Student Standards of Performance
The curriculum task force (with faculty representatives from the Departments of Botany, Microbiology, and Zoology) considering the major goals of this degree (preparing students for life-long learning, entry-level jobs as physical science technicians, and/or more advanced study leading to a bachelor's degree) and developed the following program-level learning outcomes:
- Students can articulate the fundamental similarities of life on earth.
- Students learn and practice fundamental lab skills in biology and chemistry.
- Students demonstrate how scientific knowledge is derived, reviewed, and communicated.
The required courses in this program will progessively advance the students' attainment of these outcomes, and will be mapped to these outcomes in a curriculum grid that will guide the program assessment.
The three program-level outcomes are built upon a foundation of course-level outcomes, focused on science processes, skills, and basic content knowledge, that are articulated as part of WSU's General Education Program.
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.
- Integration of Science. All natural phenomena are interrelated and share basic organizational principles. Scientific explanations obtained from different disciplines should be cohesive and integrated.
- 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.
- Problem Solving & Data Analysis. Science relies on empirical data, and such data must be analyzed, interpreted, and generalized in a rigorous manner.
Life Science Learning Outcomes:
- Levels of Organization. All life shares an organization that is based on molecules and cells and extends to organisms and ecosystems
- Metabolism and homeostasis: Living things obtain and use energy, and maintain homeostasis via organized chemical reactions known as metabolism
- Genetics and evolution: Shared genetic processes and evolution by natural selection are universal features of all life
- Ecological interactions: All organisms, including humans, interact with their environment and other living organisms.
