GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE PROPOSAL

WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

PHYSICAL SCIENCE EMPHASIS

 

Area: PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Date: September 27th, 2009

College: Honors Program

Department: Honors Program

Catalog Abbreviation: HNR 1500

Title of Course for Catalog: "Perspectives in Physical Sciences"

Course Number: 1500

Credit Hours: 3

Substantive: ______

New: ______

Revised: ______

Renewal __X__

Course description as you want it to appear in the catalog:

"An interdisciplinary approach to the Physical Sciences. This introductory class deals with basic concepts, problems, and issues of the Physical Sciences. Topics will vary."

Justification:

Introduction:

The Honors Program General Education classes offer students an opportunity to fulfill the Physical Sciences learning outcomes in the setting of a class designed according to the following guidelines provided by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC):

Honors classes are capped at 15 in order to provide more interaction between students and faculty;

Honors classes encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the discipline to encourage students to make connections between one academic discipline and another.

Within this Honors context, "Perspectives in Physical Sciences" is designed to fulfil Weber’s General Education requirements.

Because of the variation in faculty teaching the classes as well as the different course topics, the director of the Honors Program is responsible for assuring that "Perspectives in Physical Sciences" meets the General Education learning outcome requirements. To fulfil this responsibility, the director meets with faculty the semester before they teach to introduce them to the course requirements. The General Education learning outcomes will be included in the packet of materials which are discussed

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at the meeting. Faculty will also be provided with a syllabus template to help them craft an appropriate syllabus for the course. (A copy of that syllabus template is included with this packet.)

We also require that Honors faculty provide us with a written syllabus at least two months before they teach. The Honors director will take responsibility for reading the "Perspectives in Physical Sciences" each semester to ensure the syllabus clearly indicates the 8 point learning outcomes that will be covered in the class.

Please note: The Physics Department has dedicated a half-time position to teaching Honors classes, which means that "Perspectives in Physical Sciences" has employed faculty from that department exclusively. The three sample syllabi included with this proposal therefore come from the Physics Department, and will be used to illustrate application of the general learning outcomes for the Natural Sciences, as well as the more specific learning outcomes for the Physical Sciences.

 

Justification according to General Education learning outcomes:

NATURAL SCIENCE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Nature of science. Scientific knowledge is based on evidence that is repeatedly examined, and can change with new information. Scientific explanations differ fundamentally from those that are not scientific.

One of the main emphasis of "Perspectives in Physical Sciences" is the nature of science and what it means to approach problem solving from a scientific perspective. For example, in Dr. Carroll’s class, Tom Stoppard’s plays raise such scientific explanations of the world as the Ptolemaic world view and the Copernican revolution, which are then discussed in class.

 

Integration of science. All natural phenomena are interrelated and share basic organizational principles. Scientific explanations obtained from different disciplines should be cohesive and integrated.

Physics aims to describe the underlying "laws" of the universe. The concepts of forces affecting motion, energy being conserved, quantum mechanics needed to describe interactions at an atomic scale, etc are applicable to all fields of science. For example, in Dr. Palen demonstrates the connection between chemistry and physics when she teaches students about soaps and surfactants.

 

Science and society. The study of science provides explanations that have significant impact on society, including technological advancements, improvement of human life, and better understanding of human and other influences on the earth’s environment.

Throughout history advances in physics have impacted society. Students are presented with scientific ideas in conjunction with practical applications and implications of those ideas. Increased knowledge of electricity and magnetism during the nineteenth century completely changed every day living. Further understanding of atomic and nuclear physics has had social implications that

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continue today. An example of this learning outcome can be found in Dr. Adam Johnston’s course

on the "Physics of Contemporary Issues" where he uses the New York Times as a primary text, supplemented by readings on electronic reserve and hands-on activities, to teach students to "investigate current events . . . we will tackle contemporary issues, investigating the physics involved, as a class and as individuals."

 

Problem solving and data analysis. Science relies on empirical data, and such data must be analyzed, interpreted, and generalized in a rigorous manner.

This course emphasizes both the conceptual basis of physical laws as well as the use of equations and mathematics for problem solving. Quantitative calculations and graphical illustrations are used throughout the entire course content to further students’ understanding of the physical laws used to describe nature. Problem solving and data analysis also forms a portion of the students’ assessment and evaluation. For example, Dr. Stacy Palen’s course on the physics of every day life focuses on problem solving and data analysis: "Around your house, there are thousands of examples of physics at work. We’ll look at some of these and bring the problem-solving power of physics into your day-to-day life."

 

PHYSICAL SCIENCE SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

Organization of systems: The universe is scientifically understandable in terms of interconnected systems. The systems evolve over time according to basic physical laws.

Students are taught to recognize systems in a variety of situations. Problems are often approached by first identifying the systems involved. Once this has been done, students then learn to analyze the interactions within a system or between two or more systems. For example, the organizing principle of Dr. Palen’s class is energy flow and thermodynamics, both essential to physics in the home.

 

Matter: Matter comprises an important component of the universe, and has physical properties that can be described over a range of scales.

Matter is considered from the fundamental level of an atomic nucleus and orbiting electrons, up through the macroscopic scale of entire objects and groups of objects. Students learn the basic properties of matter such as mass, density and conductivity. Interactions of matter, such as molecular bonding and gravity, are also discussed. For example, students in Dr. Johnston’s class measure the size of molecules as one of their hands-on activities.

Energy: Interactions within the universe can be described in terms of energy exchange and conservation.

Energy conservation is one of the fundamental principles emphasized in all physics courses. Several physical problems can be solved by considering energy conservation, and students are given several opportunities to apply this concept. This course examines several different forms of energy, including mechanical energy, electrical energy, light energy, heat, etc. For example, Dr. Carroll teaches the law of conservation, theories of energy, and the caloric theory of heat as these concepts come up in Tom Stoppard’s plays.

 

Forces: Equilibrium and change are determined by forces acting at all organizational levels.

Several types of forces over a large range of scales are considered. Newton’s laws of motion, which describe how forces affect motion and the criteria for equilibrium, are applied to a variety of situations. All three faculty teach Newtonian physics as an essential element of their courses.

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COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING

1. Has this proposal been discussed with and approved by the department?

Yes. The chair of the Physics department works closely with me to select appropriate "Perspectives in Physical Science" courses for Honors.

2. List those general education courses in other departments with similar subject matter and explain how this course differs.

There are similar General Education courses in the Physical Sciences, but the Honors "Perspectives in Physical Sciences" differs from them in the ways described above in the introduction to the Justification on page 1.

 

3. If the proposed new general education course affects course requirements or enrollments in other departments, list the departments and programs involved and attach comments from each.

I work with department chairs to ensure that the Honors classes do not conflict with departmental offerings.

 

4. Attach a topical outline of the course. Include the number of contact hours per week and the format of these hours (e.g., lecture, lab, field trip, etc.).

The following three syllabi are attached as examples of this course:

Dr. Brad Carroll: "Physics in the Plays of Tom Stoppard"

Dr. Adam Johnston: "Physics of Contemporary Issues"

Dr. Stacy Palen: "Physics of the Every Day"

 

New Courses Only:

5. Discuss how you will assess student learning outcomes associated with this course

Not a new course

Current General Education Courses and Existing Courses Seeking General Education Status:

6. Discuss how you have assessed the applicable or identified student learning outcomes associated with this course.

 

At the end of each semester, we distribute the following evaluation forms:

Student evaluation

Program evaluation

Teacher evaluation of the class

 

7. How has this assessment information been used to improve student learning?

Each step of the assessment process feeds into the next step so that Honors works in a continuous loop of assessment leading to improved student learning which we then assess again.

First, in preparation for teaching, I convene an orientation meeting each semester for the faculty teaching the next semester. The faculty receive a packet information, including General Education requirements and assessment materials as part of their training.

At the end of each semester, we administer the three evaluation forms listed above. As Honors director, I read all the evaluations at the end of the semester. I then write a personal letter to each Honors teacher, quoting from the student comments. When faculty receive poor student evaluations, I discuss the class with that teacher.

I am currently implementing an assessment program based on samples of student work , collected at the end of each semester. A group of faculty work with me to read the student samples in terms of meeting both Honors and General Education learning outcomes.