important that you do not miss these meetings.
You have received a series of objectives for each lab. These objectives will outline what you are expected to accomplish during the assigned lab time and how you should focus your time before the next lab session. Occasionally, a lab activity will have a short lab handout that will be turned in for a grade. These will be short enough so that you can finish them and turn them in immediately. You cannot turn in a lab handout unless you have completed the lab activity.
A great deal of the Anatomy & Physiology lab experience will be conducted on your own. As any of the day students will tell you, they spend lots of their own time in the lab, learning the bones and muscles or studying tissues under the microscope. This means that you will undoubtedly need to come in at different times to study the materials.
Grading
Your final grade in this course is a culmination of the work you complete throughout the semester. Final grades are non-negotiable and no extra credit assignments are accepted at the end of the semester in the event you are not happy with your grade.
Course Policies
late assignments
Late assignments will not be accepted. The System Assignments will automatically close at a predetermined time and date. They will remain available afterwards for you to practice on, but they will not count for credit. If you are absent on the day a paper assignment is due, you must get it to me by 3:00 p.m. Friday of the week it is due, unless you've made an arrangement with me in advance. Faxing assignments is acceptable, but please make sure you include my name somewhere on the cover sheet.
attendance
Your attendance is expected at all onsite meetings. There are no make-up lecture exams. Your grade on your Final Exam will be substituted for one (1) missed lecture exam. If a serious illness or family emergency prevents you from taking a lab exam, please notify me on or before the day of the exam if possible, and documented proof of the reason for the absence must be presented if requested when you return to class. At that time, the problem will be dealt with on an individual basis. Failure to comply with these procedures will result in a grade of 0 for the missed lab exam.
Time to time throughout the semester, I am asked by the Registrar to provide a list of students who have stopped participating in the course. Non-participating students may be withdrawn from the course and may be billed for repayment of financial aid. I will use your attendance at the onsite meetings, compliance to course deadlines, and logins to MasteringA&P to determine your level of participation in the course.
safety notes
This course includes some dissection of preserved materials. Dissections in Anatomy and Physiology I include the sheep brain and cow eye. While we try to order materials in the safest preservatives available, it is not advisable for pregnant women to be present in the lab during dissections. If you are pregnant or become pregnant during the course, please notify the instructor immediately.
academic integrity (from the college catalog)
Students are responsible for maintaining the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity in this course. Violations of academic honesty will usually fall in one of two categories: cheating or plagiarism. Cheating includes, for example, copying or buying the work of others; hiring or persuading others to do work under a false name; concealing notes or other helpful materials during a exam; communicating with your classmates during an exam. Plagiarism is the use of another person's work or ideas as one's own without giving appropriate credit. In short, plagiarism is intellectual theft and is, therefore, taken seriously; consequently, using the ideas or language of others in an oral, written, technical, or artistic work must be properly acknowledged and documented. Students are responsible for understanding what constitutes plagiarism in their classes and should note that these offenses are often very easy for the instructor to catch. In this class, the penalty for cheating or plagiarism will be a grade of zero (0) for the work in question and possibly a failing grade for the course.
Please note that copying either text or drawings out of textbooks, course materials and websites is also prohibited. All work conducted in this course is to be yours and yours only!
Disabilities Help
Course Outcomes
- Use the general steps of the scientific method to form hypotheses, collect and evaluate data, and draw conclusions, in order to learn to distinguish between science and pseudoscience, and to evaluate scientific information in both professional journals and the popular press.
- Use anatomical vocabulary correctly in order to be able to read and understand the text and laboratory instructions, and communicate effectively in a professional setting.
- Observe and describe differences in basic tissue types in order to be able to predict tissue and organ function based on structure.
- List the eleven organ systems, the organs they include, and their basic function, in order to carry out a systematic (as opposed to regional) study of the human body.
- Apply the basic principles of biology to the functions of cells and the plasma membrane in the human body in order to be able to predict the nature of processes involving membrane transport, receptors, surface area and energy, thus learning from understanding rather than memorization.
- Relate structure to the function of cells, tissues, and selected organs in order to demonstrate an understanding of the physiology of the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems.
- Describe the homeostatic condition and control systems for important variables in order to understand the nature of the "normal" or "healthy" condition. Describe the results of homeostatic imbalance of the same important variables in order to relate changes to the underlying causes of disease.
- Present and interpret data from charts and graphs in order to develop skills in using charts and graphs to convey information, to be able to read and understand professional journals and to understand data used in the workplace and presented at meetings and conferences.
- Communicate accurately and clearly both in writing and orally in order to educate patients (for students entering allied health fields) and communicate with professional colleagues.
- Work safely in the laboratory and follow simple laboratory protocols in order to work cooperatively to complete laboratory exercises and conduct experiments using the scientific method
- Use appropriate study skills to ensure success in the course
- To strengthen core competencies (including critical thinking, technology skills, oral communications, quantitative skills, reading and writing) in order to increase success in this and other courses and in the workplace.