Saddleback College, 2009 Spring
Semester
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Instructor: Julie Anderson |
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MST 100:
Aquarium Systems, Distance Education - hybrid |
SM 234, Phone 582-4657 |
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Lab Meets: Tues., 1:00 – 3:30 PM, SM 202 and Aquarium
Lab For 12 weeks: Jan.
13 – April 7, 2009. |
Email: Janderson@saddleback.edu |
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Ticket # 13400 |
Web Site:
www.saddleback.edu/faculty/janderson |
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MST
100: Aquarium Systems
(hybrid distance education course)
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Course
Description: This is a hybridized
distance-education course. On-line presentations, threaded
discussions, worksheets and quizzes occur on-line and exams and labs are
scheduled on-campus or in the field. The course covers the chemical, physical,
and biological environment as it pertains to aquarium ecosystems. Water
quality, filtering, lighting, husbandry of organisms, nutrition & feeing,
disease prevention & treatment, and multiple tank systems will be covered
as well. Students will setup, maintain and conduct group aquarium projects
on-site at the Aquarium Lab Facility. One required field trip is scheduled for
a special back scenes tour of a large public aquarium.
Student
Learning Outcome: Students will impart a working knowledge of
aquarium science vocabulary, techniques, supplies, and equipment and understand
how key elements are employed in the design, set up, and daily operation of a
healthy, captive, aquatic environment.
This
is a 12 week, compressed course consisting of approximately 66.4 hours, and is
a equivalent to a semester long course!
This works out to be 55% (36.5 hrs) equivalent of on-line lecture and
discussion and 45% or 29.9 hrs of hands-on lab and testing here on-site.
The tentative schedule of course activities are posted below.
Lecture: There will be 1-2
power point lectures and/or discussion boards posted on Blackboard
each week. Many of lectures require an on-line assignment. It is of great
importance that you keep up on the lectures, assignments and quizzes on a
bi-weekly basis. Getting a few days behind may result in you becoming
hopelessly behind! Because of the speed of this course, there is little to
no time to catch up on missed work. The majority of the material covered on the
2 exams comes directly from the lecture, (quizzes and assignments) and labs
(activities and exercises), so it is to your benefit to keep up on these
materials. Begin the course by reviewing the course information presented in
this syllabus and then log in to Blackboard to read specific directions
in the announcements (very important area to read thoroughly). Click on a topic
from the left navigation menu bar and familiarize yourself with the course
structure. Some of the links will take you to another web page, but it may also
cause a movie, audio file, or other multimedia to play. Your first
assignment; Introduce yourself in the first discussion forum, an online
discussion topic. Usually these are threaded discussions (See Discussion Board).
Access the discussion board by clicking on the discussion link.
Labs: You
are expected to attend all labs as they are a very critical part for
developing basic and technical skills through hands-on activities. Exercises
will challenge you to apply knowledge gained from lecture topics in developing
critical thinking skills.
Required Texts: Marine
Aquarium Systems. A Scientific Approach Emphasizing Ecosystem Dynamics in
Learning How to Successfully Set Up and Maintain Marine Aquariums for the Home,
Classroom, Work Place and Research Lab., 5th edition. Author;
Julie Anderson. Optional: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. Author Robert
Fenner. (The bookstore may not have these, and you can probably obtain better
prices through Amazon.com or related sites.)
Tentative Schedule: Updated March
7, 09
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Week / Date |
ON-LINE:
Lecture Topics, Discussions and Assignments & Quiz Schedule |
ON-SITE: Lab
Activities & Exam Schedule |
|
1
Jan 13 |
* Assignment: Discussion Board: Introduce
yourself, due Sept 17 * PPT: Intro, Objectives and History of
Aquarium Science (pg 2-5). * Review:
Procedures and Lab Safety; pgs 103-104)
* On-line:
Quiz 1 * PPT: The Aquarium Environment:
Chemical and Physical (pg 9-12) |
* Mandatory
Orientation Meeting * Procedures
and Lab Safety; pgs 104-06. * Lab Exercise 1: Aquarium Devices
(pg 62, also; review pgs 106 -110.) On-Line part of Lab 2: Water Chem & Quality (pg 68) - see Lab menu for
information) |
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2
Jan
20 |
* Review
pgs 83-85 for the "Reef set-up" prior to Lab Class * PPT: The
Aquarium Environment: Biological and the Nitrogen Cycle (pg 13-18) * 2 related Lab Homework Assignments;
Lab 3: Analysis of a Marine Aquarium Ecosystem (pg 14, and pg 74)
AND Lab 4: The Nitrogen Cycle (pg 79)
* On-line: Quiz 2 |
* Lab
Exercise 2: Water Chem
& Quality (pg 68) – See Blkbrd under Labs, for abbreviated notations and
review * Begin Aquarium Project 1- Water
quality testing and Record keeping
(pgs 87-92) |
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3
Jan
27 |
* PPT: The Traditional & Reef Tank * On-Line
Assignment, Lab 5:
Traditional vs Reef Tank (Read pgs 83-5), * PPT: Stocking the aquarium: Introducing and
species compatibility (pgs 30-31)
* Extra Credit Worksheets: 1) Common Tropical Animals and 2)
Species Compatibility; see On-Line under Documents * On-line:
Quiz 3 |
* Last
chance to complete Labs 1 and 2 * Aquarium
Project 2: Capture,
transfer and acclimation AND routine maintenance of aquarium projects |
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4
Feb 3 |
* PTT: The Water: Quality & Water pumps and
flow rates (pgs 18-22) * On-Line
Assignment: Worksheet
Aeration and Circulation and Water Pumps; * PPT: Filtration: Theory, Types, Substrate and
Media (pgs 23-26) |
* Examine and compare various filters + complete Protein Skimmer diagram. * Aquarium
Project 3: Aquaria
maintenance, water change gravel vacuum AND add Protein Skimmers * Review for Mid-Term Exam: Review all labs and
lectures |
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5 Feb 10 |
* On-line
Quiz 4 - due * PPT: Filtering
Structures and Protein Skimmers (pgs 27-29)
* On-Line Assignment: Worksheet Protein Skimmers * PPT: Coral Frag Lab and Optional PPT: Corals: Biology, Ecology and Conservation |
*Aquarium
Project 4 Aquaria maintenance and gravel vacuum. * Lab
Activity: Coral Propagation - fragging techniques (pg 120) |
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6
Feb
17 |
MIDTERM
EXAM (Covers topics from weeks 1-5) Lecture Exam
will post On-Line; * Study Guide
is available under Documents |
* Mid-Term
Lab Exam (in classroom)
Weeks 1-5. * Submit
Labs from Weeks 1-5 (5
is online) * Aquarium Project
5: Aquaria maintenance, water change/vacuum and Supplements for water
quality and nutrition of corals & inverts and more ‘fragging’ |
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7
Feb 24 |
* PPT: Nutrition and Feeding of Marine Inverts
& Fish (pgs 32-33) * On-line
Quiz 5 * PPT: Lighting & Sterilization (ps
34-36) On-Line
Assignment: Worksheet Sterilization |
*FIELD TRIP:
Aquarium
of the Pacific, Long Beach Meet at Group Gate promptly at
1:30pm Aquarium Project
5; Try and come by to check water quality and maintain your project |
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8
Mar 3 |
* PPT: Special Systems: Reef tanks, Natural
Reefs, Refugiums, Algae Scrubbers, Mangroves, Sea Grass, Kriesels and more!
(pgs 37-39) * Forum Participation:
Select a topic and share information: Deep Sand Beds, Calcium Reactors, Water
Motion, * On-Line Quiz 6 - due
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* Demonstration: UV Sterilizer and Ozone system.
Complete diagrams * Movie: History of Aquariums *Aquarium
Project 7: Maintenance and using a canister filter for cleaning. Protein
skimmer tubes |
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9
Mar
10 |
* PPT: Disease: Prevention, Diagnosis and
Treatment, part a (pgs 40-47) * PPT: Disease: Prevention, Diagnosis and
Treatment, part b * On-line
Quiz 7 |
*FIELD TRIP: Sea Dwelling Creatures, LA. Meet there
no later than 2:20pm, Tuesday, Mar 10. Tour is one hour. Information
posted on Blackboard. |
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Mar 16-20 |
SPRING
RECESS … No class |
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10
Mar
24 |
* PPT: Aquarium Math; (pg 48-49). Assignment
Lab: Mathematics for
Aquarists, (pg 95). * PPT: Systems
Integration and Multiple tank systems (pgs 50-52) * Extra
credit lab - Systems Integration (pg 98) |
*Aquarium
Project 9- Aquaria maintenance,
last measurements. Clean up (capture,
transfer & acclimate animals, rock and sand), clean filters, skimmers and
tanks and store) - Docked 10 points if not completed! |
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11
Mar
31 |
* Forums:
Student evaluation of projects; share evaluation of projects, interpret
project results * Summary of
Student Learning Outcome * Discussion
Review for Final Exam (lecture & lab) |
*Aquarium
Project – Math for
project, working with data and completion of the project. Submit your
Aquarium Project * The Aquarium Bowl – prepare for the exam and win prizes! |
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12
Apr
7 |
On-Line
FINAL EXAM will post On-Line, You must complete and submit by, Tues, Apr 7 9:00am |
Final Lab
Practicum –You must
attend (this is our Last Class Meeting) |
Important Dates Regarding
Records & Admissions:
Drop with Refund by: Friday, 1/23/09
Elect CR/NC by: Tuesday, 2/19/09
Drop without 'W' by Tuesday, 2/19/09
Drop with 'W' by Wednesday, 4/4/09
Grading: Approximate Points
Breakdown:
|
150 pts |
2 - Exams
Final exam is
somewhat accumulative, most emphasis on last 1/2 of class |
30% |
|
110 pts
|
Lab Exercises
& Worksheets |
22% |
|
115 pts |
Quizzes &
Take Home Tests |
23% |
|
50 pts |
Aquarium
Project |
10% |
|
75 pts |
Attendance and Active
Participation |
15% |
|
500 pts |
Total Points |
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Grades are based on
percent of accumulative points earned and are assigned as straight
percentage; 90-100% = A, 89-80% = B, 77-68% = C etc.
If you do not want a grade, you must submit a form for Credit/No Credit by the
deadline.
Attendance: You are expected to attend and participate at each meeting and
thus, accumulate attendance points. You may not miss more than 2 consecutive
class meeting or a total of 4 absences throughout the semester. This will result in an automatic Failing
grade. If you must miss a class, you
are responsible for any announcements and assignments as they are scheduled
above. Please check Blackboard for
announcements. Alternative assignments may be possible to make up for excused
absences - but must be approved by me first.
Quizzes and Exams: These will be a combination of matching, true and false, multiple
choice, fill in the blank and short answer. Quizzes are scheduled above and are
open notes/book/internet/take home, (you should obtain 100% for these!) Exams
are scheduled in advance, are closed notes and book and require a
scantron sheet, 1-100.
Lab Exercises, Worksheets and Other Activity:
1. Set up and maintenance of small
marine tank for 2/3rds of the semester.
2. Weekly maintenance, feeding,
cleaning, water quality monitoring and record keeping for aquarium project
3. Reports and class discussions
regarding unique and common problems relating to aquariums.
4. Specific lab exercises pertaining
to:
a.
Equipment use, set up, maintenance, trouble-shooting, design system and basic
mathematic computations for capacity, flow rates etc.
b.
Specimen acclimation, handling, transferring, observation, feeding, health and
compatibility.
c.
Ecological analysis and chemical/physical measurements as well as, adjustments
for water quality in the aquarium
5. Field Trips: Aquarium of the
Pacific
Extra Credit: These can be earned a number of ways,
but cannot exceed an accumulative of 30 pts for the entire semester. Assisting
with routine maintenance and special projects in our Aquarium Facility, (1.5
hours = 3 pts), Reading assignments (visit this link) = 5 pts each
, and attendance of optional field studies that are scheduled
"outside" the time frame of this course. If you have a "project" in mind, check with me to clear
it first. If you don't need the points, but wish to continue with these
projects and maintenance activities think about enrolling in the MST 101
Aquarium Management class.
Aquarium Project:
This will run for a approximately 9-10 weeks. Refer to pages 88-94, detailing specific instructions. This project, along with your notebook will
be due on April 10, date of Final Examination.
RULES AND SAFETY IN THE
LAB: It is your
responsibility to be aware of and adhere to the rules and safety guidelines for
student behavior as listed in the Saddleback College Catalog and on the Safety in the Lab Safety Handout you signed
(it is also pg 1 of your Lab Manual.
Emergency Procedures and Evacuation Procedures. Review the Emergency procedures and
Evacuation routes posted in the front classroom bulletin board. These will be reviewed during the first lab
meeting.
GENERAL INFORMATION &
POLICY: Students are
expected to attend classes regularly.
Failure to attend classes may be taken into consideration in assigning
grades. Students who fail to attend the
first meeting of any class for which they have officially enrolled may be
dropped by the instructor unless prior arrangement has been made with the
instructor. Students who officially enroll in a class and never attend will be
dropped by the instructor no later than the end of the tenth instructional day
of the semester. Instructors may drop a student from a class when he/she is
absent for a total of six cumulative instructional hours. In no case, where the
instructor has an option to drop a student, should the student presume he/she
has been dropped unless the instructor drop has been officially verified by the
Office of Admissions and Records (Calif. Ed. Code, Section 70902).
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: It is difficult to cheat in this class due to its project
focus. Any attempts to cheat that are
detected, however, shall result in IMMEDIATE dismissal and failure in the class
and I shall PERSONALLY follow up the case to ensure that the full weight of the
College’s penalties is exercised.
Please see the Saddleback College Web site for details on College
policy.
USE OF ELECTRONIC
DEVICES: Please no audible cellular phones or
pagers. If you leave the classroom to
answer a call or page, please leave for the entire lecture so as to not
constantly disrupt the class. Photo
phones or personal electronic devices such as a Palm Pilots can not be used
during a test, not even as a calculator. Student Services: General Student
Service Information is available at the Saddleback College Website. General,
academic, and service information can be obtained by accessing the Counseling
Division and Financial Aid Websites. Individual and small group counseling
information such as academic planning and review of transcripts is available by
appointment. All other student services are available on campus during normal business hours.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: This course meets the requirements set forth in the
accessibility checklist and universal design grid provided by Special Services.
The Web Pages, video presentations, textbooks and class materials used in this
course are accessible to students with disabilities. If you have questions on
how to make accommodations please contact Special Services, Mike Sauter. You
will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Special Services
Office in the Student Services Center.
Requests for accommodation
for testing must be done in a reasonable and timely fashion. Accommodated
testing is given for lecture exams for students with documentation of need.
CLASS CONDUCT (BP-5401): Students are expected to conduct themselves with respect for the
right of all members of the college community to teach and learn in a safe and
academically stimulating environment.
Students shall be held responsible for observing rules and regulations
for student conduct promulgated under the authority of this policy by the Board
of Trustees or the district's administration.
Violation of such rules shall constitute good cause for imposition of
disciplinary action as provided in rules and regulations (Calif. Ed. Code,
Section 66300). No food or beverages in the classroom or lab. Bottled water with a screw top is
acceptable. GRADE AND
INSTRUCTIONAL RELATED GRIEVANCE (BP-5505):
When a student believes that a district or divisional/school policy or
procedure has not been followed, the student should discuss this concern with
the course instructor. (Excerpt of the official Board Policy - Visit the web
site: www.socccd.org/board/boardpolicies.asp
GRADE GRIEVANCE:
By law, the instructor is solely responsible for the grades assigned; no
instructor may be directed to change a grade except in certain narrow
circumstances authorized by the Calif. Ed. Code, Section 76224 (a). When a
student believes that the district grading policy has not been followed, the
student should discuss this concern with the appropriate course
instructor. Prior to filing a
grievance, an attempt must be made to solve the problem. The student is
expected to contact his/her instructor directly to discuss their differences
when grades are available to the student. At this stage most differences will
be resolved. This contact should be conducted in the privacy of the
instructor's office whenever possible, and the pertinent issues should be well
defined so that they may be discussed as objectively as possible.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email. This is the preferred method of contact rather than
phone! I check this at least 3-5 times
a day and am on-line much of the time. Expect responses within 6 hours during the
hours of 8 am to 9 pm. Due to the large
amount of spam that everyone receives, all of your emails must have MST 100 in the subject field so that they don’t get
trashed. Office Hours: I am generally in the Biology Prep area,
(Sr. Lab Technician, Biological Sciences) SM 234-6, during the hours of 11:30am
- 7:30pm M-Th, and Fri 10:30am-5:00pm (except during times I'm instructing
other classes.) Drop-ins can be accommodated most of the time, but I'm not
always on campus or in a situation where I can stop working, but do try anyway
if drop-ins work best for you or Voice
Mail. You can leave messages at (949) 582-4657. I'll do my best to
return your call.
SIGNATURE SHEET (Student must read, sign and submit this page to the
instructor):
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT OF SYLLABUS: I have read this syllabus and understand the policies
outlined in this document along with any elaboration on the part of the
instructor. Any items unclear to me
have been brought to the attention of the instructor and clarified to my
satisfaction. I shall adhere to the
policies outlined in this document without
exception and accept any aforementioned penalties as a result of failing
to follow these rules.
Furthermore: I shall behave as a
consummate professional as outlined above in section 11 (above) entitled Class
Conduct.
______________________________________ __________________ ______________ ________
Name Student ID # Class Date