Class Information

Course Info

Lectures will be in Center Hall Room 119 (on the corner of Gilman Dr. and Library Walk)
M/W/F 4:00 pm-4:50 pm

Instructor

Professor Milton Saier:
Email: msaier@ucsd.edu
Room 4254 Muir Biology Bldg., Ext. 4-4084 (858-534-4084)

Office Hours

M/W/F, immediately after lecture, 4:50-6:00pm. If you want to attend, let Dr. Saier know immediately after lecture, and a meeting place will be decided. When guest lecturers give a lecture, you are welcome to join the speaker, Dr. Saier, interested IAs, and other students for free dinner on campus, if and only if the guest lecturer can attend. In case you cannot attend Dr. Saier’s scheduled office hours, you can schedule office hours with him simply by emailing him to let him know when is most convenient, and he will email you back to confirm.

Grades

Midterm Exam	100
Final Exam part 1	100
Final Exam part 2	100
Section grade	100
Lecture quiz & Attendance grade	100
Total Points	500

*The lowest score of the five will be discarded, and the final grade will be based on the remaining four scores (400 pts).

Midterm and Final Exam Grading 

Midterm Exam I covers weeks 1-5:

One Midterm Exam and the two parts of the Final Exam will be true/false and multiple choice, with answers recorded on scantron cards. We will provide the scantron cards for all three exams. Be sure to use a #2 pencil, and bubble in your name and student ID#. The two parts of the Final Exam (90 minutes each) will be held during the regularly scheduled Final Exam period. Because of the extra time available for these exams, you will have plenty of time to answer the questions in a leisurely fashion. Final Exam Parts I and II will cover the material discussed during the entire quarter, but in final exam part 1, the second half of the course will be emphasized. NOTE: Exam questions based on the readings will NOT be on section quizzes but will make up 10-20% of the Midterm and Final Exams. 

Makeup Exams: There will be no makeup exam for the Midterm Exam, and a medical excuse will be required to take a makeup exam for the final. If the Midterm, Final Exam P1, or Final Exam P2 is missed, that grade will be the lowest of the five categories and therefore dropped. It is advised to do the work necessary to obtain 100 points in both your section grade and lecture quiz grade as everyone will have the opportunity to make 100 points in these two parts of your grade.

Section Grading:

Attendance	24 pts max
Quizzes	60 pts max
Section Paper	8 pts max
Section Oral Report	8 pts max
Maximal Total	100 points

Sections will be held beginning Monday, April 8th (Week 2) and will span the length of the quarter. You must attend the section you are signed up for on Tritonlink. If there is a need to switch sections, you must email BOTH the IA of your current section and the IA of the section you are switching into for approval. The section grade consists of 24 points that can be obtained for attendance (3 points per section for 8 sections), 60 points for section quizzes (6-12 points/quiz), up to 8 points for a 6-12 min section presentation, and up to 8 points for a 2-3 page paper (double-spaced, both on a topic of your choosing, but approved by your IA).  Each IA has full, independent discretion over when the quizzes are given and what material is to be covered. Additional points can be earned by viewing videos, attending seminars, etc. For all seminars and videos, a page (double-spaced) describing the contents must be turned in to your section leader.

Lecture Quiz and Lecture Attendance Grading:

It is possible, even easy, to obtain 100 points in the Lecture Quiz and Attendance portion of your Lecture grade. There will be a total of 25 quizzes, each worth a maximum of 4 points, 2 points for attendance, and 2 points for answering the two quiz questions correctly. The quizzes can be at the beginning, end, or middle of the lectures, and more than one can be given on any one day. Lecture quizzes are meant to give you incentive to attend lectures in spite of podcasting. They are the easiest way to get points for this part of the grade, but extra credit points, both for your section grade and your lecture quiz grade can be earned, so you have the opportunity to get 100 pts on both, even if you miss one or more lectures or sections. This means, that if you earn 100 pts on your section and lecture quiz grades, you only need to get 80 pts on the two highest exams to get a solid “A.” See the next section on Extra Credit. Lecture quizzes will begin on Monday, April 8th (Week 2).

Lecture quizzes will be recorded with the use of “clickers” which are required. Each student will receive 2 points for any answer, and 2 more points if the two quiz questions are answered correctly. They will all be multiple choice-type questions with five possible answers.

IMPORTANT: Both the section grade and the lecture quiz grade will be out of 100 pts. However, you can earn extra credit points (see below) to make up for questions, sections, or lectures missed. However, there will not be extra credit opportunities for exams.

Extra Credit Opportunities:

1. Environmental and related HERO seminars will be available. These will be announced in class and put on the class website. You can attend a seminar and write a one page summary (double-spaced) describing the contents of the seminar and your reaction to it for 5 extra credit points (max) per seminar, to be submitted to your IA. Only if your IA considers your summary to be accurate and to cover the main points of the seminar will you get full credit. (Maximum of 5 seminars)
   You must sign the sheet circulating at the seminar (If you don’t see one, get it started). Either Dr. Saier or an IA will be present at every seminar. Be sure that the sign-up sheet is started and turned in at the completion of the seminar. A majority of the available seminars will be through the organization HERO (Human and Earth Rights Organization). For more information, see the “HERO” tab at the top of this page.
2. Videos are available in Video reserves on the lower floor of the Geisel Library. There are 10 videos available on reserve for extra credit. You can view any of the BILD18 videos, write a one page (double-spaced) summary for 5 points (max), to be submitted to your IA. (Maximum of 5 videos)
   Other videos that may of of interest to you are also on reserve, but these are only for your viewing pleasure, not for credit.
3. Earth Day in Balboa Park: You can attend Earth Day in Balboa Park, and help distribute information at the HERO/PC [Population Connection] table. You can earn 5 points extra credit per hour while you are manning the table and distributing information. (Maximum of 3 hours)
4. “Letters to the Editor”: You can write a “letter to the editor” about some environmental/social issue of interest and importance to you to be submitted to a newspaper of your choosing and/or a politician of your choosing and turned in to your IA for a maximum of 5 points/letter. Your IA may read it, or have you read it in section. Only one letter to the editor, and one letter to a politician will be allowed for extra credit per student. The letter should be <200 words for most papers (please check) and <400 words for the UCSD Guardian. Only well written, relevant letters will receive a full 5 points.
5. Creating an Environmental Youtube Video for a maximum of 10 points. To start, the IA must first approve your topic. The video should include both sides of the argument if appropriate. Be professional and include relevant evidence and stats. The goal is to make reasonable arguments, not merely bash opponents. Groups are optional but can have no more than three people. The more participants in a group, the fewer points per student. To get credit, email the link to your IA and Dr. Saier, and we will watch them (could be during section). Be sure to include the names of all partners in the video.

The maximal number of extra credit points you can earn towards either your section grade and/or your lecture quiz grade is therefore:

EVENT	Maximal # of Points
Seminars	25 pts for 5 seminars with summary
Videos	25 pts for 5 videos with report
Earth Day, Balboa Park	15 pts for 3 hours service of literature distribution, etc.
Letters	10 pts for 2 letters
Creating an environmental Youtube video	10 pts
Maximal Total	85 points

Possible extra credit points: 85 points, to be added to your section and/or lecture quiz grade, depending on need. Extra credit points cannot go towards an exam. Points earned from extra credit activities will automatically be added to either the Lecture or Section portion of the grade, whichever one is HIGHER. Once 100 points in one grading option is obtained, the points will spill into the next section.

Preparing for and Benefiting from Lecture

1. Anticipate that the lecture will be too fast and nearly unintelligible.

2. Read the relevant text materials in advance, always keeping one article ahead.

3. Review the relevant material shortly before class begins.

4. Take the relevant articles to class, and “follow along” if possible, taking notes in the margins when directly pertinent.

5. Take notes on material not included in the assigned articles.

6. Never let yourself get behind!

7. Review the lecture material before you go to sleep that night, and repeat over and over to yourself as you drift off: I love HI,… It’s really fun!… What a great class… Golly, I’m learning a lot!… Saier is a great professor!… I’m so happy (*sigh*)… etc., etc.

How to Prepare for Exams

1. If covered in lecture, it’s important.

2. If covered in the assigned reading, it’s important.

3. If it really interests you, it’s important.

4. If included in two of the above categories, it’s of great importance.

5. If covered in all three of the above categories, it’s of utmost importance.

6. However, if not covered in lectures, it’s less likely to be on the test.

7. Remember to apply the principles of Common Sense, and always integrate the material into a logical framework.

8. Study like hell, but get a good night’s sleep before an exam.

9. Just do your best, and don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t get the highest grade in the class.

Know thy Professor (student comments)

• Dr. Saier is really disorganized even though he really knows his stuff.
• I wish he’d (professor) change his shorts – it’s been 7 weeks now, he did get his hair cut-guess he heard what was being said about it last lecture.
• He (professor) just got a new haircut-very attractive. I hear he rides his bike to school everyday-that explains his well-developed legs.
• The professor was excellent.
• His lectures are entertaining and interesting.
• Great professor-only a little random in his lectures. Very easy to talk to. Open personality. Tests were surprisingly fair. Overall, Prof. Saier makes Human Impact an enjoyable class.
• Although Dr. Saier tries very hard, he is the worst lecturer I have ever had.
• Professor Saier has a hard time keeping to a schedule. He is, however, always available and willing to help students and it was clear that he very much wanted us to understand the subject. His own interest in the subject was obvious as well.
• Dr. Saier is the most concerned professor I’ve ever had. If a student has a problem in the class, he will more than go out of his way to help him or her. He has arranged many hours of help between himself and the students.
• Saier was always late to class. His lectures were unorganized and confusing.
• Great class! Material was presented in an interesting and understandable fashion. Professor Saier was excellent, exams were very reasonable. Would recommend this class to anyone.
• Professor Saier has a genuine interest in the students’ welfare and is probably the fairest professor I’ve had.
• Professor Saier is a lecturer with a good sense of humor. He’s pretty disorganized, often contradicts himself, doesn’t explain too clearly, and assumes that the students know more than they do.
• Very well organized course.
• Saier knows his stuff. Sometimes he is rude to students in class. Has a slight temper problem.

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