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Class Overview

Welcome to Biology 231! This is a fantastic course and the start of an exciting journey of the human body in the 200-level Anatomy and Physiology series. In this course we learn the language of Anatomy and Physiology, homeostasis, tissues, integumentary system, skeletal system, muscular system, and the first half of the nervous system. This class is a lot of work, but it is also a lot of fun! I am really excited to build a positive, inclusive, and welcoming class community where we all work together.

This is a flipped class, meaning that you will complete 1-2 hours of lecture videos and homework before class, and then we will meet twice a week in-person at Rock Creek campus to practice the lecture material and complete lab activities. Please only register for this course if you are able to attend every week in-person. (In the case of illness or emergencies, we will of course make necessary arrangements, but do not sign up for this class if you already know you cannot regularly attend in person.)

Because this is a flipped course, you will need to make sure you arrange your schedule to complete the 2-3 hours of videos/homework before each class. Our in-person class time will be active and engaging, and will give us an opportunity to clarify, practice, and apply our classroom material. Plan on preparing adequately and being an active participant in class.

This class covers a considerable amount of detail about the topics listed above, and you will need to schedule appropriate study time in order to succeed. I highly recommend that you very carefully map out your schedule and determine when and how you will be studying for this course. Students who do well in this class typically spend about 18-24 hours a week (including pre-class activities, in-person meetings, and personal study time). This class is challenging, but there are a lot of resources to help! I am eager to help and support however I can, you will meet some wonderful classmates to work together with, and PCC has excellent free tutoring services. I know that you are capable of succeeding in this class!

I will send out an email with the class syllabus and schedule a week before class starts with more detailed class information, but in the meantime, see below for an overview:

Class Textbook

It is helpful to have lecture and lab textbooks to reference throughout the A&P series, but there is not a single "required" textbook that is assigned.  You will want something with descriptions and good labeled images to reference outside of class, and you can choose what works best based on your learning preferences. The following are textbooks that I recommend, which are available in the Rock Creek bookstore. Used and older editions are just fine.  You can use these materials for all three classes in the A&P series, and many students also appreciated keeping them as references for their medical programs.

Optional lecture textbooks:

• "Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology," Martini, Nath & Bartholomew, 12th edition, Pearson. [This has excellent labeled images, and clear text descriptions. Older, used editions are available for much less money and are just fine too].
• " edited by Lindsay Biga for Oregon State University, OER Openstax. [Free OER resource, but does not have as many images, consider pairing this with the optional lab book below.]

Optional lab textbook:

• "Marieb Human Anatomy & Physiology Laboratory Manual," Smith. 14th edition, Pearson. [Older editions are great too, and can be purchased for much less money, look for: "Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory Manual," Marieb and Smith, Pearson.]

Class Assignments

Graded activities for this class include weekly lecture homework, weekly lecture and lab quizzes, lecture exams (2 midterms and a final), lab exams (2), and lab and lecture activities and projects. Lab makes up about 30% of the total grade, and lecture makes up about 70% of the grade. You need to pass both portions to pass the class.

I look forward to meeting you! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me: natalie.mix@pcc.edu

You will need access to the internet and a computer that can open Google Suite, Word and PDF (you can download these for free as a student).  You will need to create documents in these formats. You may also need to convert images (gif, jpeg, png) to pdf files.  There are free apps that can convert for you (I use Adobe Free Converter to PDF).