• If you are a first semester student at the University of Nebraska, Welcome. You may find that things are a bit different here than in your prior academic setting. You are encouraged to discuss early in the semester whatever is appropriate/useful for you to become acclimated to UNL as quickly as possible. There are times one may not even know what they need to ask. Ask- then we can find a solution together
  
• Students with various learning disabilities have been quite successful in this course when they have allowed me to work to their advantage.
  
• Learning disabilities are a fact of life for some of us (JP has a couple significant ones you'll discover as the class continues). We just learn to cope and go on with life - successfully.
  
• Unfortunately, some students, with and without learning disabilities, have been less than successful primarily because they were either not adequately prepared for the course, did not prepare for class, and/or did not seek assistance early enough in the semester.
  
• In all cases, solutions are more easily found when sought early.
  
• "Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor for a confidential discussion of their individual needs for academic accommodation. It is the policy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to provide flexible and individualized accommodation to students with documented disabilities that may affect their ability to fully participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. To receive accommodation services, students must be registered with the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office, 132 Canfield Administration, 472-3787 voice or TTY. " - This is the approved and official wording; however, I find it stilted, sterile, and limiting. If you "feel" you may be academically disadvantaged; let's talk about it.

• The prerequisites for this course are College level Biology and/or Botany.
• A working knowledge of Biological and Botanical terms and concepts.
• This is an upper division science course. As such it is assumed that you are competent in lower division biology, chemistry, and mathematics.
• It is not the responsibility of the instructor to remediate these lower division courses. Follow this LINK for Review.
• As a junior level course, I anticipate that you will bring a junior level of understanding and preparation from all of your courses and experiences (life and academic) to our discussions.

• All Teaching Methods are built on assumptions and shared expectations.

This teacher;

• Enjoys teaching,
• Chose to teach this class,
• Believes that each student is unique with unique learning needs,
• Has organized teaching and learning objectives and goals for course and each class,
• Has mastery of course materials,
• Is current in literature of the field,
• Relates subject matter to a global world,
• Will present materials in a varied and creative manner that compliments learning,
• Is Enthusiastic about subject matter,
• Will be well prepared for each class and eager to engage,
• Is Eager that students learn,
• Anticipates learning from students,
• Strives to be Open, Approachable, and Welcoming
• Seeks to be fair to all.

These Students;

• Have chosen this class,
• Will prepare each day's materials BEFORE coming to class,
• Will come to class prepared to engage,
• Will engage (be fully participatory) in all phases of the class,
• Are human and; therefore, will have good days and not-so-good days,
• Have other classes and will budget their time to allow preparations for each of them,
• Realize that this instructor teaches four other classes this semester and also needs to budget his time,
• Will strive for Mastery of the subject,
• Will have ask for help when needed.

Class Format

This class will be taught primarily by the a modified QAED (Question, Answer, Exposition, Discussion) method. Each class will center around questions which you, the students, provide on your blue cards. While I will be prepared to provide expository and expansory materials (usually via PowerPoint slides); the class will be given the primary opportunity to answer and discuss questions. With this method all class members (faculty, TA's, and students) are equally involved in, and responsible for, each phase of learning.

• These pages are provided to assist the student with pre-class preparation, in-class note taking, and post-class review.
• These Web Study Pages are not intended to replace the required textbook
• The student who attempts to take this class without benefit of the textbook will not receive the full benefit of the course.

• During the student's preparation time prior to each class, the student will write one (1), or more, questions on a card that the student would like to have answered in class.
• The cards will be turned in prior to class.
• In some classes the cards will be redistributed at random at the end of the class;
• Students may be asked to indicate whether they feel the questions on the cards were answered.
• Students may be asked to write a quiz question based on the day's class on the back of the card for the next class meeting.

• A. Class begins at 8:00 am sharp.
• B. Class Attendance should NOT be regarded as optional. This is a Discussion based Active Learning class; therefore your opinion, knowledge, and insights are important to the entire class.
• C. Your attendance in class will be taken as an indication that you have prepared BEFORE class by reading the appropriate library, reference and/or textual materials and are prepared to engage in discussion of the material.
• D. When responding orally to questions in class, you may refer to any notes you have prepared; however, you may NOT refer directly to your text.
  • Question and Answer Etiquette
    • 1. Stand when responding to a question.
    • 2. You may ": Pass": if you can not, or do not care to, answer a question; however, remain standing.
    • 3. When asked to evaluate another's answer, do so in a positive manner.
    • 4. If you only know a partial answer you may ask your Working Group members to assist you.
    • 5. Do not answer a question with a question.
    • 6. After you answer the question, you may pursue the discussion with a question if you care to do so.

• 1. Review Papers ,
• 2. in class responses,
• 3. cooperative writing assignments,
• 4. editing each others papers.

• Working Teamss are an integral part of the teaching/learning process in this course.
• Formation of teams will occur early in the semester.
• Once formed, each Working Team will remain unchanged for the semester.
• These teamss are designed for you to interact with students whose outlooks and interests are different from your own. In this setting you will provide your own point of view while learning to appreciate the opinion of another.
• You are a team member and will be evaluated on how well you function as a team member. You are expected to be prepared (i.e. sharing of ignorance does not constitute learning) and a contributing member of your working group. If the group has a problem, it should attempt to rectify the problem on its own. If unsuccessful, JP may be asked to intervene.

A class period is reserved for discussion of each Review Paper Assignment.

All students are expected to actively participate in these discussions.

Students who do not attend the discussion class or do not participate in the discussions can expect to receive NO credit for the entire assignment.

• The Case Study will be given out as indicated on the syllabus.
• The responses are due at 8 A.M. on the day indicated.
• No papers will be accepted after 9 A.M. - no exceptions.
• Written responses to the case studies are to be returned in as follows:
• A polished, edited, and professional paper drafted by the entire group.
• Any paper that is poorly edited will interpreted to indicate that there was insufficient group participation and will be immediately devalued by 20%.
• It is acceptable to rotate the authorship responsibility; however, be sure that all members contribute written materials,discuss, read and edit the responses.
• A rough draft by each member of the group (be sure names are on the drafts).
These drafts may be quite "rough". The content of these "roughs" should indicate that each member prepared materials separately for the paper.

EXAMS, GRADES, AND GRADING

Once the student has demonstrated factual competence, the demonstration of the ability to solve problems and synthesize logical answers to plant pathology related issues is the primary criterion for achieving the "A" and "B" grades.

Whole Letter Grades only, no +’s or –’s; however, I reserve the right to add a + to a grade to recognize academic accomplishment.

• A      90 – 100 = demonstrated a Mastery of Concepts and Facts and the ability to synthesize solutions to problems in a logical manner.

• B      78 – 89 = demonstrated a Mastery of Concepts and Facts and the ability to apply them to the solution of problems.

• C       66 – 77 = demonstrated a Competence in Concepts and Facts.

• D       60 - 65 = may be Familiar with Concepts and Facts but does not use them accurately and consistently.

• F      < 60 = has not demonstrated Familiarity with Concepts and Facts, any use or application is of a superficial nature.

Quizzes

• There will be a minimum of 20 Three-Minute quizzes (3 points per quiz).
• Quizzes will take place at either 8:00 A.M. or 8:47 A.M.
• The quizzes will be used to assess the student’s preparation for class and/or learning of a concept (or concepts) during class.
• The quizzes will always focus on material assigned for each class.

Study Journals

• Each student has been provided with a blank Study Journal,
• The intent of the Study Journal is to assist the student prepare for class,
• You may use anything you have HAND WRITTEN, OR DRAWN, in your Study Journal to assist you during the Three-Minute Quizzes,
• Referring to another's Study Journal constitutes Academic Dishonesty.

Class Participation

• This class is a discussion based class
• Students who are not prepared and/or do not actively participate in the class will be encouraged to be more active.
• Those who do not actively participate in class will receive negative marks on the Quizzes/Class Participation component.

A peer evaluation sheet will be filled in individually and confidentially by each team member evaluating the contribution of each of the team.

Each member will evaluate only the other members of the group.

All members of a Team will receive the same initial point value for the paper from the instructor.

Each student's final score for the Group Paper and Case Study will be the instructor's score modified by the evaluation from their team.

Exams will be cover; all classroom activities, web study pages, library references, handout materials, and the corresponding material in the textbook.

1. A student may either accept the score earned or reject the score.
   
2. If A student decides to reject the score, s/he may contract to have her/his final exam count for an additional 15% towards the final grade and delete the mid-term score.
   
3. If A student decides to do this, he/she must provide a signed written statement to that effect to JP within 48 hrs of the return the mid-term exam to the class.
   
4. With prior notification (written or E-mail) to the Instructor; a student may opt not to take any of all of the mid-terms by contracting 15% for each missed mid-term be added to the Final Exam value. (This is NOT recommended but it is an option ).
   
5. CAVEAT: A student that does not take a midterm and does not notify the instructor either prior to or before the end of the exam period will receive a zero (0) for the exam and will not be accorded to option of applying the percentage to the final exam.
   
6. Contracts, once signed and submitted, are not reversible by the student.

(Reasoning for PASS/NO PASS Grading);
• Students taking this class on a PASS / NO PASS basis must demonstrate more than Familiarity/Competence,
  
• and because the 25+ year average in this class is over 81%,
  
• therefore, 80% will be the minimum for PASS.