There are 230 possible points for this course with the final grade calculated using the following scale:

• 90 – 100% = 4.0 (207-230 points)
• 85 – 89.99% = 3.5 (196-206 points)
• 80 – 84.99% = 3.0 (184-195 points)
• 75 – 79.99% = 2.5 (173-194 points)
• 70 – 74.99% – 2.0 (161-172 points)
• 65 – 69.99% = 1.5 (150-160 points)
• 60 – 64.99% = 1.0 (138-149 points)
• <60% = 0 (less than 138 points)

Your final grade will be based on the following criteria:

Blog Posts /Responses

Each week, students will be required to post a series of posts to the course blog. The details (prompt, length, etc) of each weekly Blog Post can be found on that week’s schedule page.  Every week, students are required to respond to two blog posts that week (meaning you need to respond thoughtfully to two classmate’s posts).  Students must complete each week’s entry and response in order to get credit for the assignment.  If students meet all of the requirements for the assignment (due date, length requirement, entry + response), they will receive full credit.  If students don’t meet all of the requirements, they will not receive credit at all.  No partial credit is given for partially complete Blog Posts. See the “About The Class” page for more info about what is required for each blog and blog comment.

Blog posts are worth 10 points each. Your responses are worth 5 points each.

Only do the class work for the current week, do not work ahead! Any blog posts/comments posted for a future week will not be graded.

Weekly Quizes

Each week, students will be expected to complete a 10 question multiple choice quiz (each question worth 2pts each).  The quiz (which will be accessible through D2L) will test students on that week’s content and concepts.

D2L quizzes will only be active for the week during which they are due.

Final Quiz

At the end of the class (in week 7), students will be expected to complete a 30 question multiple choice final quiz (which will be accessible through D2L).  The final quiz will be cumulative, covering all of the material covered during the course.

Honors Option

In order to fulfill the requirements for an Honors designation for this course, you must complete an extra assignment. This will take the form of a 3-4 page paper (excluding references page) using at least 3 peer-reviewed primary sources (properly using APA style format). These will most likely take the form of journal articles.  The MSU library houses many online journals, of which you can take advantage for this assignment. 

Papers should be typed up in 12 pt font, double-spaced,  Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins.

For this paper, I would like you to pick one of the following hominins you will learn about in the Weeks 5 and 6 lecture materials and videos.

• Ardipithecus 
• Australopithecus afarensis
• Australopithecus sediba
• Paranthropus (any of the species)
• Homo erectus
• Homo floresiensis
• Neanderthals

Using the concepts you learned earlier in the course about human variation, adaptation, mutation, etc., discuss why this particular species  or genus flourished during their span on the landscape and why they may have eventually vanished.  These can be topics such as adaptations related to climate, altitude, dietary patterns/needs, locomotion and mobility, or anything else we discussed, or their inability to adapt and why.

I would like you to critically think about how this relates to modern humans and our eventual evolution and adaptation.  What can we learn from our fossil predecessors and how can their rise, span, and decline inform us today about our own evolutionary trajectory?

(If needed, focus on one primary hominin, but you can also refer to or discuss another closely related hominin, and how it relates evolutionarily to the main species you’re discussing.)

Please take note that some of the species are not discussed until Week 6.  If you plan on completing this honors option, be sure to give yourself enough time to complete the assignment.  My advice is that if you plan on writing over one of the later species we’ll discuss (such as Homo erectus, Homo floresiensis, and the Neanderthals), be sure to watch the lecture videos and read the articles in the first 2 or so days after they are available so you can start formalizing your paper.

This paper will be due on August 16th, the last day of class by midnight via a dropbox that I will set up in the Assignments section on D2L.  No late work will be accepted as I will set the dropbox to automatically shut off at 5:00 pm on the 16th.  You will only be able to submit your paper once, so make sure everything is complete and correct when you submit it.

Please submit your papers into the D2L Dropbox as a word document, not a PDF.  Additionally, I use a PC, so documents submitted in Mac’s .pages format will not open on my computer.  If I cannot open the document, I will not be able to give you credit for the honors option.

If you plan on doing this assignment, please let me know via email by Friday, July 20th!  If you have not contacted me by that date, then you will not be allowed to receive honors credit, even if you submit a paper!

Point-Break-Down:

• Week 1 : 30 pts

  • Quiz: 10 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Week 2 : 30 pts

  • Quiz: 10 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Week 3 : 30 pts

  • Quiz: 10 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Week 4 : 30 pts

  • Quiz: 10 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Week 5 : 30 pts

  • Quiz: 10 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Week 6 : 30pts

  • Quiz: 10 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Week 7 : 50 pts

  • Final Cumulative Quiz: 30 pts
  • Reflection Post: 10 pts
  • Reflection Comments: 10 pts

• Total Points Possible :  230

Academic Integrity

In accordance with Michigan State University’s policies on “Protection of Scholarship and Grades” and “Integrity of Scholarship and Grades,” students are expected to honor principles of truth and honesty in their academic work. Academic integrity means, amongst other things, not plagiarizing. Plagiarism includes submitting anothers work (words, ideas, etc.) as their own now will the knowingly permit another student to copy and submit their work. Additional discussion of academic integrity is available on the Ombudsperson’s website.