Biology of
Women
BIOL/WOST 1108 3
credits Fall Semester 2008
Anoka-Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids
MWF
Course
Information
This course satisfies the Natural Science area (non-lab 3)
and the Human Diversity area (7) of the MnTC.
Instructor: Melissa
Mills
Office: Science 106
Office Hours:
Hours are posted on my homepage, on my office door,
or by
appointment.
Office Phone: 763-433-1332
This is a voice-mail number, so please leave a message.
Email
Address: melissa.mills@anokaramsey.edu
Information Desk: 763-433-1100
Use this number if someone may need to locate you on campus.
Home Page: http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/mmills
Text: The Second X: The Biology of
Women, 2nd
ed., by Belk and Borden
Course
Description
In this country women are the most
frequent health care consumers; yet, most women (and men, for that matter) have
a limited knowledge of the structure and function of their bodies which makes
it sometimes difficult to play an active role in personal health care. Adding to this limited knowledge is the fact
that the vast majority of medical research in the past has used the male
exclusively as the model, and often this is still being done today. People are finally realizing that in biology
and in medicine, much of the time we have only heard half of the story.
The purpose of this course is to
give you a solid understanding of female and male reproductive structure and
function. We will look at the female
life cycle from embryonic sex differentiation to menopause. We will also look at myths and stereotypes
associated with the biology of women as we explore specific topics related to
women's health issues. I sincerely hope
that with this knowledge you will have a greater ability to critique
information from various sources related to issues in women's biology. And, just as important, I hope that you will
become more confident in actively participating in the decision-making process
regarding your own health care.
Study Guidelines
1. Be
sure to make class attendance a priority. Exam questions will come from the lecture
experience. Personal note taking
and listening in class are far more valuable than second-hand notes from
a classmate.
2. Read
the text chapters prior to coming to class. Lectures will be more meaningful and easier
to understand if you are familiar with the material before you hear it.
3. Look
over your notes before the next class period. Make note of any questions you may have for
me before the next lecture.
4. Spend
some time each day studying. This
will help you to keep up with the pace of the course. This is not a course that you can be
successful in by just studying the night before an exam.
5. Set
up a current calendar showing all exam dates and all written assignment due
dates. Keep
this current! I will not accept an
"I forgot" for late work.
Graded Exercises
a. The four hour exams will cover material from lectures, handouts,
and assigned pages in the text. There
will be several types of exam questions including diagrams, fill-in-the-blank,
multiple choice, short answer, and essay.
The dates of the exams are noted on the lecture schedule. Each exam will be worth 100 points. The final exam is not comprehensive.
b. Each
student will complete one 100-point
assignment. Instructions for this
assignment will be given in a separate handout.
You will choose one assignment from the following options:
§
a review and
critique of four current articles relating to women's biology or three
reviews and an evaluation of a personal experience.
§
an interview
regarding two women’s health care issues that are of interest to you. A paper will be written comparing your views
on the topics with those of the person you interviewed.
§
a critique
of a book that you read related to the biology of women. Please check with me for approval of the book
that you have chosen.
§
an internet
search for available resources regarding women's health issues and a
critique of four websites found.
Possible
Point Total Your
Point Total
Exam 1 100 /100
Exam 2 100 /100
Exam 3 100 /100
Exam 4 100 /100
Paper 100 /100
Extra Credit 10 ___/ 10
500 points 500 points
Keep all of your
graded papers from both lecture and lab until the final grade for the course is
given. It is your responsibility to be
able to verify a grade if you believe there is an error in my grade sheet.
Grading Policy
A course grade will be determined on
a percentage of total points basis as shown below. If you wish to take the course on a
"Pass/Fail" basis, you must inform me by the end of the second
week of class. I will not consider
giving an "Incomplete" to a student unless at least 75% of the total
course work has been completed. Do
not ask for an "Incomplete" due to low points.
Grading
Scale 90-100% 450-500 A
80-89% 400-449 B
70-79% 350-399 C
60-69% 300-349 D
less
than 60% < 300 F
Classroom
Behavior
By
enrolling in this course, you have become a welcome member of a community of
learners, an honor and a privilege for each one of us. Your membership in
this community and your success in this course are dependent upon your ability
to do the following:
Be Respectful. Respect your instructor as an expert in his or her
subject area and as the person responsible for facilitating a productive course
for everyone. Respect each of your classmate’s right to a valuable class
experience, free of offensive language, intolerance, or harassment of any kind.
Respect these facilities and our time together by eliminating all distractions,
especially laptops, cell phones, iPods, and other gadgets, and by refraining
from disruptions of any kind, including eating food that makes noise or has a
strong odor, sleeping in class, packing up before class is over, or talking
when no formal class discussion is taking place. Finally, respect yourself by
participating fully in each class session and making the most of this learning
opportunity.
Be Responsible. As a
student in this college course, you are entirely responsible for your own
success. You are responsible for reading and following the syllabus. It’s
expected that you arrive to each class session on-time, with assigned work
completed, ready to participate fully. If you are late, you need to sit in the
back to minimize disruption. If you miss
class, you are responsible for the consequences. You are also responsible for
obtaining notes, assignments, and syllabus adjustments. Finally, you are
responsible for being an active participant in this class rather than a passive
observer.
Rise to the Challenge. College-level
courses are demanding. They require deeper thinking, more effective writing,
and greater personal involvement than many students realize. In order to
succeed at this level, you must be willing to accept the challenges presented
by the course material, your instructors, and a rigorous schedule. One of the
rewards of this challenge can be the discovery that you are capable of much
more than you imagined. Therefore, expect great things from yourself, work hard
to achieve them, and seek help when you need it. The other members of this community
of learners are here to support you, but it’s up to you to rise to the challenge.
Plagiarism and
Copying Policy
To
plagiarize is "to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and pass them
off as one's own." (Webster) This
is unacceptable behavior. Also unacceptable is the use of any unauthorized notes or
help during exams. Any work found to
be plagiarized, copied, or using unauthorized help will receive no credit, and the
student will be subject to sanctions outlined in the Student Code of
Conduct.
Attendance Policy
You are
expected to attend all lecture classes.
Random attendance will be recorded.
Poor attendance will be used in borderline grade determinations. You are
responsible for all information given in lecture. If you miss a class, you are responsible for
getting the missed material from someone other than me.
Make-up
Policy
·
Everyone is expected to complete all exams and assignments on
the dates and times scheduled.
·
No make-up exams will be given if you do not contact me before the exam is
given. If you cannot contact me
personally, send an email to me. In some
cases, I will need verification of the reason for your absence. It will be up to my discretion whether or not
you may take a make-up exam. No more
than one make-up exam may be taken by a student per semester. Make-up lecture exams approved
by me must be taken within three school days of the original exam
date. The make-up exam may be an essay
exam.
·
Late
assignments - Since you are given
due dates well ahead of time, it is expected that assignments will be turned in on time. Late assignments will receive a 10% decrease
in point total for every day that they are late. Assignments will not be accepted later
than four days from the scheduled due date.
Accommodations
If you need any accommodations for
testing, please contact Access Services at 763-433-1350. No special testing arrangements will be made
without documentation from the Access Services office.
IF YOU KEEP ORGANIZED
Learner Outcomes
At the conclusion
of the course the student should be able to:
1.
Identify myths and stereotypes related to women's biology in
the major content areas.
2.
Gain information that could aid the student in actively
participating in the decision-making process regarding his/her health care.
3.
Communicate effectively about issues relating to women's
biology through personal interviews, journaling, book reports, current article
analysis, personal experience writing projects, analysis of internet resources
regarding women’s health, or other similar projects.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the major areas of course
content.