Courses at York College of Pennsylvania:
Please contact me for information about my classes including a recent syllabus (bhagerty@ycp.edu).
Animal Behavior (BIO 306)
Animal behavior is a diverse and exciting field of biology that integrates other disciplines including evolution, genetics, physiology, ecology, and neuroscience. We have the opportunity to explore the wide range and amazing complexity of how animals respond to their environment. Behavior provides flexibility that allows animals to respond rapidly to environmental change. Together we will discover how animals learn, communicate, locate food sources, avoid predators, and interact socially. We will also examine their underlying mechanistic basis and the evolutionary forces that have shaped them. By observing animals we can learn about their ecological relationships and evolutionary history, make inferences about human behavior, and conserve and protect endangered species. This course will help us practice the art of patient observation, data collection and interpretation, and reading and analysis of the current scientific literature. Our goal will be to explore the types of questions that animal behaviorists ask, the methods they use, the types of data they collect, and the ways they interpret their data to improve our understanding of why and how animals behave the way they do.
Students will be able to:
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Explain how genes, the environment, and learning interact to form behaviors in a diversity of animal taxa
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Demonstrate the role of natural and sexual selection in the evolution of behavior
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Formulate testable hypotheses, evaluate and practice appropriate sampling techniques, and analyze and interpret data in the field of animal behavior
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Research and critically interpret scientific literature to develop a strong foundation of scientific knowledge necessary to address current issues and problems.
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Communicate effectively in a written and verbal format using accepted scientific standards.
Conservation Biology (BIO 372)
Our planet is facing an unprecedented rate of change. Conservation Biology is a mission-oriented discipline that is focused on preserving biodiversity. The current rate of extinction is roughly 100-1,000 times faster than the natural rate, and this dramatic loss of species is dramatically changing the natural world. Humans depend on nature for food, medicines, industrial products, and vital ecosystem services (such as water purification, erosion control, and climate control), therefore, we have a vested interest in reversing these extinction rates, and protecting and restoring the diversity of life on earth. To preserve biodiversity, scientists must answer three general questions. First, how is the diversity of life distributed around the planet? Second, what threats does this diversity face? Third, what can people do to reduce or eliminate these threats and, when possible, restore biological diversity and ecosystem health? Our goals in this course will be to address these three critical questions.
Though we will need to investigate the seriousness of the problems we face, this course will not be all doom and gloom. We are going to focus on the positive steps we can take as scientists to understand biodiversity and use that powerful knowledge to solve these immense problems at a critical time in our history. Conservation is a global problem, so we will investigate case studies from rainforests in Brazil to mountains of Nepal. Conservation is also a local problem, and we will be developing plans to improve the preservation and restoration of diversity in a local forest ecosystem at Nixon County Park. As your instructor for this course, I want to empower you to solve problems using all of the tools that conservation biologists have available to them.
Students will be able to:
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Use the principles of ecology, evolution, and genetics to explain the problem of diminished biological diversity, the main consequences for ecological systems, the proximate and ultimate causes of the problem, and identify and assess potential solutions.
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Analyze and interpret quantitative information to make conservation decisions.
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Research and critically interpret scientific literature to formulate hypotheses and develop a strong foundation of scientific knowledge to address current issues and problems.
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Evaluate conservation problems, consider costs and benefits of alternative solutions, and make recommendations based on available data and the perspectives from multiple disciplines including economics, policy, ethics, and sociology.
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Communicate effectively in a written and verbal format using accepted scientific standards.
Biostatistics (BIO 290)
As biologists, statistics is a valuable tool in our toolbox. Students in Bio 290 actively practice the art of statistics during class time. We solve problems by hand and using statistical software, work collaboratively, create and interpret graphs, and write about data.
Students who complete the work for BIO 290 will be able to:
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Distinguish among the most common estimates and statistical tests based on the type of variable and correctly execute statistical tests.
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Explain the assumptions for different statistical tests and test for those assumptions
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Solve problems with different types of data sets using the appropriate statistical tools based on the experimental design.
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Apply statistical knowledge to perform statistical analyses (by hand and using computer software) and display associations between relevant variables appropriately.
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Interpret and synthesize multiple forms of evidence (graphs, estimates of population parameters and/or statistical hypothesis tests) to support or refute a hypothesis.
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Draw reasonable conclusions from data analyses that are informed by limitations of the experimental design.
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Communicate statistical results and trends in data using a clear and logical written and visual formats accepted by biologists.
Exploring Biology (BIO 204)
Biological literacy is paramount to making good decisions in an era of genetic testing, climate change, and stem cell research. We give all students at YCP the skills to think like a scientist so that they are able to critically analyze biology in the popular press, including the opportunity to design their own experiments related to the organisms that live in the YCP community. This course has a lecture and lab component and is part of Gen Next, the general education system at York College. Disciplinary perspective courses are designed to help students see the world through a difference lens, in this case, using the methods that scientists use to create and evaluate knowledge.
Students will be able to:
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Describe discipline-specific knowledge, including vocabulary, concepts, principles, terminology, and major theories. (Broad Knowledge)
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Recognize methods by which the discipline a) creates, b) evaluates, and c) communicates knowledge and/or products. (Critical and Analytical Thinking, Creative and Interdisciplinary Thinking, and Communication)
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Interpret evidence appropriate for the line of inquiry and hypothesis. (Quantitative Fluency)
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Examine social, political, economic, and/or cultural issues in a disciplinary context. (Citizenship and Intercultural Competency, Critical and Analytical Thinking)
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Differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate uses of discipline-specific knowledge in the context of historical and/or contemporary social issues.
