Course Syllabus

Summer 2026 | BIO-1240-VO01 - Forest Ecology

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Ryan Zajac
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Danielle Lafleur Brooks

General Education Requirements

Natural Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

Through field trips and/or individual field work, students examine the structure and dynamics of forest communities. Consideration is given to geographic and ecologic factors shaping forest communities, to biological and chemical interactions among forest species, and to the human impact on forest stability. All forest types are discussed with an emphasis on temperate deciduous and northern coniferous forests.

Essential Objectives

1. Demonstrate understanding of the methods of scientific investigation in forest ecology including observation and hypothesis testing.
2. Define energy and trace the energy flow in a forest, including the grazing and detritus food chain.
3. Describe the stages of forest succession.
4. Discuss the impact soil type, moisture, light, and temperature have on the forest ecosystem.
5. Analyze how forestry practices impact forest ecosystems, local economies, and local cultures.
6. Using a global scale of analysis, examine the impact of human behavior on forest ecosystems and discuss the role that forests play in the biosphere.
7. Identify common trees and the major forest types in Vermont.
8. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, applying, and evaluating the accuracy of data and information sources.
9. Discuss how laws and politics prevent or promote human access to healthy forests, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Wilderness Act, and Vermont’s Act 250.
10. Explain how knowledge created in the natural sciences has contributed to the creation, maintenance and dismantling of social inequalities and discuss the impacts of diversity and inclusion on scientific research and practice.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

• Weekly reading assignments(as an asynchronous online class a bunch of the course material will be consumed on your own in our weekly reading and video resources)
• Digital-Class Participation (we will have online discussions each and every week to further expand on the concepts we're covering in class)
• Forest Ecology Investigation Project (think of this project as a culmination project that we work on throughout the semester)
• Independent Learning Field Assignments and Quizzes (every week we will have at least one short assignment or activity to evaluate and guide our learning of the course content)

Evaluation Criteria

25% Discussions and Participation

25% Forest Ecology Investigation Project

20% Midterm Exam

30% Field Assignments and Quizzes

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Full participation requires active and thoughtful engagement with classwork each week. The following habits and skills are important.

• Attend to online class discussions, on-time and thoughtfully
• Complete all of the week's reading and assignments before the due dates
• Engage with others attentively and with an open mind
• Positively contribute to class discussions and activities
• Ask questions and seek help when you need it
• Challenge yourself to do your best work

Do not hesitate to ask for extra help if you need it or clarification if you don't understand something. It may help me to clarify things for others, too. I am available for questions through email and we can set aside some time to connect on the phone or Zoom, as well. Also, you can use the Q & A section in the discussion forum where you can ask other students questions. The tutoring center is also available.

Missing & Late Work Policy

We are not meeting synchronously so please plan to attend to your work each week knowing that regular assignment submissions and active online participation are key components to your learning and successful achievement of a satisfactory grade in the course. Please plan to submit all coursework on time, and be in contact with me as soon as you know of any unforeseen circumstances that may impact your ability to to complete an assignment by the posted due date.

Assignments

Assignments, quizzes, exams, and projects are built into the class to help you consistently earn points to ensure success in the class. Don't dismiss the importance of these pieces to your success in the class. They are meant to be low-consequence tools to support your learning. With advanced notice of a pending missed deadline, we can almost always work out an alternative arrangement. But, showing up a few weeks after a deadline and requesting the chance to make up a missed assignment at that point is not likely to be granted (following the 10% daily penalty rule, after 10 days with no arrangements made to makeup the assignment the full value of the assignment will be lost).

Weekly Discussion Posts

Like being in class together, our online discussion boards are the primary tool we will use to interact with each other. So, showing up and being "present" every week is crucial. Each week we will have a new prompt to respond to. You have the entire week to complete your discussion post and a couple of days to craft replies to your peers if posts end up close to the submission due date. Please plan to budget your time and keep up with your discussion work - important ideas will be shared there! Like missing an in-person class, missing a discussion post is not able to be made up since the rest of the class will have moved on to their next focus. Please let me know if you have any connectivity or technology barriers that may create obstacles to your successful engagement with the online discussions. There are ways to work around those obstacles with proactive planning and I'd be happy to help you figure out options to make that happen.

Do not hesitate to ask for extra help if you need it or clarification if you don't understand something. It may help me to clarify things for others, too. I am available for questions through email, Zoom, or the phone. The tutoring center is also available and CCV Academic Services is there to help you be successful in the class.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/student-support/accessibility-services/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.