GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE PROPOSAL

WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

Area: Life Sciences

Date: ____September 15^th , 2011__________________________

College: ______Honors Program_______________________

Department: ___Honors Program____________________

Catalog Abbreviation: _____HNRS____________

Title of Course for Catalog: Exploring Key Concepts in the Life Sciences: "Secrets of the Sisterhood: A Bee Centered Perspective on Biology"

HNRS LS: 2040: Exploring Key Concepts in the Disciplines: Life Sciences (3 credits of Life Science General Education Credit)

This course will focus on a central topic in the Life Sciences, using original sources as the primary class texts.

JUSTIFICATION:

Please note: the following justification is taken from Dr. Mull’s syllabus. This course will fulfil General Education Science and Natural Science learning outcomes in the following ways:

1. 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.

Particular examples from bee-related research will be used to achieve this outcome. For example, Karl Von Frisch’s discovery of the symbolic meaning of the "waggle dance" that occurs in the hive was a surprising explanation when first proposed. His hypothesis (now widely accepted) was met by initial skepticism and has been carefully scrutinized and refined by other scientists in the decades since von Frisch proposed it.

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

Many topics in a biology course provide an opportunity to explore this notion. For example, our understanding of many details of cell biology is based on basic principles of chemistry that explain the structure and behavior of biological molecules such as proteins and lipids. A major concern of ecology is the acquisition and transfer of energy (in the form of chemical bonds) by organisms in ecosystems. Such processes are governed by basic physical laws, such as the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

3. 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.

By awarding the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Karl von Frisch (and two others), the Nobel Committee directly acknowledged the impact of honey bee research on society. His research and subsequent work on bees has improved human life by helping to refine our use of them as important crop pollinators. In the last 20 years, biology has realized the importance of honey bees and other pollinators as bioindicators that aid in assessing the extent of human influence on the earth’s environment.

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

This outcome will be addressed through the reading and careful discussion of a few primary scientific publications, like the Isack and Reyer (1989) paper listed later in the syllabus.

The Life Sciences Learning Outcomes
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the following characteristics of life:

1. Levels of Organization: All life shares an organization that is based on molecules and cells to organisms and ecosystems.

This course will examine honey bee biology from the cellular through the ecosystem level. For example, the genetic basis of many aspects of bee behavior are now understood. We will examine how variation in these genes affect colony success and how, in turn, these behaviors affect the species (e.g., flowering plants) with which they interact. The fate of insect-pollinated plants and the ecosystems in which they live are closely tied to the fate of bees and other pollinators.

2. Metabolism and homeostasis: Living things obtain and use energy and maintain homeostasis via organized chemical reactions known as metabolism.

This outcome will be covered in examining bee foraging behavior as it relates to colony collection of food—nectar (and its storage in the form of honey) and pollen—and how this food is processed by the bees’ digestive system and cells to meet its basic energy need.

3. Genetics and evolution: Shared genetic processes and evolution by natural selection are universal features of all life.

As described briefly above, this outcome represents the key idea in the course. The genetics and evolution of honey bees in particular will be used to demonstrate how these processes operate in general. For example, our understanding of the genetic basis of behavior in bees provides a good model for understanding the same aspect of many human behaviors.

4. Ecological interactions: All organisms, including humans, interact with their environment and other living organisms.

The ecology of honey bees of is of enormous importance to humans and will be examined closely here. Like all invertebrates, honey bees are strongly affected by the conditions of their physical environment, especially temperature and light. They are also affected by a range of interactions with others species. These include competitors, predators, parasites, and mutualists, like the flowering plants that feed them and the humans who propagate them.

There are no courses such as this in other departments.

This new course will not affect requirements or enrollments in other departments.

New Courses Only:

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

We also administer student evaluations at the end of every semester. I read all the student assessments, and then write a formal letter to the faculty member, quoting from the student comments. The student assessment enables me to open up a conversation with faculty if there’s a need for change or improvement, to drop faculty who earn poor ratings, and to encourage faculty who fulfil well their obligations to the students.

Exploring Key Concepts in the Life Sciences: HNRS 2040

This course is based on two related premises. The first is that a single-species focus eliminates many of the details of classification and anatomy that can obscure student understanding of major concepts in an introductory biology course. The second is that in attaining a detailed under- standing of the biology of single group, you will better understand the general concepts that apply to all life forms. Because all basic areas of honey bee biology—genetics, ecology, physiology, behavior, and evolution—have been extensively studied, the species is ideally suited to the approach taken in this course.

The key concept in biology is the continuity of life. All species, including humans, share a common evolutionary history, a fact reflected in the universal genetic code—DNA—found in all organisms. The honey bee will provide the lens through which we view the evolutionary, genetic, and ecological unity of life.

on the species, field trips to a local honey producer and to USU’s Bee Lab, and examination of basic anatomy and physiology in the lab. The course format will be a seminar-style discussion, but will be punctuated by occasional and brief periods of lecture.

Particular examples from bee-related research will be used to achieve this outcome. For example, Karl Von Frisch’s discovery of the symbolic meaning of the "waggle dance" that occurs in the hive was a surprising explanation when first proposed. His hypothesis (now widely accepted) was met by initial skepticism and has been carefully scrutinized and refined by other

3. 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.

By awarding the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Karl von Frisch (and two others), the Nobel Committee directly acknowledged the impact of honey bee research on society. His research and subsequent work on bees has improved human life by helping to refine our use of them as important crop pollinators. In the last 20 years, biology has realized the importance of honey bees and other pollinators as bioindicators that aid in assessing the extent of human influence on the earth’s environment.

Listed below are the university’s four Life Sciences Learning Outcomes that are emphasized in all life science general education courses. Following each outcome is a short description of how this course will address it.

This outcome will be covered in examining bee foraging behavior as it relates to colony collection of food—nectar (and its storage in the form of honey) and pollen—and how this food is processed by the bees’ digestive system and cells to meet its basic energy need.

Isack, H.A. and H.U. Reyer. Honeyguides and honey gatherers: interspecific communication in a symbiotic relationship (1989), Science 243: 1343 – 1346.

*Pundyk, G. The Honey Trail: In Pursuit of Liquid Gold and Vanishing Bees (2010), St. Martin’s Press.

Robinson, G.E. From society to genes with the honey bee (1998), American Scientist 86: 456 – 462.

Your grade for the course will be based on a total of 400 points and assigned letter grades as follows: A (> 93%), A- (92 – 90%), B+ (89 – 87%), B (86 – 83%), etc. Final scores will be determined from these assignments: