2024-2025 IB Biology I Syllabus: Course Overview & Expectations

Course Description:

Welcome to IB Biology!  Biology, in the simplest definition, is the study of life.  As one of the many areas of science, it is a study and inquiry of the extraordinary interactions of life all around us. We will examine these amazing achievements through a variety of labs, inquiry activities, and group/individual projects over the course of the year; I am excited to explore this incredible subject with you in the coming school year.  This International Baccalaureate (IB) course is specifically designed and implemented to prepare students for the IB Biology Exam and the opportunity to earn college credit in partnership with Oregon Institute of Technology; students must take IB Biology II in order to take the IB Biology Exam.  Topics will be discussed and presented at the college level with a corresponding degree of rigor and expectations.

Course Structure:

The course will be broken into a number of units, usually eight to ten hours each as designated by the IB curriculum in order to meet the requirements of IB standards; these IB standards incorporate both state and Common Core learning standards.  Units will include labs, inquiry activities, projects, presentations, reading from a variety of sources, discussions, graphic organizers, writing, models, demonstrations, etc in order for students to achieve proficiency in learning standards.  Classes will generally begin with a warm-up quiz to review previous lesson objectives or prepare students for the day’s learning standard; learning objectives will be presented in class and will always be available online.  Lesson activities will be designed to meet the needs of all learners and are differentiated by readiness, ability, and/or interest. To ensure that students designated as “Talented and Gifted” (TAG) receive academic instruction that is appropriate to their rate and level of learning, the curriculum and instruction of this course may be differentiated to include specialized groupings, compacting of curriculum, accelerated pacing, and providing of extension/challenge activities.  Please check and use Canvas and Mr. Rott’s website as they will contain useful information.

This course will extensively use technology in order to further student learning and provide differentiation for students as necessary and appropriate.  This will fundamentally be structured through Canvas and Mr. Rott’s website; each unit will have a corresponding section on Mr. Rott’s website and in Canvas.  Work will be turned in electronically via Canvas; students will need to use their TTSD Google Apps accounts.  Please let Mr. Rott know if you do not have reliable Internet access.

Course Assessment & Grading:

Assessment in IB Biology I will be conducted as similar as possible to the testing guidelines established by the IB Biology curriculum.  Course grades proportions will be based on the previous year’s IB Biology Grade Boundaries as identified by IB.  The following components will encompass IB Biology I grades:

Practical Work (Labs):

Practical work (laboratory investigations) and classroom work are designed to provide students practice at both the learning standards (IB criterion) and use of scientific methods to conduct experimental investigations. These standards will be practiced multiple times each semester and receive student and teacher feedback. Upon completion of all practice investigations, students will select one investigation to reflect, modify, and improve for submission. Practical work will represent 25% of a student's overall grade.

Quizzes:

Most classes will begin with a short quiz (generally 5 questions) to assess students' retention of the previous lesson's material and provide opportunities to practice the learning standards.  Quiz dates will be publicized and there will be no surprise quizzes.  Quizzes will represent 5% of a student's overall grade.  Missed quizzes will not be able to be made up.

Assessments

Summative assessments will be conducted at the end of each unit to assess student learning of the unit learning standards.  Assessments will be composed of two sections, similar to the IB Biology Exam: Paper 1 and Paper 2.  These assessments will model as closely as possible actual IB Biology Exams and corresponding assessment.  A cumulative final will be held at the end of each semester.  

Students who do not earn at least 60% on any learning objective (not the final) will have one opportunity to retake the learning objective to earn up to 60%. Retakes are not required, but are encouraged and must be completed within 14 days of the return of the original assessment; due dates will be publicized in class and on Canvas.  Assessments will represent 70% of a student's overall grade.

IB Biology I Final Grade Proportions

Final grades are determined at the end of each semester using the entire body of student work.  All individual learning objectives will be input into Canvas.

Getting Help

IB Biology I is a college level course and can be an extremely difficult subject.  I will do my best to be available to students and parents.  Each unit page on my website will have valuable resources to help students as well as contact information.  If you need help with any part of the class, ask for help!  This includes organization, unit material, studying & reading strategies, staying focused in class, or applying concepts.  I can’t help if I don’t know if there is a problem, so ask!

Course Expectations:

Biology is an amazingly interesting and stimulating subject.  My promise to you is that I will do my best to make the subject interesting, engaging, and comprehensible (even if it may not be your favorite subject, yet).  Additionally, I will work to ensure our classroom is a place of enthusiastic rigor where learning can occur and everyone feels safe and a part of the community.  Tualatin High School’s three expectations: Responsible, Respectful, and Safe will be followed by everyone, including myself.  

Academic Honesty:

Students are expected to do their own work or contribute equally to group projects.  If another source is adapted or used to develop ideas it must be cited correctly (ideas, images, sentences, or work) using APA format.  Credit will not be given for plagiarism.

Food & Gadgets:

I use my cell phone as much as the next person, but during class it is a distraction. Following the school policy, cell phones need to be off and away during class; if it is an emergency, please let me know.  As long as food and beverages are not a distraction, they are acceptable in the classroom portion of the room (not lab). However, please don’t arrive to class with a pizza, take out bag, etc. and expect to eat during class.

Attendance & Tardiness:

In order to learn and process the massive amount of information of the IB Biology curriculum, it is important for students to come to class every day prepared to learn (writing utensils, completed practice problems, organized documents).  However, I understand emergencies and sickness are part of life.  In the event that you are absent, it is your responsibility to complete missed class work.  The class website and Canvas will contain both a calendar and unit assignments.  If you know you will be absent in advance, please see Mr. Rott. Being tardy distracts classmates, please be on time I will follow the school’s tardy policy. Not all labs will be available outside of class at the teacher’s discretion.

Late Work:

The purpose of classroom assignments is to provide students with opportunities to practice and receive feedback on assignments to prepare for unit assessments.  Thus, turning in assignments directly before or after a unit assessment provides no benefit.  Students are expected to take responsibility for their learning by completing and turning in assignments on time.  Practical work with corresponding Lab Standards must be completed by the assigned due date in order to receive feedback and/or assessed; late final practical work will not be accepted.  If an emergency comes up or the student will be gone it is the student’s responsibility to plan ahead and see me before the due date if you will be absent, need additional assistance, or need an extension to work out a solution.

OIT Dual Credit Option

OIT and Tualatin High School provide opportunities to earn both high school and college credit in selected classes.  Through this partnership, IB Biology I students can earn four transferable Bio 101 college credits.

Course Number: Bio 101, Winter Term

CRN: 21096

Course Description:

Biology 101 consists of a ten-week exposure to elementary cellular and molecular biology, genetics, and biotechnology. The course is focused on non-science majors who have likely never experienced the scientific method. It is the sincere hope that some individuals will pursue further courses in biology. The General Biology sequence is an ideal entry into more advanced courses. It should be noted that it is not essential that students enroll in BIO 101, BIO 102, and BIO 103 in numerical order.

Course Outcomes:

• The student shall be able to discuss the sources and general biological function of fats, carbohydrates, and protein.
• The student shall be able to describe the microscopic anatomy of a generalized cell and to elucidate the function of each type of organelle in a eukaryotic cell.
• The student shall be able to explain the generalized chemical structure of a cell membrane, as well as to outline the various modes by which substances pass through these membranes.
• The student shall be able to present a rudimentary description of the structure of DNA, as well as its involvement in DNA replication, transcription, and protein translation.
• The student shall be able to use Punnet squares in the solution of some simple genetic problems and to outline some applications of these problems to human genetics.

Grading:

OIT grades earned for dually enrolled students will be calculated by the following: 80% TuHS 1st semester grade, 20% OIT Final.  The 80% TuHS 1st semester grade will be calculated by converting the TuHS 1st semester grade to a 100-0% A-F scale (100-90% A, 89-80% B, etc).  

OIT Course Catalog description for grading: http://catalog.oit.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=82&hl=grading+policy+&returnto=search

Additional Information

• Oregon Tech’s ACP website (admission, registration, and payment details): www.oit.edu/acp-enroll
• How to request college transcripts - https://www.oit.edu/registrar/student-records/transcript-request