Large-Scale Science Core Program for the Non-Science Student

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This proposal is offered by New York University's College of Arts and Science. A new, integrated series of introductory level science courses will be developed for 1,600 non-science majors annually. The new curriculum takes into account the level of preparation and the extent of alienation of students from science and mathematics. The proposed curriculum aims to teach quantitative reasoning and emphasize the open-ended questioning aspect of scientific thinking by means of lectures, inquiry-based laboratory experiences and recitations, and cooperative study teams. The intention is to develop, pilot, and refine an experimental version of such a multicourse curriculum in 1993-95, and in 1995 to replace the existing elective science and mathematics requirements at NYU with this program. All non-science majors will eventually have equal exposure to a corpus of interesting material in a Science Core Program. Design features will permit a certain measure of individualization in learning, as well as encourage the development of small, cooperative problem-solving study groups, breaking students out of isolation and replicating the research model of scientific inquiry.