BI347:
Prerequisites
Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
- Animal behavior is a very diverse subject. This means that we should be open to unforeseen events and topics that capture our interests, giving us the flexibility to adjust discussion topics as necessary.
- If you have a particular topic you wish to discuss further, do speak up!
- Participation in class, which includes both speaking up and listening.
- Take ownership of your education and this course. Think about what you can do to foster your learning. Follow through. You have to put in the effort, if you want to succeed in this course. I can only meet you halfway – the rest is up to you. It is my personal experience that you get out of a course what you are willing to put into it.
- Completion of assignments - including the readings - on time! You cannot participate in a discussion if you have not first familiarized yourself on the topic, and your grade will be negatively impacted by a lack of preparation.
- College-level quality writing: legibility and proofreading are essential. If there are a significant number of errors or if it is difficult to read, the assignment will be returned to you prior to grading for changes. In most cases, your assignment will then be late and docked points. If you have difficulties with writing (and even if you think you do not), then I highly encourage you to contact the Writing Center. I cannot recommend this enough. There is always room for improvement!
- Honesty. I will ask you many questions throughout the semester. "I don't know" is acceptable
answer, though I may press you to try and work it out. - Courage. I ask you to have the courage to challenge what you read or hear (even from me), because animal behavior is a dynamic field and science demands criticism. I also ask you to have the courage to talk with me if there are concerns – before they become burdensome. I am ever your ally, and I would not want any misunderstanding to make you believe otherwise.
- Give you feedback – both written and oral. I take the assignments in this class seriously, and have made giving feedback a top priority so that you are able to learn and improve. This might mean that it takes me longer than I would like to return your assignments to you sometimes, but I give them a lot of attention for your benefit. I care greatly about your education.
- Bring my expertise into the classroom and to be honest with you when I do not know the answers to your questions. Education is a lifelong process, and I also look forward to learning a lot from you this semester.
- Provide clarity when you struggle with ideas and concepts. Please make sure that I know when you are struggling.
- Treat you, as adult learners, with the related style of respect. I do expect you to reciprocate by treating this course in a professional manner, as if we were colleagues at a job. After all, that is a part of what you are in college to learn.
- To do everything I can to provide you with a strong foundation within the diverse topic of animal behavior, and to do so in a way that makes this subject exciting.
Contact Information
Upon successful completion of this course…
1. The student will be able to Identify and analyze behaviors in a variety of animal taxa.
2. The student will be able to discuss the evolutionary origins and selective advantages of various
behaviors.
3. The student will be able to evaluate scientific papers concerning animal behavior.
4. The student will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method by generating
hypotheses related to animal behavior, designing an experiment, analyzing raw data, drawing appropriate
conclusions, and through oral and written communication of the experimental process
5. The student will be able to outline practical and ethical implications of scientifically derived knowledge of
animal behavior.
Textbook
Name: Animal Behavior
Edition: 12th
ISBN: 9780197564912
Author: Rubenstein, Dustin
Publisher: Sinauer Associates; Oxford University Press
Goals: We have all experienced the amazement of watching animals (including humans!) behaving in unexpected ways. During this course, I will endeavor to get you excited about animal behavior within the context of evolutionary biology. A major goal of this course is to provide you with an understanding of the differences between anecdotes and scientific interpretations of the motivations behind particular behaviors. The unifying themes of our discussions will be evolution by means of natural selection, with an emphasis on sexual selection. Therefore, lectures and activities will be designed to show you how survival and reproduction have impacted the behaviors of animals. I hope that this course will be both interesting and challenging, stimulating your curiosity about the living world around you and providing a foundation in which you can objectively evaluate behavior. The goal of the laboratory component of this course is to provide you with hands-on experiences in designing and implementing scientific experiments that concern a variety of behaviors.
Tentative Schedule
Subject to change during the semester. Adequate notice of changes will be given.
Exams and Assignments: There will be 4 formal exams in this course. These exams will consist primarily of essay questions. These essay questions will be detailed, requiring you to integrate and apply information that you have encountered in the course. You will receive these essay questions about a week before the exam to give you preparation time. You are encouraged to form study sessions outside of class time and work on the essay questions as a group. Group learning provides a valuable tool to integrate people with similar interests and perhaps different expertise. It is also good practice for professional development. I will also be available for guidance, should you wish me to attend your study session or otherwise. Besides, the purpose of a formal education is not to
necessarily teach you WHAT to think, but to teach you HOW to think. Temporary rote memorization does not benefit your educational development in the ways that critical thinking and integration can.
The essay questions will allow you to develop skills for analyzing and contextualizing the data within the ‘big picture,’ which is invaluable for any field of expertise. After your group study, you should consider what you have learned during the session, make your own decisions, and prepare your own essays. Prepare your responses carefully, considering the time limits in which you will be able to answer them during the exam class period. You will be presented with the same essay questions during the exam. You will have to provide appropriate responses, without the help of notes.
Your homework assignments and participation points will consist primarily of activities necessary to
properly prepare for discussions or laboratory activities. This course also has a laboratory component, with additional activities and assignments to help you learn the materials in a more hands-on way.
The grading scale will be as follows:
Instructor Course Policies
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: SP26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Academic Misconduct - Examples [10/24]
ACADEMIC CODE OF CONDUCT
This policy is directly related to the first Testimony, which is part of the Student Code of Conduct. “I will practice personal and academic integrity.” The initial responsibility for dealing with academic misconduct lies with the individual faculty member in whose classroom or course of study the offense occurs. The responsibility includes determination of the consequences for the offense. The goal is for faculty to confront cheating and plagiarism, to teach ethical behavior, and to provide an appropriate consequence based on the nature of the incident. Faculty are encouraged to explicitly address academic misconduct and its consequences in the course syllabus.
EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
A. Examination offenses include, but are not limited to, the following:
1.Taking unauthorized materials into or out of the examination room.
2.Leaving the examination room without authorization before completing an examination.
3.Talking in the examination room without authorization.
4.Discussing the examination outside the examination room during the course of the examination.
5.Attempting to observe the work of another student.
6.Taking an examination for another person or permitting someone else to do so.
7.Collaborating improperly by discussion, joint research, or joint effort in any way expressly prohibited by the instructor. This includes using a cell phone or other device to access information from another source or another student.
8.Improper knowledge of contents of an examination - No student shall knowingly acquire unauthorized knowledge of an examination or any part of an examination, or solicit, offer, or give information about any part of an examination.
B. Student work offenses include, but are not limited to, the following, which are expressly prohibited in the absence of prior written approval of the instructor or instructors involved:
1.Resubmission of work - Submitting work which has been previously submitted for credit.
2. Plagiarism - Submitting work done wholly or partly by another, including the unattributed copying of all or parts of a published work or internet document. Using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources to produce work (when not expressly permitted) is also a form of plagiarism. Some instances of plagiarism are the result of ignorance rather than dishonesty. When plagiarism is encountered, the instructor should be sure that the student knows proper procedures for attributing content.
3.Prohibited sources - Consulting material or persons contrary to the directions of the instructor.
4.Improper collaboration - Engaging in any discussion, joint research, or joint effort of any kind expressly prohibited by the instructor.
5.Deception - Misrepresenting the authenticity of sources, citations, or principles in any written work.
6. Sharing work – Students who share their work with others are responsible for how that work is used. For example, if a student shares a paper with another student to help him or her understand an assignment, and that student submits the work as their own, the author of the paper shares responsibility for the plagiarism committed by the other student.
D. Other misconduct - Engaging in any other improper conduct as specified by the instructor.
E. Lying – deliberately providing false information relevant to academic matters, such as misrepresenting the inability to take an examination because of illness.
F. Disruptive or disrespectful classroom behavior – causing a disturbance in the classroom, interrupting instruction, speaking rudely or threatening students or faculty.
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |
ADA and Students with Disabilities
Wilmington College and the Office of Compliance and Integrity are committed to ensuring equal access to students with disabilities, including physical, medical, and psychiatric disabilities. If you are a student with a disability and feel you may need a reasonable accommodation to fulfill the essential functions of this course, you are encouraged to connect with Nathan Flack, Academic Resource Center Manager/ADA Coordinator by visiting the Academic Resource Center located in Robinson Communication Center, Room 103 or connecting via email/phone at nathan.flack@wilmington.edu or 937-481-2208 (TTY: Ohio Relay 711 for deaf/hard of hearing). Please understand that formal eligibility communication from the Office of Compliance and Integrity must be presented prior to the coordination of accommodations for this course.