Seward County Community College/Area Technical School
Course Syllabus

1. TITLE OF COURSE: BI2515 - General Botany
2. COURSE DESCRIPTION: 5 credit hours.  3 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory each week.  Consists of a structural, functional, evolutionary, and ecological foundation in the fundamental concepts and processes in plants, their place in the biosphere, their importance to humans as food, pharmaceuticals, and the impact of humans on plants and their environment.  The course will incorporate six unifying principles: 1) Evolution: Patterns and Products of Change, 2) Interaction and Interdependence, 3) Genetic Continuity and Reproduction, 4) Growth, Development, and Differentiation, 5) Energy, Matter, and Organization, and 6) Maintenance of Dynamic Equilibrium.  The laboratory will focus on inquiry investigation.  For each unit of credit, a minimum of three hours per week with one of the hours for class and two hours for studying/preparation outside of class is expected.
3. PROGRAM AND DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT: The Science Program at Seward County Community College/ATS provides opportunities to improve and enhance each student’s understanding and comprehension of the natural world through a variety of courses and experience to develop a scientifically literate citizen.
4. TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS:
   • Stern, Introductory Plant Biology, 11th Ed., McGraw Hill Publishers, 2008
   • Stern, Introductory Plant Botany Laboratory Manual, 11th Edition, McGraw Hill, 2008
5. SCCC/ATS OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete this course will demonstrate the ability to do the following SCCC/ATS Institutional Outcomes.
   • Outcome #1    Read with comprehension, be critical of what they read, and apply knowledge gained to real life situations.
   • Outcome #2    Communicate ideas clearly and proficiently in writing, appropriately adjusting content and arrangement for varying audiences, purposes, and situations.
   • Outcome #3    Demonstrate mathematical skills using a variety of techniques and technologies.
   • Outcome #4    Demonstrate the ability to think critically by gathering facts, generating insights, analyzing data, and evaluating information.
   • Outcome #5    Utilize current technology relevant to their respective disciplines.
6. COURSE OUTCOMES:
   • Students will be able to recognize the historical development and impact of botanical principles in science and society.
   • Students will be able to demonstrate a functional knowledge of traditional botanical principles to serve as a foundation for further study in biology and other disciplines. To find relevant information and recognize biases and errors of fact in information.
   • Students will be able to use scientific methods of investigation.
   • Students will be able to apply basic knowledge of the fundamental concepts of botany to planet functions and human impact.
   • Students will be able to critically evaluate how the science of botany works and what its limits are.
   • Students will be able to demonstrate the knowledge of the important biological concepts and theories (as: cell theory, energy flow, photosynthesis, growth, reproduction, etc.) and recognize that they may be explained in terms of the natural laws of physics and chemistry.
   • Students will be to identify biological macromolecules and explain their structure and function.
   • Students will be able to identify the structures and their functions with the cell.
   • Students should be able to describe the functions of various plant tissues.
   • Students will know the unique anatomical characteristics of major plants and relate these structures to the functions they perform.
     • Roots
     • Stems
     • Leaves
     • Flowers & Fruits
   • Students will be able to describe the function of photosynthesis and respiration and their relationship and importance.
   • Students will be able to distinguish between monocots and dicots, and know several characteristics that spereate them.
   • Students will be able to identify the stages of mitotically and meiotically dividing cells, and describe the alteration of generations.
   • Students will define or discuss: determinate and indeterminate growth, apical dominance, phytochrome, photoperiodism, various taxa and tropisms.
   • Students shall identify and discuss the function of five plant hormones.
   • Explain how the use of the Binomial System of Nomenclature overcomes problems associated with using common names of organisms. They will use a plant classification hierarchy.
   • Student will be able to describe the tenets of natural selection and explain the significance of mutation and reproductive isolation to evolution.
   • Students will give the characteristic features of the flowing plants.
   • Students shall identify and describe the following ecological concepts: producers, primary and secondary consumers, decomposers, populations, communities, and ecosystems.  They will also understand the nutrient cycles which occur in an ecosystem.
7. TOPICAL COURSE OUTLINE:
   • History, Investigation, and Society
   • Cell Structure and Function
   • Plant Structure and Function
   • Metabolism and Growth
   •   Genetics, Evolution, and Biotechnology
   • Taxonomic Survey
   • Ecology and Ethnobotany
8. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS: Laboratory, field experiences, inquiry activities, and issue-centered problems will be used as direct experience activities. Group activities will include presentations, debates, and research projects. Outside reading and writing activities will be required Communication of investigation results will be at regular intervals.
9. INSTRUCTIONAL AND RESOURCE MATERIALS:
   • Commercially prepared microscope slides
   • Overhead transparencies
   • Charts
   • Models
   • Microscopes
   • Reference materials
   • Living organisms
   • Computer simulations
   • CD, Laser Disk, Interne
   • Outdoor classroom
   • Instrumentation
10. METHODS OF ASSESSMENT: Methods of assessing the general course outcomes include essay questions or written examinations, project and laboratory reports, research projects, performance assessment, collaborative group assessment, construction of models and simulations.
    • SCCC/ATS Outcome #1 will be assessed and measured by class participation, written exams, and critical analysis of claims assignments.
    • SCCC/ATS Outcome #2 will be assessed and measured through project and laboratory research communication, written exams, group problem solving, and critical analysis of claims assignments.
    • SCCC/ATS Outcome #3 will be assessed and measured through statistical analysis of project and laboratory research results and through content specific applications.
    • SCCC/ATS Outcome #4 will be assessed and measured by class participation, written exams, projects and laboratory activities, and critical analysis of claims.
    • SCCC/ATS Outcome #5 will be assessed and measured by students utilizing the computer for instruction and analysis, laboratory and field instrumentation, and projects.

11. ADA STATEMENT:  If you believe that you are entitled to special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Dean of Student Services at 620-417-1016 or visit the office located in the Hobble Academic Building.

     

    Syllabus Reviewed: March 2014