Number of Course: BIOL 402
Name of Course: Service Learning in Biology
Catalog Description: Students will partner with a biology faculty member and a nonprofit or government organization to complete a service project involving the biological sciences.
Prerequisites: BIOL 211, 212, 213
Class Format: Class will meet for one hour per week for organization of projects; students will complete their projects outside of this class meeting time.
Credit Hours: 1-5

Instructor:
Dr. Karen Antell
Office BH 312
Email: kantell@eou.edu
Telephone: 541-962-3610

Identification of student duties and goals ("preflection"):

• Students will work with their faculty and agency partners to identify a set of goals for the project.
• Students will create a project time-line with estimated dates for project completion and an estimate of hours that will be committed to the project.
• The number of credits received for the course will be based on the number of hours committed to the project.
• The goal statement must include a plan for a formal presentation about the project at its conclusion.

Community Partners:
Students must identify a community partner to work with. This may involve volunteering in existing programs, or development of unique projects. The following agencies have expressed interest in partnering with EOU students on various projects. Students may consider working with organizations other than those listed.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: Ladd Marsh Wildlife Refuge; Fish Pathology Laboratory

U.S. Forest Service: Recreation resources, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, La Grande District; U.S.F.S. Pacific Northwest Research Station

GROWISER - Grande Ronde Overlook Wildflower Institute Serving Ecological Restoration

Rebarrow Research Forest Community Stewardship Project

Think Link Museum, La Grande

Girls in Science

Documentation:
Students will be required to keep a time/date/activity log as they work on their projects. This will be turned in to the instructor at the end of the project.

Dissemination:
Students will be required to make a presentation about their work. This may be to other students in the class, or the public, or at the spring symposium. There are a variety of forms that this presentation might take, and students should discuss options with the instructor. For example, dissemination of interpretive materials for Ladd Marsh or Rebarrow, may be done through creation of web pages, or by leading a public field trip.

Reflection:
Students will be required to write a reflective paper about their project. This may include descriptions of what they learned from the project, or ideas about how they may wish to be involved in community service in future.

Grading:
Grading will be by S/U. To receive a grade of S, students must complete all of the course requirements. These include the following: attend scheduled class meetings; create a goal statement; submission of a time/date/activity log; dissemination of information through web pages, formal presentations, field trips, etc…; and completion of a written reflective statement.

Disability Services:
Students with documented disabilities, and students who suspect they might have learning problems, might need reasonable accommodations in this course. They should contact the Disability Services Program (Loso 234, 962-3081).

Honesty Code:
Students are responsible for following Eastern Oregon University's Academic Honesty Code. See the description of campus citizenship (academic and behavior) in the Student Handbook at http://www2.eou.edu/saffairs/handbook/handbook.html. It is the student's responsibility to read and become familiar with these EOU policies.

Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this course, and receive a Satisfactory grade, should be able to:

• Give an overview of the project they worked on
• Explain the general social needs met by the project, as well as the particular local needs
• Connect their service learning with issues in science/science education
• Practice written and oral communication skills
• Evaluate their own service learning experience
• Suggest changes, future improvements, or other needed or beneficial projects

Course Schedule

Project suggestions

Syllabus prepared by K. Antell, 18 September 2004