I. About the Course

II. Dealing with the Complexity of the Course

III. The Structure of the Course

III. Course Structure: What The Various Parts are Designed to Do

Your ability to integrate the various elements of the course means you must know basic facts, vocabulary and concepts. You should know which ideas belong to whom and how they have been or could be tested. You also need to produce and play with your own ideas and you need to acquire a lot of first-hand information about animals and their behavior. Films, discussions, journals, and watching lots of animals will help you do this -- if you put in the time.

A. Discussion sections and films:

Section (see reading list) is a forum for the mutual exchange of ideas and information directly and indirectly related to lectures and readings. A week in advance, you will get a handout that will outline the discussion topic, assign readings and describe what is expected of you. The section topics will range among 1) general discussions of readings and lectures, 2) observations and discussions of films, and 3) evaluations of published papers.

Active participation by all is vital to the success of discussions and to your success in the course. We will not give you a grade for the discussion section. However, failure to attend and participate regularly in all discussions will result in an NC no matter what your exam grades are. If you are shy or have trouble getting into discussions, let your teaching assistant know and we will help you work on it. Share your ideas and try not to dominate sections. Encourage others to participate - you are not competing for anything. You should not miss any sections. Doing so puts you in jeopardy of an NC.

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B. Course journal and exercises:

The main vehicle for interactive learning in this course is your journal. Your writings, spontaneous and in relation to assigned exercises, will help you integrate parts of the course (observing animal behavior, doing science, exploring ideas, and dealing with bias). The journal contains your observations on animal behavior and on your own thinking. A separate handout describes the structure of this journal and the exercises it will include during the course. We expect that you will put in a minimum of four hours a week on your journal (doing observations and brainstorming).

Each journal exercise will be graded (50 of 250 points in the course) on two basic points: 1) was it on time and complete? and 2) did you put in the minimum required effort? In addition, I will use my estimate of your effort and progress in the journal as a means of deciding whether to raise or lower your grade based on exam scores.

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C. Texts and readings:

Your text and the lecture and discussion section handouts are the core of the readings for the course. I will also assign readings from major animal behavior journals. These will be available to you as pdf files or via the internet in Brown's electronic library holdings. Expect up to 150 pages of reading per week. Expect to be lost in lectures if you do not keep up with the readings. Read them carefully before the lecture.

The readings assigned from electronic journals in the library will be given as a journal reference. You will have to find them and download a copy on your own, The purpose of having you go get the article is to give you a chance to explore other articles in the same journal.

Required Text:

1. Alcock, J. 2001. Animal Behavior: an evolutionary approach (7th Ed) Sinauer Assoc.

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D. Bio 45 Web Site and electronic discussion

Another essential part of this course are the web and discussion sites. You should look through them before the end of the first week of class. Please help each other gain access to these sites.

The web site is THE place to find important announcements, class handouts and assignments, problems to explore, hints for getting the most from your journal, clarification of lectures, copies of previous exams and study guides, and links to other sites that deal with animal behavior. The electronic discussion site will allow you to pose and help each other answer questions about the course and the material we cover -- as you did in Bio 20. The web site is always under construction all semester and we welcome suggestions for improving it.

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E. Exams and grades:

Science is largely a game of discovering and explaining things and then convincing others that you have. The same applies to the exams.

Exam 1 -- Wed., Oct. 2 -- in class

Exam 2 -- Wed., Nov. 6 -- in class

Exam 3 -- Wed., Dec. 11 -- in class **Note that this is the day before Final Exams start - Avoid conflicts!!!!

Since knowledge acquired in early parts of the course is used later, the exams should be considered cumulative. The exams are a mixture of short answer and short essay questions. One or more of the exams may include a take-home essay.

Grades are based on exams, participation in discussion sections and progress in your journal. An "A" reflects an outstanding grasp of the conceptual and factual course material and the ability to work creatively and critically with it. It also requires active and valuable participation in section and considerable effort in your journal -- e.g., well beyond the minimal requirements). A "B" reflects good to very good understanding of the material and an ability to work synthetically with it (plus consistent effort in section and journal). A "C" reflects an adequate understanding of the course material and at least occasional participation in section and the minimal required effort in the journal. I interpret an "NC" to include both "D" (poor) and "NC" (failure). Consistently scoring below 50 points (out of 100) on exams, lack of participation in discussion, and minimal effort on journal exercises are likely to result in an "NC". Each hour exam counts as 50 points, the journal is 50 points, and the final is 100 points (total 250 points)

Communication is important. If you feel your grade on the first exam does not reflect your understanding of the course, come see me soon after the exam . Often a slight change in approach or in study habits will solve the problem. You should also be aware that a shallow interaction with the subject can produce a false sense of understanding. Keep in mind that your greatest reward and feedback may come from the journal and discussions where you can divorce yourself from grade motivated learning. If this is the type of educational environment you feel most comfortable with then consider taking the course S/NC and asking for a CPR.

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IV. Course Personnel:

Jonathan Waage

EEB office: 208 Walter Hall - phone x2435 (office hours to be announced)

U Hall office 207 Univ Hall - phone 3-2411 (Office hours to be announced)

- e-mail: Jonathan_Waage@brown.edu

• Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

Please do not bother the TAs near exam times to the extent that they cannot work in the library or get a good night's sleep. They are eager to help and will arrange review sessions. They do not know what is on the exams, and are told not to provide direct answers to questions on the study guides.

*** A Hint From The Founder Of Behavioral Ecology ***

"I have steadily endeavored to keep my mind free, so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and I cannot resist forming one on every subject) as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it." Charles Darwin, 1876 from his Autobiography

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