Maryville Christian School Course Syllabus
Course Name: Biology
Course Instructor: Luke Mullisen [email protected]
Course Philosophy: Why should we study topics like biology? Answer: for the glory of God. Some students say they’ll never use the information later in life - but students can’t predict the future. Where do today’s smart biologists come from? How did they get interested in the field of biology? It started with a high school biology class. They became interested when they learned a little about God’s creation - and they wanted to learn more. This could be you.
Louis Pasteur, the famous French scientist said “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Science brings men nearer to God.” This class will cause you to stand amazed at God’s marvelous creation, and challenge you to literally focus in on the smallest of God’s creation of life - cells! There will be some memorization involved and some big projects - but best of all - we get to dissect animals. For the glory of God.
Course Weights:
Daily Work is worth 20% of your grade. This category includes homework, in-class work, assigned reading, participation, or similar assignments.
Formative Assessments are worth 25% of your grade. This category includes quizzes, or assignments/activities that are done to determine mastery prior to the end of a unit.
Summative Assessments are worth 35% of your grade. This category includes tests, essays, projects, or presentations positioned at the end of a unit to assess student mastery. Mid-term and Final exams also fall into this category.
Capstone Grade. This category is for your capstone grade.
Late Work Policy: 15% point value will be deducted for each day an assignment is late.After 3 school days, work will no longer be accepted. Ex: If it’s due Monday, I’ll accept it Thursday but not Friday. If it’s due Friday, I’ll accept it Wednesday but not Thursday.
Test Retake Policy: Per my discretion, I might allow students to retake one test, but the highest grade achievable on the retake will be a 70%, which is a C-.
Broad Course Objectives: Through the course of this year, students will demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the following categories:
- Philosophy of Science (what is science?)
- Biochemistry
- Ecology
- Cytology (the cell)
- Bacteria & Viruses
- Genetics
- Theory of Evolution
- Plants
- Animals
- The Human Body
Big Projects & Activities: At the end of the semester in place of a final exam, students will have a large-scale capstone project: essay, presentation, research paper, experiment, etc.…
In the Spring, students will create a large-scale science fair project for STEM night!
2nd semester students may use their STEM night project for their capstone project.
SUPPLIES NEEDED: Most important item: Composition Notebook. (I'll also accept spiral bound notebook, but they fall apart faster). You need one JUST for science class. You’ll also need a pencil pouch that will fit in the rings of your binder (the larger the binder the better). In the pencil pouch you’ll need to bring at least two pens and two pencils, a dry-erase marker, and a hand-held pencil sharpener. A large eraser is recommended, but not mandatory.
Grades will be posted online , and will be available upon request every day after school or by email. It is your responsibility to know what your grade is and work to keep it up.
A: 90-100% B: 80-89% C: 70-79% D: 60-69%
Below a 60% is failing. YEESH! See me right away! Let's fix that grade!
Remember supplies needed:
- composition notebook (spiral bound isn’t as good, but I’ll accept it)
- pencil pouch
- LOTS of pencils (bring at least two each day)
- one or two highlighters (your choice of color!)
- a sharpie and large eraser (recommended, not mandatory)
I look forward to the school year ahead and thank you for all your hard work now and in the future. Please email me anytime you have questions about your grade, or need help.
Student survey: (write a paragraph answering these questions)
What do you expect from this class? How hard are you willing to work to get an A on every test? Also, tell me something about yourself that I don’t know. What are your strengths? Your interests? Finally - explain to me what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Luke Mullisen
Earth Science, Biology, Earth Science, Physical Science
Maryville Christian School
mullisen.weebly.com